You know all too well that finding leads is only half the battle. Once you know who to reach out to, it all comes down to your sales process. When things aren't streamlined, a lot can fall through the cracks (even your deal).
On that note, here’s how to build a sales process that’ll put the ball in your court when it comes to closing deals faster:
Your contact list needs to be up to date so that you can rely on what's in it. It should be a one-stop shop—you shouldn’t have to Google additional details, ask others on your team about a contact, or have to sift through emails to fill in the blanks. Compiling and organizing all of your client and sales data in this list is key for a seamless sales process because it'll make all of your information accessible from one simple place.
Once you’ve done your housekeeping, you’ll need to assign each contact a status (i.e. an active sale, lead, etc). If you haven’t already, look into platforms that’ll let you assign something like a star rating, dollar value, or even the stage of a project to each contact. That way, you’ll know exactly how to get the most out of your pipeline.
Based on whichever leads are the “hottest”, you can assign someone from your team to them, taking into account that team member's particular capabilities and availability. That way, you’ll be able to make the most of your resources. Having something like a team schedule or calendar where you can easily see what everyone has on their plate will make delegating work that much easier so that you can close deals faster.
How much time have you spent tapping colleagues on the shoulder or sifting through emails with a client trying to figure out what’s been said and who’s done what in a sale? This part of the sales process can get messy—and it can cost businesses like yours over $110,000 annually in untracked time and lost revenue. Plus, it leaves a lot of room for miscommunication hiccups that can make you look disorganized and hurt the sale. Avoid this by doing some research into platforms that can help you streamline your team and client communications in one easy place so that everyone always knows exactly what’s going on.
Now that you’ve shed the fat and cleaned up your sales process, you should think about automating all of your repeatable processes (think: reminders, setting triggers after certain conditions are met, etc). This is important because it cuts down the time you’ll spend on admin work and increase the amount of time you spend on closing that deal.
By tightening up your sales process, you’ll improve efficiency and gain the visibility you need to close more deals faster. If that sounds like something that’s up your alley, you need to check this out.
