5 essential components of a sales development process
Reading time: 5 minutes.
Marketing work is just the beginning of sales success, it is there that leads will be captured and then passed to the sales team for the magic to happen. But what happens when it doesn’t arrive? It is possible that the work of both departments is isolated and each one goes their own way.
To rectify this, it is necessary to create or fine-tune your sales development process, which will allow your leads to go from cold to warm and guide the right prospects towards the final purchase.
A complete sales process includes the following steps.
Un proceso de ventas completo incluye los siguientes pasos.
- Prospecting
- Connection and qualification
- Investigation
- Presentation
- Management of objections
- Closing
Each of these steps is crucial to obtaining a positive sales result, since a potential customer who is interested in your brand will not necessarily be ready to buy.
By completing each stage effectively, your team will know exactly which prospect and when to offer the product or service. This will make closing the deal much easier.
>>How to build a sales process for your team? Guide for Business Managers and Directors
According to HubSpot, 40% of sales reps say prospecting is the most challenging aspect of a sales process, followed by closing, with 36%; and qualification, with 22%.
That is why it is important that each component of your process is strategically designed.
5 componentes esenciales de cada proceso de desarrollo de ventas
Aquí te dejamos una lista de 5 elementos que no pueden faltar en un proceso de desarrollo de ventas diseñado estratégicamente.
1. A CRM that supports the workflow
According to Inc, a properly integrated CRM system can improve your customer service by 50%, and generate a return on investment of between $ 2.5 to $ 5.6 for every dollar invested.
With this software, your sales team will collect useful information from your customers to carry out prospecting activities. It will also demonstrate whether the methods used are being effective and which prospects are ready to move to the next level of the sales process.
2. A robust lead qualification system
It is important to define the processes that will indicate at what point a potential customer becomes a prospect, and when he is ready to close the sale.
When your salespeople approach an unqualified lead, valuable time is wasted and a potential customer could also be lost, in fact, this is how 67% of sales are lost.
Sales processes should be carefully laid out in a playbook, so they can be followed by your teams quickly and effectively, and avoid skipping the stages of the buyer’s journey.
3. A central content management portal
One of the jobs of the sales team is to guide the potential customer through the sales process, and to advance them, it is necessary to offer educational and engaging content. However, it’s common for sales reps to spend a lot of time searching for the right information to share.
In some cases, they end up selecting very ambiguous or ineffective topics, which are not adapted to the stage of each prospect.
That is why it is advisable to create a content database, in which each topic is tagged and classified according to the different buyer personas and the stages of the buyer’s journey. This will save time and increase your chances of success.
4. Sales analytic
The best way to measure the efficiency of a process is through metrics. These analytics show you what is the performance of each stage of the sales process, which are the most effective materials according to the prospects and their position in the buyer’s journey, and other relevant data.
However, to achieve a result consistent with reality, it is important that your teams consistently record the necessary data. Any omission will cause the reports to generate misinformation. This is where a CRM becomes a sales ally.
5. A medium for collaboration and feedback
Sales are not just dependent on a small group of people. The bridge between marketing and sales must be strengthened to ensure that both teams provide quality to improve the sales process day after day.
And when we talk about effective processes, it is important to include a feedback mechanism that allows constant communication between departments.
Just as marketers can report on the nuances and challenges their potential customers pose, marketers will provide data on lead availability and ease of conversion. An integrated strategy will be the key to success.
>>Lead vs Prospect vs Opportunity: how to advance from one to the other?
Albert Einstein said “if you are looking for different results, don’t always do the same thing.” This phrase can apply to any aspect of life, and is perfectly reflected in sales.
As your process is designed with greater care and strategy, you will obtain more qualified leads and, therefore, greater sales.
If you are not reaching your sales goals, at Innova Marketing Solutions we can help you create an effective sales development process, which allows you to obtain a greater return on investment and closed deals. You can contact us here!