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How To Improve Your Sales? How to Increase Business?

How To Improve Your Sales? How to increase business? These questions are bugging businessmen most of the time. 

If you don’t have a proven process to sell then you don’t have a proven process to scale.

Today I’m gonna give you some tips, and five steps, on how to improve your sales process and increase business.

So, when it comes to the sales process, see most companies don’t have a very clearly defined process –

  • How money is made?
  • How cash is flowing?
  • How do you improve the sales process?

So today let me give you a simple blueprint.

First of all, you have to understand when it comes to the sales process, there are five steps.

You have the sales process as well as the buyer journey. So you have the process coming from the company. The seller, the closer’s perspective.

You also have to understand from the consumer’s, and buyer’s perspectives.

What is the journey that they go through? So let’s talk about this in detail.

Improve sales process

5 Steps of the Sales Process 

#1 Prospecting or Lead Generation

Now it depends on what you do. Maybe the way that you generate leads right now is by cold calling, is by prospecting, going out there, and bringing people in.

That’s perfectly fine or you’re living more sophisticated. 

You have a marketing campaign. You have some marketing in place to bring in people, that’s more lead generation.

You’re adding value to the marketplace. 

  • Maybe you’re doing content marketing. 
  • Maybe you are doing blogs.
  • Maybe you are running ads.

Whatever it is that you do, it doesn’t matter it is prospecting/lead generation.

Now from the buyer’s Journey perspective then what you’re doing is you’re trying to get some awareness.

The buyer, the potential customer, they don’t know that you exist yet.

You want to use this step to just make them aware that you even exist.

Basically saying hey, look at me I’m here, pay attention to me, right?

That’s the awareness. You just want to get some awareness.

The next step in the sales process is called qualifying the leads.

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#2 Qualifying the Leads

Now how do you qualify the leads? You want to qualify the prospect in terms of four things 

  • Needs
  • Time
  • Money 
  • Decision maker

Needs, how strong are their needs? 

Time, how urgent is this problem?

Do they have to solve this problem right now or maybe months from now?

  • Money, are they able to buy? 
  • Do they have the resources?
  • Do they have the budget?

Can they make that decision or if they talk to somebody else?

Those four things. That’s how you qualify the leads.

From the buyer’s journey perspective you have what I call engagement.

They’re just engaging with your product, service company, your organization.

They want to find out a little bit more. So before they don’t know you now they’re aware, now they’re taking the first initial step and saying hey you know what?

Maybe I’m requesting a little bit more info. Right? 

Maybe I’m reading a little bit more. I’m just doing the next step to engage, that’s engagement.

#3 Demonstrating Value 

Step number three, and that is demonstrating value. Now how do you demonstrate value?

Maybe it is to walk them through how your software works. Give them a demo. Maybe it is to invite them to attend a virtual training, a webinar of some sort.

Maybe it’s to invite them to a live event. However, it is that you want to do it, but it is to demonstrate value.

It is to present what can you do for the prospects? Now from the buyer’s journey perspective now from awareness, to engagement, now we are going to interest.

Now I’m not just engaging. I’m actually interested in your product or service. You have to understand what the buyer is going through if you want to close them.

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#4 Negotiate and Close 

Step number four is to negotiate and close.

Now you’re gonna close the deal. 

  • What are the terms?
  • What about payment?
  • What about financing?
  • What about how long you’re gonna provide the service?

Now you’re negotiating back and forth. Not proposal. We’re now talking about agreement. How to close that sale.

What are the expectations? How to establish those expectations.

From the buyer’s journey, from interest no it’s commitment. Now it’s saying yes. We’re moving forward.

Here’s exactly how we’re gonna do business. 

#5 Delivery & Fulfillment 

So, now you’ve closed the sale. You’ve qualified the leads.

How are you gonna deliver the outcome that you promised to the prospect? 

  • What are the deliverables?
  • What are you gonna do?

Because this is where you get the referrals. This is how you get the repeat business.

See most organizations, only focus on the first couple of steps. Or maybe step number four. Just wanna close. The sale doesn’t stop after you close. The sale starts after you close the prospect.

