The Sales Process — A Beginner's Guide

The sales process from prospect to closing often leads along winding paths, often uphill, with unexpected turns. What steps should you take to turn your potential customers into brand advocates?

Stage 1: Leads — Build trust at the start

Before embarking on your sales journey, be prepared to walk a mile in the shoes of a potential customer. Do your research — make sure you understand the viewpoints of potential customers, their business model, and the future challenges they may face. Increase value by shaping a lead — they may not know anything about your business or the landscape you work in. Show them where there is a gap that you can fill. This is the foundation on which you can build your vision and show how you can work together.

Step 2: Qualified Leads — Let Them Speak

Listening has a significant impact on converting a prospect into a customer. Before telling you right away who you are and what you do, ask them if they would like to tell you what they need, what is important to them, and what they want to get out of the conversation. Qualify leads with a customer-centric approach. Listen and learn as much as you can about them.

Step 3: Value Assurance — Verify the benefits and value you offer

It was quite a hike, but you finally made it to the field. It's time to show, specifically, how you and your company can add value and work together to achieve your goals. This means harnessing the power of your team. Dig into the data, pull out case studies or testimonials, and show them not only that you can match their vision, but that they match yours. Focus on their needs and the problems they want to solve. Speak the same language as your potential client.

Step 4: Consideration of Objections — Continue the Conversation

Disclaimers are an opportunity to learn more about the needs of a potential client. Let them fully explain their objections and ask a lot of follow-up questions to understand the cause of the problem. Objections are not punishments — they are information. They represent another opportunity for you to offer your potential customers values and solutions to their problems. You don't want anyone to climb a mountain with you if they're not ready for it.

Step 5: Build your offer — Create a proposal that works for both parties

The stage before receiving a “yes” can be the most difficult. Sometimes it's hard to stay objective when you look at the numbers and make a proposal. Making a deal that makes everyone happy means that you keep your future client in mind while maintaining your position. This may be the reason why the offering configuration software — CPQ Software — is projected to grow 126% over the next two years. By now, you should know that this client has the “budget, decisiveness, need and specific time” (BANT) needed to execute the contract. Part of proving the price is justified is doing your homework and being able to showcase your work — use your tools and team to calculate a fair offer. Focus the discussion on values, not just costs. Know your limits and know how much to give in negotiations, trade and not give out services. Make sure everyone is ready to proceed with the execution of the contract.

Step 6: Finalize your proposal — Use all the information gathered along the way

Negative buyer moods are normal as you approach the end of negotiations. So it's important to build on the relationship and research you've done along the way. A customer relationship management (CRM) system is extremely useful in these situations — it can help you review past conversations, promises, and discussion issues at the beginning. Stop or walk away if you come to an impasse.

Step 7: Close the deal — Keep your commitments

Customer satisfaction is currently the most heavily tracked KPI, by sales teams around the world. Not without reason — the core position of the company is based on recurring business transactions. You have worked so hard to bring this client to the end, make sure all that time and resources are not wasted. After closing the contract and drying the ink, make sure that the new client has achieved success. It boils down to handing over a new point of contact — whether it's a customer relations person, like a customer manager or a customer service team. Make sure your promises are kept. Leverage your CRM technology to make sure you're on the right path.

Creatio is a solution to support sales, marketing and customer service processes and a low-code CRM/BPM platform with an emphasis on innovation and a customer-centric approach. It provides the technology needed to build successful customer relationships.

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