If you haven’t revamped your sales process in a while, or if it’s just not yielding the results you were hoping for, it’s time to build a new sales process. We’ve put together a few tips that will help you build a better sales process, one that you can be proud of. A strong sales process enables accurate forecasting and helps marketing and sales departments work together constructively. Follow this guide, enhance customer relationships, and increase sales. With a defined sales process in place, your sales team will have the tools they need to succeed.

Understand your market.

Identify the needs of the market. Identify your target buyer personas. Develop your sales process with them in mind. Study the competition. Analyze and outline your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. How will you differentiate from the competition? What value can you offer that your competition cannot? There are several things you need to take into consideration before you can build a strong sales process.

Document processes and practice consistency.

Every company’s sales process will be different. Create one that works for your business. There’s nothing worse than not having a sales process at all. Start defining and documenting processes, share them with your sales team, and ensure everyone follows them consistently. If you recognize that an aspect of the process is not working, make revisions and inform your sales team. Consistency is a key factor in any sales process. Develop and document your step-by-step sales process, stay organized, and practice consistency.

When designing your sales process, instead of focusing on the seller’s process, consider the buyer’s process. List each stage of the buyer’s process and then figure out what your sales people need to do to guide the customers from one stage to the next, moving forward through the sales process.

Listen to prospects.

Instead of regurgitating your typical sales pitch to every potential customer, stop and listen to what they have to say. Have a conversation with the customer. Ask probing questions to find out what they need, what is important to them, and what they value. You want to learn as much as you can about them so you can offer solutions effectively. You need to understand them, their company, and their needs.

Offer solutions.

Work with the customer to help solve their problems. Educate them. Offer solutions. Tell them how you can help them. Build your credibility and gain their trust by providing ideas, insights, and information.

Make the most of meetings.

During your first meeting, you must do three things. First, you must establish credibility. Next, ask questions. Explore the prospect’s needs. Once you have gathered sufficient information, show your commitment to helping them. Demonstrate that you and your company can deliver value.

Develop a list of qualifying criteria.

What do you need to know about prospects to determine whether they are qualified to buy what you are selling? In order to classify a potential buyer as a qualified lead, you need to know if your product solves their problem/pain point. Does your product save them money and/or time? Is your product realistically in their budget? Are they already paying for a competitor’s product/service? If possible, do your best to determine how quickly they can make a buying decision.

Create a sales script.

Develop a sales script that your sales people can use to guide customers through the sales process from start to finish while also communicating the value of your product/service.

Use these suggestions to build a strong sales process you can be proud of. You must have a clear understanding of your market. You must then document processes and practice consistency. When talking with prospects, talk less and listen more. Provide valuable information and offer useful solutions to their problems. Implement these techniques to improve efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction. Build a better sales process and watch your business grow.