If we start from a position of agreeing that as human beings we are all different, then we must also concur that all prospects/customers/clients are also different: In terms of their commercial requirements, they each have a unique set of values, their own way of doing business – and how they expect the buying cycle to be managed. With me so far?

So, with all of this in mind, why is it that some people – many people actually – believe that a “vanilla” or “generic” sales methodology will serve the needs of all? The reality is that there is no single one way to sell – different situations, industries, roles, cultures, etc. require a totally different approach.

Let’s begin by thinking about sales roles. There are effectively three “stages” of a sales cycle, which requires us to recognize that there are actually three identifiable sales functions – or as I prefer to refer to them, “sales phases.”

Phase One: lead generation/prospect attraction.

Phase Two: prospect conversion/closing the deal, and finally,

Phase Three: client/customer retention and development.

We then need to think about the skills needed in each of our phases, because they are completely disparate: For example, when you are working in Phase One, logically you need to be skilled at cold-calling, or email marketing, or referral selling. Most social media pro-activity is also focused on creating incremental opportunities.

During Phase Two, if we follow the “traditional” sales/buying cycle path, we need to qualify the opportunity, create a solution that precisely fits our prospect’s requirements, present that solution, negotiate, and close. That all sounds rather simplistic but we all understand that complex sales can be far more … well complex. Here most sales methodologies come into their own.

Finally, Phase Three. This is the phase where most companies are weakest, preferring to concentrate the majority of their resources on Phase One. Phase Three demands that we have the ability to first build and then develop a robust customer base, which promotes strong two-way loyalty and is founded on a totally symbiotic philosophy. This is what differentiates highly successful companies from the also-rans – and for also-rans, read much less profitable.

So far, I have merely illustrated how out-of-the-box sales team development can never provide a precise solution in terms of skills development.  We then need to look at industry/sector specialization. And what about culture? Do we all sell the same wherever we are located in the world? Of course we don’t.

Be assured, one size will never fit all – in fact, it won’t fit many…

Even companies that enjoy the luxury of clearly superior products, realise that those products will not sell themselves. As a minimum, companies need a sales force comprised of skilled professionals who understand the application of the product range, have an in-depth knowledge of their customer base, market sector and of course the competition. But even all these elements together are not sufficient to ensure optimum performance levels and profitable sales.

So What Exactly Is a Sales Process?

Put quite simply, it is a set of procedures, which determine how a company wishes its sales team to operate – “The way we do things around here”

The most successful organisations have implemented a process and an all-encompassing framework for defining performance standards. This involves assessing, appraising, developing, reviewing, providing continual feedback on performance, as well as implementing efficient and relevant process tools

Lack of Direction

Far too frequently, competent salespeople are expected to channel their own activities into the areas that will produce the quickest wins. Unfortunately, left to their own devices, they don’t develop and pursue a formal strategy for moving a sale tangibly forward during each prospect interaction; neither do they have a clearly defined set of goals against which to measure the progress they are making.

Typically, their judgment is based on gut reaction and is purely subjective i.e., “Oh yes, I’ll get that order, he likes me”, because salespeople have to be optimistic by nature. They end up “dancing around” with prospects, in the hope that eventually they will get to their chosen point on the dance-floor i.e. -the sale. In this scenario, the customer has complete control.

Developing a Consultative (Collaborative) Sales Process

From the Sales Director’s perspective, developing a consultative sales process means developing a comprehensive, formal, realistic and step-by-step outline of what salespeople are expected to do. This is just as appropriate for internal and totally reactive sales teams as it is for external pro-active ones. This outline includes the activity and calls they must make, the relationships they should establish with prospects, the documentation they should use in sales calls, the issues they must discuss and resolve with prospects and the tangible goals they must achieve in sequence along the path to each sale, in order to achieve maximum effectiveness.

It’s only when such an outline is in place that sales management can be in a position to:

• Monitor the sales force’s activity, progress and results,
• Assess issues as they arise and take appropriate action,
• Redirect individual sales representatives’ efforts efficiently.

Although many organizations appreciate the importance of being customer-focused and talk in vague terms about their “consultative sales process”, surprisingly few sales leaders invest the time and energy required to develop a formal sales process – a process that is at once detailed and resilient enough to guide their salespeople and permit effective management of their efforts.

Finally, I would say this: You cannot possibly hope to manage external events if you do not have control internally!