From the course: Creating Your Sales Process

Steps of the sales process vs. methodologies

From the course: Creating Your Sales Process

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Steps of the sales process vs. methodologies

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- A question I'm often asked is what's the difference between a sales process and a sales methodology? It's an excellent question and one that we should clarify before starting the course, since they are different. I see the sales process as the steps you take from start to finish, from finding customers, developing opportunities, to closing deals. Many call it a roadmap for the route you take to bring in business. The methodology is the approach, style, or questioning technique you utilize when working with potential customers. If you research various approaches to the sales process, you will find a variety of theories and strategies. Some sales trainers talk about seven steps, others 10, and some break it down even more with complex analyses. In its simplest form and one that many sales people have been taught is INP, our information, need, product or service. That is really the backbone of the sales process and leads to 10 steps that I use and what we'll be reviewing in this course. One, prospecting. Two, plan, research, prepare. Three, sales discovery. Four, solve with a product or service. Five, present and sell your product or service. Six, handle objections. Seven, closing the sale. Eight, deliver on your promise. Nine, follow up with your customer. 10, report and communicate back to your company. I actually have had these written down for my entire career. For many years I had the list printed out and posted on my wall. Now I keep it on my computer in one of my sales folders. My recommendation is as you work through this course with me, you write them down as I've listed and then as you gain more experience, edit them to fit your specific requirements and selling techniques.

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