Structure the sales process

Sales did not reach the target, and the marketing department changed people frequently. Faced with such a dire situation, Widget has brought in a vice president in charge of marketing, hoping she can help the company rebuild its position in the professional services market.

During this transition period, the sales department did not see any suggestions from the marketing department worth mentioning. The sales team has developed the perception that the marketing department is unlikely to offer anything of value. So they decided to go it alone. They moved forward with a heavy load, striving to sign big orders to achieve their work goals - a group of hard-hearted martyrs.

The VP of Marketing calls a meeting and tries to give the VP of Sales some information to convince the latter that "the marketing department can help enough." The VP of Marketing began preparations as soon as he took office, analyzing the company's performance over the last two quarters. She noticed that the sales department had taken some business, but it was nowhere near what the market environment required. Also, after the initial contact, new customers do not turn into long-term customers.

The VP of Marketing knows that sales have struggled as a direct result of the turbulence in the marketing department over the past few quarters. She knew that the purpose of her trip was to solve the execution problems of the marketing department. Of course, it was also important that for the whole company to be successful, she had to reach out and cooperate with the sales department.

She calls meetings and presents her analytical reports on company performance, marketing opportunities, and marketing goals to attendees. Based on her own analysis, she proposes integrating sales and marketing staff. By projecting a spreadsheet on a conference room screen, the VP of Marketing invites the VP of Sales to debate her ideas. As each assumption on the screen changed, and the results changed interactively, the VP of Sales immediately realized that "managing alone" was a "dead end." Unless the sales department can dramatically increase sign rates, capture big accounts, and successfully convert first-time buyers into long-term customers, the company will struggle to gain a foothold in the market.

Through a heated discussion of many important financial figures in the operation of the business, the two rival departments came together to form a working team. Once the VP of Sales understands the state of crisis his team is facing, he will be more receptive to the VP of Marketing's analysis and take a tougher approach to selling to his own sales team.

The salesperson in the above example could only achieve sales goals with the help of other departments. Marketing is exactly that role: They provide the information and processes that help the sales team reach out to those profitable customers. When the marketing department has the appropriate market intelligence and other information in place, the task of the sales department is to maximize the value of each existing and potential customer through the appropriate sales channels. Similarly, the marketing department needs the cooperation of the sales department in gathering market information, deciding where to provide support, and customizing the personalized tools to get the job done.

Five-Step Strategy

One way to make your sales efforts more proactive is called "structured selling." Structured selling is a system that helps to improve sales results, mainly composed of the following 5 parts - customer planning, marketing planning, sales calls, continuous interaction, and performance measurement. Structured selling provides a framework for integrated, closed-loop sales and marketing activities.

The first step in structured selling is account planning - checking how well you know your customers. The company's products and services must be evaluated based on customer needs and those of competitors. You must have a clear understanding of your company's image in the market and what customers say about your company and products. In addition, you must also have a clear understanding of where your competitors are with your current and potential customers.

To obtain a certain amount of sales from any customer, first estimate how much effort, money and other resources will be required to determine the expected return on investment. Differences in your own selling ability and each customer's buying process will lead to different results. Therefore, the ROI calculated based on the above information will vary widely.

Deciding how to approach clients requires identifying decision makers and understanding the decision-making process, budget cycle, and budget schedule. In addition, you must be convinced that customers do have a demand for the product or service provided by the business.

As in a sports team, the marketing department must work with the sales department to execute a marketing campaign -- or marketing plan. These marketing activities must be completed and the cost of each marketing activity must be understood before the sales team's account planning and geographic planning tasks are assigned. Marketing and sales departments must jointly decide which customers to target and how to target them based on information from marketing research and account planning.

Marketing must serve the sales department by informing them of what marketing campaign planning is, preparing for market development through direct mail and other means, in a way that aligns with company goals and yields the best results , directing sales teams to approach existing and potential customers. Collaboration is critical in marketing campaigns. A series of marketing activities constitute a marketing campaign.

For example, a marketing campaign might target customers who are currently buying little or no purchases, but the purpose is to identify the most likely members of the group to buy and try to make them the growing customers.

In essence, the role of the marketing plan in structured sales is to coordinate with the activities organized by the sales department to increase the success rate of the latter. The job of the marketing department is to set the table and send out invitations, and the job of the sales department is to try to bring guests into the house. In addition, the banquet of products and services must be attractive enough to attract customers to "return customers".

