You’re struggling to optimize your sales process. What’s the best way to get started?

Fresh wind is what you need at this point. If you feel in doubt regarding your sales process and your output feels lacking, you should try to re-evaluate how you are selling and see to improve that process actively. Start by dissecting each stage of your sales funnel – from lead generation to closing deals. At which process do you recognize the drop-off? Can certain stages be more aligned with industry needs? Sometimes, small tweaks based on a thorough assessment can significantly improve efficiency and your own satisfaction with the process.

1. Define your short-term and long-term objectives, and align them with your buyer’s needs. 2. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your existing sales process. 3. Based on your analysis, find the gaps and bottlenecks in your sales process, and prioritize the most impactful changes. 4. Experiment with different tools, techniques, and tactics to optimize each stage of your sales process, and track the results. 5. Review the outcomes of your experiments, and determine what works and what doesn’t. Best way to get started is to use sales automation tools, understand the root cause of prospect objections before responding, avoid delays,, focus on your high performing channels, build rapport and trust with your prospects.

Understanding how we sell is crucial. I evaluate how I find leads, convince them, and seal deals. I track vital signs like metrics and buyer needs. Using tech tools, I automate tasks for efficiency. This analysis helps me find where to enhance and grab new chances for growth.

Talk to your customers. Why did they buy. Why didn’t they buy. Selling is often so seller-centric, and forces customers down a path that doesn’t feel good. Optimization requires rethinking what would make the prospect feel good. That is, what would boost their confidence? What would help them make a decision? How do you meet them where they are for your context, and all the various stages of their buying journey - easy to say. Executing this, in light of next month’s numbers, is entirely different.

Build a system!!! Every predictable result has a system behind it. There are tons of sales books and different types of sales systems that you can build. Choose what you like most and try it, then test and evaluate the results. My personal choice of one the most practical books is 4 Disciplines of Execution by Sean Covey

To succeed, I set clear targets and focus areas for sales improvement. I decide what results I want and how to measure them. Whether it's converting more leads or keeping customers longer, these goals guide my strategy to match what my business aims for.

Sales process always changes with what you want to do with the process. If your agenda is to generate more pipeline, you might need to focus on the process you follow to nurture the leads so they are pushed down the funnel. If your agenda is to generate more leads, the focus needs to be what campaigns you are running, what inbound + outbound process you follow to have more leads in the pipeline. After the SWOT analysis, the best thing would be then to align the gaps with the goals in place.

Your goals should be speed to service. How quickly can a customer enter our funnel till they buy your product. The system should work like an engine only with the parts that are needed to get the job done. Then make those parts solid.

Messbare Ziele, deren Erreichung Sie im Prozess einen Schritt weiterbringen sollten Sie je Prozess-Schritt definieren. Also beispielsweise für ein erstes Gespräch mit potenziellen Kunden: Vereinbarter Folgetermin in der Agenda. Oder für einen Cold Call: Vereinbarter Termin in der Agenda. Oder für die Outbound Leadgenerierung: 50 komplett qualifizierte Ansprechpartner. Für eine Angebotsbesprechung: Fixierter Besprechungstermin mit den Personen, die die Entscheidung treffen etc.

To improve, I learn from top-performing teams in my field. I study their methods, tools, and how they adapt to changes. Understanding industry standards and trends helps me gain insights and ideas to fine-tune my sales approach for better outcomes.

Once you understand the goals, the gaps and your strengths: A quick research to see what other companies could be a great next step. "Benchmarking" is very commonly practiced to see what better you can do, what different other teams do and how you can optimise your processes.

A best practice is to put yourself through your process as a lead and see what experience you receive. YOu will be surprised at how bad sales processes are nowdays even with big companies in your own space.

Diesen Schritt würde ich immer aus der persönlichen Sicht machten. Im Schritt 1 haben Sie klar definiert, wie sie vorgehen wollen. Also können Sie jetzt schauen, weshalb andere im gleichen Prozess-Schritt eine höhere Conversion haben

One thing I have found helpful is to do a quick dry run in a controlled environment and review the feasibility of the proposed process changes from the process owners / management point of view. Do the necessary quick fixes based on findings As a second step, take it for a pilot implementation in a practical environment over a reasonable time period. Capture stakeholders voice from effectivity & scalability perspective. Go back and do possible improvements Finally, conduct extensive communication / interaction sessions with the execution teams to get their buy-in and kick start the new / optimized process

I make small changes first, like refining how I pick leads or improving my pitch. These tweaks can boost sales. Testing different approaches helps me figure out what clicks with my customers. Using data and feedback, I shape my strategy for better results and happier clients.

Every team is different, every company is different and thus, the results would completely be dependant on how you implement the new process and get to trialling with it. Give a timeframe - for example, you need to experiment with the new process for about a month / quarter. And once you are done with it, see if there were any different results from what you were doing earlier. Also assign parameters that you are going to track throughout the timeframe. A haphazard testing would only result to unclear results, and would get you nowhere.

Change should be quick and now. This can only happen by having a process in place with the right tools that allow you to change. Also management need to give people the ability to get things done without putting a huge project in place.

Ich würde hier wieder im Prozess von links nach rechts schaffen. Denken Sie daran: Was sie im Schritt 1 verändern, hat einen Einfluss auf alle folgenden Schritte. Setzen Sie um. Messen Sie. Reflektieren Sie und passen Sie an. Danach arbeiten Sie sich von Schritt zu Schritt. Von links nach rechts im Prozess.

I keep an eye on how my changes affect sales - from leads to profits. Tracking these changes helps me spot what's working and what needs fixing. Comparing against my goals, I find where I excel and where I can still improve. This helps me fine-tune for better results.

This is basic reporting and is usually found with the data in the crm. If you are unable to evaluate the performs of your sales process start by training the sales team to use the CRM

Fokussieren Sie sich dabei auf die absolut wichtigsten Parameter. Im Vordergrund steht aus meiner Sicht die Conversion. Und dann, die von Ihnen für eine gute Conversion identifizierten Vorleistungen. Wichtig dabei ist, dass alle Beteiligten diese Messgrössen und den Grund für das Messen verstehen. Und wenn sie ihr Verhalten verändern, dass sie dann in diesen Messgrössen die angestrebte Veränderung sehen. So schnell wie möglich.

I keep learning from my sales journey and adapt my methods accordingly. It's not just a one-time fix; it's about constantly evolving. I use my experiences and data to shape a sales process that stays effective and in tune with my customers' needs and changes in the market.