Would you prepare your speech by winging it? Or would you create a clearly defined outline to give it structure? If you want your audience to get value out of your presentation, you’ll need to create an outline. A good B2B sales effort requires a bit of structure, just like a good speech.
It is imperative that your sales workflow help your reps boost conversions, close more deals, and ensure all customer interactions are positive. It is difficult, however, for sales managers to build scalable sales workflows that consistently generate repeat business.
To help you build a sales workflow that works for your business, we created this guide.
Steps to Creating a Sales Workflow
1. Prospect.
The prospecting process is a vital part of the sales workflow and includes most reps’ daily or weekly activities. It involves sourcing new, early-stage leads to begin the sales workflow. A prospect might do online research on LinkedIn or Quora. They might also attend industry events or conferences. You can also ask current customers and colleagues to refer you to potential customers.
2. Connect and qualify leads.
A rep initiates contact with early-stage leads to gather information during the connect step of the sales workflow. Secondly, you must qualify new leads — determine if they will likely move forward in the buyer’s journey and if they are a good fit for your business.
3. Research the company.
After the research step, reps learn more about prospects and companies to offer a more tailored and personalized experience. This will help them close more sales.
Understanding your prospects’ needs and challenges is crucial to this stage. Getting a holistic view of the company and its objectives may require your rep to speak to different company employees. An effective salesperson understands the company better than a prospect.
4. Give an effective pitch.
In the presentation step, your salesperson conducts a formal demonstration of your product or service. The connecting and qualifying step is so important because it is time-consuming and reserved for qualified prospects.
If it’s avoidable, don’t waste your sales rep’s valuable time. Make each presentation specific to the prospect’s needs and pain points. If your representative isn’t prepared to answer more technical questions, you might bring in an engineer to demonstrate your service.
5. Handle objections.
The salesperson’s presentation and proposal will likely have objections from prospects. It’s expected, which is why this step of the sales workflow is so important. Taking into account your prospects’ objections and questions can help your reps better tailor your product. Reps should identify and anticipate potential objections during their research and presentation preparation.
6. Close the deal.
A late-stage sales activity occurs as a deal approaches closing as part of this step of the sales workflow. A sale is what every salesperson wants to achieve. It may include delivering a quote or proposal, negotiating, or gaining the buy-in of decision makers. This should result in a mutually beneficial, contractual agreement between a prospect and a seller.
In most cases, the account passes from the salesperson to an account manager or customer success representative once the sale is closed.
7. Nurture and continue to sell.
In sales, closing deals is not the end goal, but it is not where reps stop working with customers. Reps should not only ensure customers receive what they’ve purchased, but they should also assist with onboarding and customer success. Finally, customers must be communicated and reinforced on the value they receive. In addition to offering upsell and cross-sell opportunities, this can also lead to customer referrals.
Dive Into Your Sales Workflow to Grow Better
By creating and mapping your sales workflow, your team will be able to close more deals and convert more leads as well as provide every prospect with a consistent experience that is representative of your brand. Boost conversions and build lasting relationships today by creating and mapping a sales workflow that is tailored to your business, sales team, and customers.
