It’s not you, your reps, or the economy; it’s your sales process!

If you have ever wondered how a company can have a talented sales staff and still struggle with sales, you are not alone. The reason for this is because they lack a good process. As our economy continually evolves, so to do the individuals within in it. Attempting to engage prospects in the same way and with the same methods that worked five or ten years ago is asking for trouble. The introduction of so many multi media sources in our lives along with the natural cycles that consumers go thru has sped up the desensitization of marketing and sales tactics. The failure to recognize and adjust to these changes will cause a sales system to stagnate. Even when loaded with talent, a sales team will struggle if they are using tactics that have lost their effectiveness. Imagine a car dealership that goes door to door to generate sales. Imagine a printing company that uses residential telemarketing to increase its’ sales. Although these are exaggerated cases, not contacting your market in a meaningful way will have the same results.

If advertising for leads has been the model for generating leads in the past that does not necessarily mean that is the best way to do it today. People become desensitized to tactics over time and the sooner you can recognize this, the better off you will be. In the past, many companies have been susuccessful sending sales reps into the offices of their prospects. As the pace and speed of business continues to increase, this becomes less effective. Who has time to stop working and sit down with a sales rep anymore? This has been especially true in the medical profession. As doctor’s reimbursements have continued to decline, they have had to see more patients to make the same amount of money. What are the chances that they have the time or the inclination to talk about new products in the middle of their day? Our clients in this industry have had to completely redesign their sales structures to accommodate this situation. Those that have made the changes are successful while their competitors continue to knock on doors and deal with a very low contact rates.

For companies that must advertise for leads, they have seen the productivity of ads diminish. Whether we are talking about web based marketing, print ads, TV ads, or any other advertising source, the statistics tell the story. While a lot of companies think the solution is to have better ads, our clients focus on creating higher closing percentages. The internal process is often the culprit in ad based productivity. When the volume of qualified leads is reduced it is time to look at your internal sales process and focus on selling more of the leads that you get. It’s always about the process but when companies enjoy high volumes of leads, the need to get better at selling a higher percentage of them seems less important. These are the companies that struggle the most when the economy turns south.

The best way to tell if your company needs to review its’ sales process is to simply look around your industry. If you have competitors that are growing in a down economy while you struggle, you need help. In a good economy, your competitors should not be able to grow at a faster pace than you are. If they are, you need to evaluate your sales process. Putting its sales team in a position to be successful is the smartest thing a business can do. Your sales process will influence the outcomes of your sales team more than any other component of the revenue generating arm of your company. Understanding what kind of changes should be made requires an outside perspective as well as a level of expertise rarely found in the confines of an existing sales staff. Defiant Sales Consulting can offer this expertise and we will analyze your sales process for free.