======Sales: The Sales Process====== ====Overview==== It is a //very// common misconception among salespeople that they can //make// someone buy something. Short of holding a gun to someone's head, this is simply not true. Occasionally people can be herded or goaded into buying something (absolutely **not** a practice I recommend or endorse in any way whatsoever), but almost no-one is every //made// to buy a product. Unless that product fills a critical (critical like life-threateningly important) need. But that's another topic. In other words, a //good// salesperson is incapable of //making// someone buy a product. What they do well is guide a customer through a controlled Sales Process. In fact, there is a simple set of milestones that any controlled sale follows. And again, by controlled, I do not mean that the salesperson is //making// someone buy something. Perhaps a better phrase would be a //disciplined sales process//. So lets get to it and tour this cosmic marvel. ====The Steps==== {{:sales:sales_process.jpg|[image]}} **Definitions:** //Population Base:// The Population Base contains all of your target customers. Or to put it another way, this group contains everyone who might, in any way, be interested in what you are selling //Suspect: // Otherwise known as a __lead__. A //Suspect //is someone from your //Population Base// that has in some way expressed preliminary interest in what you are selling but has made no commitment whatsoever. This is the "Hmm, sounds interesting. I might need that." stage, and it usually ends with the //Suspect// contacting you in some way. Contact might include visiting your website or in some way requesting information. //Qualified Suspect: //The //Suspect's// initial questions have been answered and they are still interested in your product. In other words they are a //qualified// lead. The key difference between a //Suspect// and a //Qualified Suspect// is a //commitment to purchase//, however vague, from //someone with the authority to make such a commitment//. This is the "Hmm. I'll need one sometime" stage. //Prospect:// The difference between a //Qualified Suspect// and a //Prospect// is //direct contact and interaction//. Regardless of whether you have called, emailed or met with this potential customer, a //Qualified Suspect //becomes a //Prospect //when there has been direct interaction with a salesperson. This is also the point where you should establish the current status of [[the_five_keys|The Five Keys]]. //Qualified Prospect:// A //Prospect// becomes a //Qualified Prospect// once you have firmly established positive answers to [[the_five_keys|The Five Keys]]. Not all //Qualified Prospects// will turn in to sales, but if you've reached this point, as a salesperson, you have done //everything// within your power to line up the sale. //Sale//: The whole point of the process. You made the sale. Just don't forget to [link to customer retention] keep looking after your customer from here. ====Tracking==== Now that you have a way to establish //where// a customer is on the route to a Sale, you should begin //tracking// your sales process. Remember, there are two components to being a good salesperson (a) being able to close sales and (b) being able to learn from sales that didn't close. //If you don't learn from every potential sale, regardless of the outcome, you will never become a better salesperson.// Here are some items you should be tracking: *How long does it take to get from //Suspect// to //Qualified Prospect//? *How many //Suspects// do you need to generate one //Qualified Prospect//? *How long does it take to get from //Qualified Suspect// (when the salesperson gets involved) to //Qualified Prospect//? *How many //Qualified Suspects// do you need to generate one //Qualified Prospect//? *How long does it take to get from //Qualified Prospect //to //Sale//? *How many //Qualified Prospects// do you need to get one //Sale// *How many //Suspects //do you need to get one //Sale// Other information you need includes: *Is there a common cause behind lost sales? *Is there a common point in [the five keys] where the sale is lost Hopefully the usefulness of the last two is obvious. But what about the other numbers? Why track those? It's for two simple reasons -Estimating future sales based on potential customers already in your sales pipeline -Figuring out how many //Suspects// your company's marketing needs to generate in order for you to meet your sales goals. Lets look at (1) first. If you know that it takes 45 days on average to go from Suspect to Qualified Prospect and 15 days to go from Qualified Suspect to Sale, you have a total sales cycle of 60 days. If you have potential customers that are 30 days in to the process, you know they are probably 30 days away from a sale. Now look at how many Suspects typically lead to one Sale. Lets say 100 Suspects usually product one sale. If you have 200 Suspects you can reasonably expect at least two sales. Now lets look at (2). Continuing the previous example, lets say you need to make 10 sales. That implies that you need to have 1000 (or 10x100) Suspects in your sales pipeline. If your current marketing efforts are only reaching 500 Suspects, the odds are pretty low that you can make your quota. In other words, the scale of your marketing efforts and the number of sales you can expect to make are closely related. ====Conclusion==== Sales is a //process//. Like any other //process// it can be tracked and quantified and that data can be used to improve the process the next time around. The more data you have, the more productive your sales and marketing efforts will be. The more productive those efforts are, the more successful your company. You can make sales without such a process in place, but you'll always be relying on sales closing by luck. You can't become a more productive salesperson unless you're working smarter, and the only way to get smarter is with a properly tracked sales process.