An overly complex sales process can leave you and your team (and even your clients) feeling drained and disinterested. Not to mention, the more complex your process is, the less likely you are to actually succeed using it and close that all-important sale. Simplifying your sales process ensures customer satisfaction, maximum effort from your sales team, and less stress involved with closing the sale. Here are five ways to simplify your sales process and bump up those numbers.
-
Pay Attention to Customer Habits
Your customers are the ultimate tool for simplifying your sales process. Pay attention to their purchasing habits, their verbal and body language during the sales process, and their reviews after a purchase has been made. Knowing their behaviors and why they’re making certain purchases is a valuable insight that you can use to simplify both sales and marketing efforts.
A great way to connect with your customers is to send a post-purchase satisfaction survey. Ask what they liked about the sales process, what they think could be changed, and whether or not they’ll make future purchases and why. No amount of money can match the wonderful insight a customer can provide the sales team.
A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system can be especially effective here. The system will help analyze customer interactions with your company so you can get a better idea of how to serve your customers and turn them into loyal patrons of your brand. CRM systems come in all shapes and sizes, but the general idea is to improve customer relationships and therefore increase sales and loyalty.
-
Qualify Leads
Qualifying your leads into different categories can help you better organize your sales efforts and make for a more efficient sales process overall. Let’s say you meet some potential customers at a business conference, but they’re not quite ready to make a purchase yet. You can qualify these contacts as Marketing Qualified Leads, meaning they may need a bit more persuasion before they make a purchase.
If you impress a different group of leads with your product pitch and they’re more interested in the bottom line, you can categorize them as Sales Qualified Leads. These leads are more focused on getting ahold of your product, and therefore easier to give a sales pitch too.
By qualifying your leads, you’re figuring out how to best follow up with them. Trying too hard to push a sale on an MQL can scare them off, or not following up enough with a SQL can cost you the sale altogether. It’s crucial to the sales process that you know how you should follow up with each lead.
-
Better Communication Methods
If you’re still doing all of your sales work via email, you’re already well behind on the times. With the advancement of technology, services like video conferencing, global conference calling, and more, have transformed the way businesses connect and communicate.
Upgrading your communication methods will help simplify your sales process by bringing you closer to the leads. Host video conferences online to get to know your leads better and connect with them in a more personal way. Set up a toll-free number for them to call with any questions, concerns, or complaints.
Better communication helps customers and leads feel more connected to your brand, which can increase both the loyalty of your customers and your sales numbers. People want to be treated like people, not just a means to increase profits. By communicating with them in a medium besides just email, you’re fostering a connection that can potentially last a lifetime.
-
Be More Selective
Marketing or pitching to everyone you come across is not only inefficient, but it may also come off as desperate. Your business has a specific market that responds to your products, and those are your target customers. This is where the majority of your sales and marketing efforts should be focused on.
Finding your target customers gives you an advantage by placing you in the path of people who are already interested in the type of products or services you offer. You’ve essentially got one foot in the door already with these leads, making the sales pitch that much simpler to do effectively.
Blanket marketing won’t get you what you’re looking for. Find out who your target audience is by analyzing past sales trends, market trends, and thinking about who your products would impact the most. Once you’ve identified your audience, your sales process will become that much simpler.
-
Analyze Your Current Process
If your current sales process is slowing you down, it’s time to take a good, long look at just what it is that’s holding your sales team back from maximum effectiveness. Analyzing your sales team’s behavior, current marketing techniques, and customer/lead responses can help you identify and fix problem areas.
A thorough analysis may show you a number of things; whether it be certain sales people’s ineffectiveness, poor marketing efforts, or even that you’re using the wrong tools to reach your leads and customers.
Don’t be afraid to do an analysis. Although realizing that your process is outdated or ineffective can certainly feel a bit intimidating, it also grants you clarity and can help motivate you to do better.
Conclusion
By simplifying your sales process, you’re ensuring that your leads are properly followed up with depending on their qualifications, increasing your sales and reaching more people overall. It’s important to always reach for your target audience first, as they’re more likely to purchase the products since they’re already interested in them.
_________________________________________________
Articles you may find interesting: