Sales process: What it is, what it is for and its stages

The sales process is the series of steps or stages that a company or brand goes through from prospecting for a customer to closing a sale. That is, it is everything that is planned to attract, guide and, finally, sell a user.

These phases are unique for each company, since each sector has its own needs and within the creation of this sales process it is necessary to know the specific needs of the clients in order to take advantage of them in their favor.

Advantages of having a sales process

A company that takes the time to analyze and create a development for its sales path, has the following advantages:

• He knows perfectly each of its stages and can improve or adapt them according to the times or the needs of the users.
• Create documentation on the processes and steps, creating a foundation for new hires and making it scalable.
• By better understanding the steps offered to the user, the experience is better, giving better perception and conversion results.
• It is possible to generate an improved prospecting of qualified leads. Likewise, more accurate estimates can be made about profits and acquisition costs .

Likewise, one of the great strengths of having a sales process is that the process is homogenized, thus, each of your salespeople will follow the same conditions and your clients will receive the same excellent treatment, gradually generating a favorable brand image.

What are the stages of the sales process?

The sales process is divided into 3 moments: pre-sale, sale and post-sale. Each of them being vital for the company. These are the phases of the sales process:

Prospecting

During the prospecting or prospecting stage, the aim is to attract the future client. This is achieved by creating a custom buyer persona and using tools such as retargeting to capture their attention. It is possible to prospect for cold customers, finding the opportunity to get them interested in our product or take advantage of those who have already entered our website.

lead qualification

Once you have the user's contact, now it's time to classify it to find out how apt it is to buy your product or service. To achieve this, it is advisable to send educational or interest resources; If the lead shows interest over a certain period of time, it may be time to move on to the next stage.

Contact

You already know that the lead is potential, so now it's time to approach him and ask him more about his pain points and his needs. NOTHING to sell at this point, it is only to know the prospect in depth.

Proposal or presentation

After having answered the prospect's doubts, it is time to show him the product or service, emphasizing how it will help him solve his problem. Communication channels via chat can be helpful, but, without a doubt, a good landing page that communicates all this is essential. Remember that the landing page must have descriptions, demos, CTA, etc.

Negotiation

Now that you know the needs and you showed him your product that solves them, it is time that you sit down to talk about prices and how he can acquire your product. At all times the argument must be directed empathetically and with the knowledge you already have of your buyer persona.

Closing

The closing of a purchase must be fast, easy and perfect. The check out page should not have more steps than necessary and should transmit confidence to leave all sensitive customer data.

after sales

Many companies do not usually take this step into account, but the process after selling is also extremely important, since you can retain the client that you worked so hard to acquire and at the same time make him an ambassador for your brand.

Written by Moises Hamui Abadi : I am an entrepreneur, founding partner of Viceversa and SoyMacho. After being in charge of several digital businesses and advising several other businesses; I decided to form MHA Consulting, a digital marketing consultancy dedicated to growing and empowering digital businesses in more than 7 countries and generating more than 1,500 million pesos.

If you want more information on this topic or you are looking for other options to profile your ideal client, at MHA you will find the solution you need. Schedule a call