“I’m disappointed in our sales performance. Our people’s activities seem scattered.”

When we hear something like this, our first question is: “Do you have a formal selling process in place?”

The most common answer is “no.”

This usually means that the sales staff is left to its own devices and, human nature being what it is, their tendency is to do the things they most like or are easiest for to accomplish first, and to avoid any tasks they dislike.

Unfortunately, this behavior seldom leads to sales success.

A Sandler Solution

We’ve seen it proven time after time: Companies need a repeatable, predictable selling process that yields dependable results. That’s why developing a process that is specific to each company’s needs is a primary focus of Sandler Training.

This process should provide clear direction for the salespeople on such matters as:

• Defining who they should be selling to

• What products and services they should be selling

• How they should connect with prospects

• How frequently to contact potential customers

• What are the criteria for qualifying a prospect

• What questions should they ask early in the process to guide future activities

Equally important, the process should provide a method of measuring the results of selling behaviors. For example, establishing a Closing Ratio Analysis that looks at the percentage of closes versus the number of proposals or quotations rendered. Then the company can compare this result to industry averages. If, for instance, in your kind of business the typical closing rate is 25% and your salesperson closes 15% you need to take corrective action.

Through the Sandler Training system we help companies develop proven sales processes that provide a structure for successful sales behaviors. You can learn more about this and other critical sales issues during our Business Leader’s Workshop/Luncheons: Improving Sales. For complete information, including our next workshop date, please CLICK HERE.