Skip to Content
section-header
Influencers Invited Sales Blog

Is There Value in Having a Sales Process?

This is a question I get asked a lot.

The question comes from companies of all size. When I’m asked this question I immediately ask the person if they have a sales process in place now. Typical answer is yes, but then when I challenge them on what the process is, the excuses begin to flow.

With several years of sales consulting experience,

I can clearly state it is impossible for a company to be high-performing, regardless of their size, without also having a one in place that each member of the sales team follows.

Yes, a company can achieve sales success without a sales process, but rarely will this success last longer than a few years. For an organization to achieve their profit and sales potential, they must have a it.

Challenge of course is in defining the sales process. Merely having one will not by itself allow you to maximize profit. The sales process must fit your industry, your business plan, your organization, and your customer base. This means to truly put in place a sales process, you first have to assess what your current position is.

Let’s turn this now to a perspective about how a sales process helps the individual salesperson. The best way to describe it is with two words — discipline and accountability.

If you break apart what a sales process does, it is nothing more than these two items, discipline and accountability. Sounds simple, yet to the individual salesperson, this is the difference between success and failure and, more importantly, a high-level of success and floundering mediocrity.

Finally let me add one more piece to the perspective as to why a it works. It’s simple — the phones don’t ring enough anymore.

There was a time when many industries were operating at near maximum capacity and the ability to execute a marketing campaign was all that was necessary to ensure sell through of production. This is no longer the case. Even if it was, merely selling through available supply is still not going to maximize profit.

Is a marketing program required for sales to be successful?

I say yes, and the only way the marketing campaign will be optimized is if the sales force is working with a sales process.

About the author

Mark Hunter, The Sales Hunter, is a consultative selling expert committed to helping individuals and companies identify better prospects, close more sales, and profitably build more long-term customer relationships. He is also author of “High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.”