A sales process is a repeatable set of steps taken by your sales team to move prospects through the funnel. A strong sales process gives your sales reps a reliable framework to follow while closing more sales. All good things. Building a scalable sales process does require time, effort and diligence, so if you haven’t perfected yours yet, I recommend reading this HubSpot article. Here you’ll find detailed tips on how to create a sales process you feel good about.
Assuming you have a sales process in place, let’s turn our attention to how it’s working. I’ll teach you a few easy ways to determine if your sales process is aligning with your Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs.
Measuring Signs of Success
Here is a breakdown of the key metrics used to gauge success.
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Process utilization. How many of your sales reps are using your process? Most should, and if they are, it means that your process delivers value. If you find that your sales reps are reverting to other processes to close deals, it indicates that something is missing.
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Average deal size. Increasing sales prices indicate that your sales process is working. Customers are understanding why they need your product or service, allowing your sales team to sell on value rather than price.
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Future revenues. Sales forecasting, or estimating future sales, helps businesses make informed decisions and predict short- and long-term successes. If your actual numbers are lining up with your predictions, it signals that your process is effective and your sales team is following it.
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Sales win rate. Your win rate is the number of closed opportunities you won. It should improve steadily, as this will help you beat the competition. The most effective and reliable way to increase your win rate is by setting a strong sales process and training sales reps on how to use it.
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Sales cycle length. As your sales reps move customers through the funnel, a good sales process will help them achieve this faster and more efficiently. Any objections to buying your product or service should be addressed, as there shouldn’t be any friction or extra steps added to the process.
Hopefully, these key metrics will be positive and reaffirm that your sales process is working for you. If it’s not, there are some steps you can take to improve these metrics. This could include re-training and observing your sales team, offering incentives for successes and gathering feedback on what needs to be improved. In the end, your sales process should align with your buyer and their unique needs.
