Sales Process – Do you really have one?

As we determine the deployment requirements for Dynamics CRM, one of our first discovery questions we ask for is a copy of the sales process. It is still quite surprising how many organizations do not have a documented process. We are often told that sales process is something that “all the account managers know”. Sometimes there might be an elaborate Visio diagram tucked away, out of sight, generated by a previous VP of Sales, which outlines an unusual number of steps, however, today no one on the sales team is aware of or following. Even when a sales process is unearthed, quite often there is no role for marketing in the process.
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According to Objective Management Group http://www.objectivemanagement.com/ 92% of the companies whose sales force they evaluate have ineffective, incomplete, non-existent sales processes, or sales processes that their people don’t follow.

A few key indicators that a sales process does not exist, or it is inefficient, include:

-      No knowledge of sales velocity > the average length that a deal in each sales stage
-      Confusion among marketing and sales on what happens to lead
-      Not being able to tie a won sale back to a lead
-      Ineffective pipeline 

Building Blocks for An Effective Sales Process
First, you should first not expect some CRM, even a version that has been touted as industry-specific, to dictate your sales process. An effective sales process should provide management and users with a common language, tools for planning, and meaningful reporting to drive desired behaviors. Such a process must be at the core of how you market and sell. Both marketing and sales must be seen as equal partners in the development and maintenance of the process.
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Your process should recognize that there are two masters to serve: your team and more importantly the prospect/customer. The process must be weighed more heavily in the direction of how the customer buys. Start by outlining the sales funnel that each works through and determine how they are aligned. 

Next, provide how each step will be measured as completed. What are the tasks that must be completed either by the sales team or the customer that moves an opportunity from Prospect to Qualify? Without agreement on the tasks, it becomes the option of the account manager which stage the deal is at in the funnel. For example, I often see an account manager announce that a deal has been won, without factoring in that purchasing, legal or even the CFO has not signed-off. Opportunities that the business unit has blessed, can be lost due to budget restriction or even M&A activities. You must know all the steps in the closing that come before the cash appearing in the bank account.

Marketing not only plays a role in lead generation but also in qualification and can aid with dripping out materials to the prospect throughout the process steps. Their nurturing communications will be far more effective if it is associated with a specific stage vs. just generic noise.

Dynamics CRM, like many other CRMs, delivers with a sample sales business process. These should not be regarded as a “best practice”. Having a step-by-step process that proves a common language with the probability expectation is the best practice.
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As we work with clients, it is easier to separate out an effort into two projects: lead processing follow-up and sales process. Each plays a significant role in marketing and sales success.
Hard to tell if a company can achieve sales success without a sales process. However, if you seek growth that is sustainable, I do not believe you can do so without a written process, which provides for complete awareness and monitoring.

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