6 Steps to the Sales Process

There are 6 Steps to the Sales Process:

1. Qualify the lead
2. Explore the objectives—reason for meeting, accomplish goals, company’s meaning of success
3. Scope the offering
4. Develop a conceptual verbal agreement
5. Close the deal
6. Maintain an ongoing relationship

It is vital to build momentum and have your business support the sales team. Depending on your product or offering, having the Sales team engage with the Product team, Marketing and even inviting an Executive team member to join prospect meetings will help keep motivation high, as well as ensuring Sales are equipped with all the information they need to sell.

Focus and persistence are the keys to success here. How well you keep the deal moving forward is dependent on:

• Sales Pitch—quality of information, demos, scripted questions, etc.
• Responding to Objections—don’t be defensive but provide compelling reasons
• Progress the Offer—close meetings with next steps, identify the decision makers, imply urgency, be honest but persuasive 

Remember, skills are not born but developed. Hard work and desire differentiate failures from success.

The ideal B2B salesperson is interested in helping and genuinely believes in the product or services they are offering. Sincerity stands out and complacency kills—recognise where your offering is beneficial, ask important questions and preserve with confidence. 

Sales takes an understanding of the offering, the market and how to engage with quality leads—this sounds simple, but if the steps and stages aren’t executed correctly, then you may find that your business will suffer in the long run.