And then from the Buyer’s Journey perspective that is what I call experience. That’s the last step.

What is the experience you’re providing for the buyer, for your client?

This is extremely critical because you’ve done all this work during the sales process. 

So how do you improve your sales process?

Let me give you some practical examples.

Let’s take an internet marketing business model.

So let’s say you are running ads on Facebook, or Instagram or any social media platform and you are trying to get attention.

Hey, click on my ad, here is what I can do for you.

What are you doing? Step number one.

Lead generation. 

You’re trying to generate some leads. You’re trying to get some awareness in the marketplace.

Hey, pay attention to me.

Click on this ad.

Now the minute the buyer, the potential customer, click on the ad, now they go to step number two.

Which is what?

Engagement. So then you land on your landing page when they land on your landing page now they can see what can you do, what is the promise what are you giving away?

Maybe you’re giving away something for free.

  • Maybe it is a free book.
  • Maybe it’s an invitation.
  • Maybe it’s a free webinar.
  • Maybe it’s a lead magnet.
  • Maybe it’s a free E-book

Whatever it might be, it doesn’t matter. You’re qualifying the leads.

Then the next step is you want to demonstrate value. Hypothetically let’s say you are inviting them to a free webinar.

In that webinar, you are demonstrating what can you do. You are giving them social proof. You’re explaining what is it like to do business with your company?

And here you go from now engagement, to interest. If they sit through the entire presentation or the entire webinar, guess what?

They are interested. Then from there, the next step is to go from demonstrated value to now, negotiate and close.

So let’s say at the end of your webinar your call to action is to book a call with one of your closers. 

So then you’ll close, again find out about the prospects’ needs and close them on the phone.

So there from the Buyer’s Journey perspective, you go from now interest to what? 

Commitment. That’s correct. Now they’re committed. Now they want to buy. The last step. 

Don’t forget, now is delivery and fulfillment. And from the Buyer’s Journey now it’s experience.

  • What is the experience like working with your company? 
  • What is the experience like buying from you?

Even if you look at this you think about even in dating, this applies, right?

From the very beginning let’s say you go to somewhere let’s say you go to a pub, right?

You got to a bar, which I don’t recommend, but let’s say you go there, you are trying to get some awareness.

You’re trying to talk to some people right? And then you want to buy a lady a drink that’s from lead generation, now you’re trying to qualify the leads. Are they allowing you to buy the drink? And from there you’re having conversations, right? You’re demonstrating your value. You’re trying to get that phone number. And when you get that number that phone number you follow up and maybe you set up the first date, the second date. You’re trying to seal the deal and close the sale and after you guys are together what is that experience like? How are you delivering right? How is the fulfillment?

It is the same process. So when you look at your sales process I want you to ask yourself, all of these five steps, also from the buyer’s perspective which area can you improve?

Maybe you are doing phenomenal in lead generation. 

But you’re not doing so well in terms of demonstrating value.

Then maybe your presentation needs tweaking.

How can you improve your closing ratio?

Your conversion rate?

Or maybe you have a fantastic conversion mechanism, that your presentation, you know what? Every single person who is a qualified prospect who sees my presentation? I can close two out of 10. I can close three out of 10.

Fantastic.

It means that you need to go back to lead generation.

How can you generate more leads, so that more people will see your presentation? Or maybe step one through four you are phenomenal.

You’ve got that just dialed in. But guess what?

You neglected fulfillment. After people buy from you, you neglect them.

You don’t deliver on what you promised and then there is no repeat business.

There is no referral for your company. That’s it.

That’s exactly how you improve your sales process and increase your business.

Shitanshu Kapadia
Shitanshu Kapadiahttp://moneyexcel.com/
Hi, I am Shitanshu founder of moneyexcel.com. I am engaged in blogging & Digital Marketing for 10 years. The purpose of this blog is to share my experience, knowledge and help people in managing money. Please note that the views expressed on this Blog are clarifications meant for reference and guidance of the readers to explore further on the topics. These should not be construed as investment advice or legal opinion. We do not offer any stock tips, investment, insurance or finance product related advice. Please consult a qualified financial planner and do your own due diligence before making any investment decision.