When your sales close rate is less than what you desire, what do you feel is the cause of the issue? Is it lack of sales training, the wrong sales team members or do you look to external forces like the economy or buyer issues? Any or all of those could be the issue, but there is one thing few companies think of when they have sales difficulties.
What is the experience like for your Middle Market customer? Do your internal policies and structure cause delays or limitations? Are you getting in your own way when it comes to closing?
Your Sales Cycle Is Long Or Arduous
Do you know how long your average sale process takes? Do you track the time from customer identification to close or refusal? What does that time tell you? If you aren’t able to answer any of these questions, your first step is to go out and do that. You can’t be sure your sales cycle is appropriate or potentially problematic until you know all the ins and outs of it. Start asking your customers their opinion about how it went for them.
Were there any snags or hitches along the way? Is there anything that seemed redundant or like it took longer than they planned for? Do they have any suggestions for speeding up the process or improving efficiency?
Next, do the same with your sales team – not just the salespeople but their support staff and anyone along the chain that deals with sales. Their input will likely be invaluable to help your Middle Market team tighten up your process.
Take A Look At Your Policies And Procedures
Do you have a visual representation of your entire sales process? And can you match up each step with a policy or procedure? Are they all necessary to either your internal needs or the sales process moving forward?
Again, if you can’t successfully answer these questions, you likely need to take another look at everything. When you put policies in place, do they keep your customers in mind, or are they strictly for internal use? Do they make sense or do they add unnecessary steps or time into the sales process?
Evaluate Your Structure
Does the structure of your sales team make sense? Again, you’ll want to look at everyone along the way who touches the sales process. Do you have unnecessary people involved or have one team trying to wear too many hats?
Do your salespeople have too little responsibility or too much? Do you have enough staff in appropriate places to help the sales process move along efficiently? Does the technology you use in sales assist or detract from the process? Are there automations you could implement for greater speed and efficiency?
If you are able to answer all of these questions, congratulations! You likely have the structure in place that will support an effective sales process. If not, you have some work to do.
If your sales closing rates aren’t what you expect, make sure you evaluate your sales process, policies, and structure as part of your plan to get it back on track.
So what’s in the Mighty Middle Market for me? — get it right now at www.Go4ROI.com.