The foundational elements of effective Selling

In order for an organisation to perform well and generate strong Sales, it needs a well-documented and understood Sales Process.

The unique nature of most businesses means that the Sales Process should be customised to their organisation.

Some 'constants' however remain in all Sales Processes including

·      identifying prospective clients,

·      understanding customer needs,

·      recognising opportunities,

·      demonstrating capability,

·      submitting customised proposals and

·      negotiating deals.

Documenting and supporting all stages of the Sales Process is critical to efficient and effective Sales. 

A sales funnel is for sales. CRM is for managing the data about customer relations.

A commonly cited definition of CRM is that of CRM (UK) Ltd (2002), as follows:
Customer Relationship Management is the establishment, development, maintenance and optimisation of long-term mutually valuable relationships between consumers and organisations.

Let's unpack this definition.

The key to the definition is long-term mutually valuable relationship. This is based upon a definition of marketing that considers marketing as a mutually satisfying system of exchanges (for example Baker 2002).

So CRM is the building and maintenance of long-term customer relationships. The relationship delivers value to customer, and profits to companies. The relationship is supported (but not driven) by cutting edge IT. 

The business strategy is based upon the recruitment, retention and extension of products, services, solutions or experiences to customers. This is the core of CRM.

CRM is not an indicator of sales effectiveness or sales process unless the system you use directly and accurately reflects the organisations ACTUAL sales process. CRM is not sales pipeline! 

Now, get your sales process right, build an authentic sales funnel/pipeline and then coach it. Simple. 

Once that is done investigate and implement an accurate CRM strategy with a company who has a track record in developing and implementing CRM as their core business.

Boiler

I am now officially tired of organisations that feel their CRM is a pipeline. Lets be clear—it is not!

The sales process is often compared to a funnel where new leads coming into the system (prospects) are placed into the top of the funnel (the widest part) and then worked through the system. The salesperson may then use a number of techniques such as informing, persuading, providing information, demonstrating until, at the narrow end, an order is placed and a sale is closed when payment from the customer is received. A sales funnel report presents a "snapshot" of your sales function at any given point in time. 

The funnel framework works fairly well because for all new leads that are generated by marketing, there is a closing rate that represents the sales that ultimately result. The number of resulting sales is usually significantly less than the number of total leads generated hence it is useful to think that as leads work their way further down the funnel, there will be less and less of them until they come out the narrow end as sales.

One important thing to note is that organizations define each phase in the process (or, part of the funnel) differently based on their authentic sales process. The pre-defined ‘Sales Steps’ in an off the shelf CRM system rarely cover your unique sales process therefore sales people will not naturally follow it. 

Each step working through the funnel should have clearly defined criteria so that there is specific knowledge about all the leads at that point (questions and rules need to be developed for each step). In other words, leads become more and more qualified as they work their way through the funnel, and at each step you will know exactly what that specific level of qualification is. 

Another important thing to keep in mind is that the funnel is a great way to track and forecast sales (a great tool for sales leaders) as well as gauge marketing activity.

By running a sales funnel report, the sales manager can see how many leads are at each step, if there are any "bottlenecks", or if there are an insufficient number of leads at any stage. It allows the sales manager to check the sales effectiveness of the team. Armed with that knowledge, the sales manager may instruct his or her sales force as to where they should focus more attention to keep sales at the desired level. That’s great sales coaching! They can then also work closely with the marketing manager to ensure they are generating enough leads to hit sales goals, whether the leads are of high enough quality, or what needs to change to hit sales goals. That, of course, brings about sales and marketing alignment not warfare. 

Get your sales process right, build an authentic sales funnel/pipeline and then coach it. Simple.

Stay tuned for the definition of CRM in my next post, just to completely clear things up.

Boiler 

What is a pipeline?

Something to pump stuff through? To put under roads? To send oil off shore?

In those settings, who knows, and who cares. But when talking about a sales pipeline there's a lot I can share. I've noticed with some recent engagements over the past couple of weeks, there seems to be a little confusion on what exactly a sales pipeline is. Well here is Boiler's definition:

A Sales Funnel Report presents a 'snapshot' of your sales function at any given point in time. For conceptual purposes, the sales process is often compared to a funnel, where new leads coming into the system (i.e. prospects) are placed into the top of the funnel - the widest part. Then, they are worked through the funnel by informing, persuading, overcoming objections, providing information, demonstrating, providing free samples, etc., etc. until, at the narrow part of the funnel, an order is placed, and a sales is closed, when payment from the customer is received.

The funnel framework works fairly well because for all new leads that are generated by our marketing efforts, there is a closing rate that represents the sales that ultimately result. The number of resulting sales is usually significantly less than the number of total leads generated. Therefore, it is useful to think that as leads work their way further down the funnel, there will be less and less of them coming out the of narrow end as sales.

One important thing to note is that organizations define each phase in the sales process (or part of the funnel) differently based on their authentic sales process. It is also interesting to note that the pre-defined ‘sales steps’ in an off-the-shelf whiz-bang CRM system don't allow for this kind of customization. Working through the funnel each step should have clearly defined criteria so there is specific knowledge about all leads at every particular stage (questions and rules need to be developed for each step). In other words, leads become more and more qualified as they work their way through the funnel, and you should be able to articulate exactly what's required at each specific level of qualification.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that the funnel is a great way to track and forecast sales (hear that leaders, a real forecast, wouldn't that be nice?), as well as, gauge marketing activities. We at Banjar believe there is one step that should be in all funnels and that is the stage of OPEN prospect. When does someone move from being just a prospect to being an open prospect? Open to a sales process with us that is real. When are they open to this really?

By running a Sales Funnel Report, the sales manager can see how many leads are at each step, if there are any 'bottlenecks', or if there are an insufficient number of leads at any stage. It allows the sales manager to check the sales effectiveness of the team. Armed with that knowledge, the sales manager may instruct his or her sales force where to focus more attention to keep sales at the desired level (that’s called coaching). He or she can then also work closely with the marketing manager to ensure they are generating enough leads to hit sales goals, whether the leads are of high enough quality, or what further needs to be done to hit sales goals.

If you do not have an active sales pipeline that reflects your actual sales process ask yourself why? Too accountable for sales? You don't know how to do it? My favourite, "We are still putting in a CRM system".




Would you drive your car with no dashboard? So don't drive your sales the same way, blind!