Business Process Management

The skill of documenting a sales process isn’t easy, but be assured that there is always a sequence of events that you can teach to others, and once you have a good grip of this it tends to inform a range of other points like sales tools, internal processes and the big question of who will do the selling if it isn’t you?

1. Understand why people buy from you
   In reality, most sales processes start with a buyer explaining their problems and the seller listening intently to identify how they can solve them.
2. Once you know what the pain points are, succinctly demonstrate your solution
   It’s really important not to sell ‘everything’ at this stage, just focus on specific and relevant issues that the buyer has told you about
3. Anticipating and documenting potential obstacles is key
   As a business leader, you will undoubtedly have seen and dealt with lots of obstacles, but it is important to be clear about the potential obstacles that your team will face, and document the solution you would recommend.
4. Knowing when to move from ‘selling’ to ‘closing’
   Over time, you will have learned when the right moment is to stop talking about the product and start talking about the deal – you need to make it clear to others when this ‘switch’ point is.
5. Understand the milestones in your sales process and your critical points of closure
   Experience will have taught you how many meetings it takes to close a deal, what you need to do at each stage, when you should push for a close or even back off. A simple flow chart will often help with this process.