Here are the questions again - What do these say about your own sales process?
1) Have you done it before?
2) Who is responsible? Who else is involved?
3) Does everyone affected by this know who’s responsible for what?
4) Did any of these happen the last time(s) the process was used?
- Confusion
- Delays
- Surprises
- Mistakes
- Rework
- Wasted time, materials, resources
6) Does everyone affected by this know how it’s supposed to work?
7) Is it clear how this process affects other processes?
(If you only read the list, try again! Really answer the questions, keeping your own sales process in mind. It could provide you with important insights)
What do your answers tell you?
I've heard all kinds of answers to these.
For Question 1, some have told me "No two customers / deals are ever alike - it's a blank sheet, starting over fresh every time!" That tells me that they spend more time and effort winning business than they need to - probably a lot more. Of course every customer's different, but the way you sell doesn't need to be - and should not be - MSU ("Make Stuff Up") every time. Frequent MSU brings unpredictability, needless crises, and mistakes in scope that can lead to lost sales (or even sales you later wish you'd lost!)
For Question 4, doesn't that list tell a sad story? I don't know anyone who hasn't had some of these in their sales process occasionally. But if you see them often, you have a process problem! How often is too often? Well, how much of that aggravation, loss, and grief do you want to tolerate?
If your own answers to the seven questions show a sales process problem, let's talk (just reply here, and I'll be in touch).
Or, you might want to check the sales micro-seminars that are coming up starting 11/16 by clicking here. These are all about treating sales as a process that's repeatable, measurable, and improvable. I'll be "seeding" some of that content into this blog, but it may take months - and if your business has a sales process problem, waiting is bad.
What other questions help you clearly see if you have a sales process problem?