Build Trust

Next, make sales calls to target customers, which is what structured selling is for. A successful sales call consists of the following 5 steps: Greeting, Qualification, Demonstration, Presenting, and Signing.

The first step in a successful sales call is to approach your target customer in a professional and appropriate manner. The image and approach of your business must match the market, and the image you present must be relevant to your target customers.

During the qualification review stage, you must be sure that visiting the right people at the right companies will be worth your time and tireless efforts. In fact, you must be sure that you are communicating with decision makers or decision influencers that already exist in your database. Additionally, you must understand the business and other special needs of your target customers.

Show customers the features and benefits of the products or services your business offers. This stage is mainly to let customers familiar with the products provided by the company, and what valuable results these products and services will bring to him. The company and the products and services provided by the company can be proposed as solutions. However, avoid personal speeches. The client must be allowed to provide an assessment and, if possible, let him express the value of solving the problem he faces.

You enter the signing stage when you ask customers to place an order, sign a contract, or formally file a product or service. Following this move, we had to have a clear understanding of the following important details: the number of products ordered, lead times, and special pricing and payment terms. In addition to getting orders, you must position yourself as: a valuable extension and a vital resource for your customers. This is the trust-based relationship that forges long-term, highly profitable business relationships.

The fourth step in a structured sales process is continuous engagement. This doesn't just mean continued communication after the sale. In fact, before the sales event begins, the ongoing engagement begins! The process may include 20 steps or more—from gathering initial information on customer needs to providing free samples, developing post-sales reports and scheduling meetings, and more.

When the sales representative got the order and thought it was done, in fact, the long march was just the first step. This is because sales reps set expectations in the customer's mind, and those expectations must be exceeded. Providing other resources, such as technical support, customer service, or training employees, are integral to the journey of improving customer relationships.

Quantitative Metrics

In structured selling, timing is critical. You have to communicate with your customers or potential customers to make sure your marketing messages are updated in their heads. In addition, salespeople must have a solid understanding of the marketing messages that clients receive and the vehicles through which those messages are disseminated. Achieving the above requirements requires strict adherence to deadlines. A daunting task for sales department management is to monitor and urge salespeople to meet deadlines.

Managing a sales team, whether you have to set deadlines or not, starts with communication! Salespeople must define their own work objectives, who to sell to, timetables, and performance metrics. Important components of marketing and sales activities must be carefully explained to salespeople so that salespeople don't just use "lack of understanding" as an excuse for failure to execute.

It is important to explain the scale clearly! The salesperson must know what to measure. Metrics can include: where the salesperson went, how many calls were answered, how many target customers were contacted, the number of customer visits, the number of contacts and referrals, the number of scheduled appointments, the number of completed deals, successful appointments rate, and contract rate.

It's a good idea to teach salespeople that marketing is also measurable. Just as many metrics apply to sales campaigns, the number of items mailed, the number of outside calls, website hits, and other metrics will apply to marketers. In a structured sales environment, everyone has clear responsibilities!

The relationship between metrics and sales incentives must also be crystal clear. Rewards based on merit are the best way to motivate salespeople. Whether or not to take incentives when the sales team accomplishes each goal can be done in accordance with the company's philosophy and philosophy. If incentives are used, delivering on time is key! If you just talk and don't do it, then your rewards program will be useless and meaningless.

Sales people are inherently numbers sensitive, which is actually another way of saying "incentive drives performance." Therefore, incentives must be artfully linked to the company's goals, salespeople must be measured in a transparent way, and rewarded appropriately, for it to work.

No matter which particular sales method your company employs, its purpose is to identify, attract, develop and own customers with lifetime value. Structured selling techniques increase success at every stage of the process, and they are a must-have when you're making sales presentations to clients!

Original text excerpted with permission from Planting Flowers, Pulling Weeds: Identifying Your Most Profitable Customers to Ensure a Lifetime of Growth by Janet Rubio and Patrick Laughlin. The author registered copyright in 2002. The book is published by John Wiley & Sons Company. Translated by Li Jian.

Janet Rubio and Patrick Laughlin both worked at Dell and are now partners at Direct Impact, a company that specializes in direct sales.