If you're looking to implement a sales process improvement, then you should concentrate on organization. Above anything else, the level of a sales team's organization will determine its success.
When sales representatives are disorganized, they can't communicate with clients effectively. Before meeting with clients, sales representatives should prepare themselves by:
- Researching the client
- Understanding the client's need for the product
- Analyzing the client's past order history
- Disorganized sales representatives aren't prepared to finalize sales because they don't know what the client wants. It's -unprofessional and wastes the client's time.
A recent Harvard Business Review article explains why organization is the number one factor affecting sales representatives. According to the article, high-performing sales teams attribute their success to their organization:
"Fifty percent of study participants from high-performing sales organizations responded they had sales processes that were closely monitored, strictly enforced or automated compared to just 28% from underperforming sales organizations. Forty-eight percent of the participants from underperforming sales organizations indicated they had nonexistent or informal structured sales processes compared to only 29% from high performing sales organizations."
Now, staying organized isn't nearly as hard as it once was. Sales representatives now have access to new software and applications which can help them prepare for meetings with clients.
One of which is CRM software. By using CRM software, like ACT!, HubSpot, Salesforce, or Zoho, sales representatives have access to a large customer database and can track each of their last interactions. All they need to do to prepare for a meeting is check a client's file, study it (with emphasis on patterns in their order history), and get ready to suggest new orders.
If your sales team is currently struggling, then they're probably suffering from disorganization. Consider using CRM software to introduce organization into the sales process and help sales representatives perform their job better.
To talk more about sales process improvements, or anything else, please contact us. Thanks.
