VI. On Creating a Process

We all end up establishing processes, even though that sometimes we don't realise it.

From your morning routine to the way you go about your work duties. It's something that ends up happening. And I think it needs to happen.

Without a process you can't have any sustainable growth, it's simply not possible.

You will need to establish one if you intend to scale your growth overtime. And to be honest is one of the unexpected things I've come to enjoy the most about working in Sales.

In my opinion, the simpler the steps to follow, the leaner the funnel. The leaner the funnel, the easier it is to point which part of it needs improvement and which part is working well. I mean, it's easier to see if something doesn't work if you have it right in front of you. Wouldn't you agree?

The thing about every sales process is that it tends to be very simple. As it should be, the more time you invest in the wrong things , and leads, the more you'll need to fix it and focus on what will work.

I won't bore you with how to figure out your ICP (Ideal Client Profile) and how to workout your PMF(Product Market Fit), although being honest I might do that in another article. Let's just assume that your company has both figured out before you arrive (hopefully that will be the case).

Now that you know how your clients look (ICP) and you understand the demand for you product (PMF). How should you go about finding your leads.

Well there are two general ways of doing it, each one with its own unique ways. Being these two: Outbound and Inbound. I'll talk about each one of them.

OUTBOUND:

While doing outbound your role will be that of the hunter, you're going to stalk your buck with patience, you'll take your time. Do not rush, you don't want the buck to know you're there, you don't want it to hear you, you want to hear it. Let it be relaxed, find a good position, relax, breathe deep, in and out. Take aim and pull.

If all goes like that you'll have to ruck back to camp with a buck on your back.

What I mean by this is: Since you're coming out of nowhere to your prospect, first impressions count the most. Make sure you have a good reason to reach out, a trigger helps a lot with this.

For example: Let's say your company offers a software that helps companies manage their remote-based workforce, if a company that has a remote-based workforce posts that they're growing, or if by using a tool like Sales Nav you see their headcount is growing. Right now would be a good moment to contact.

Now, not having an obvious trigger does not mean that you can't contact a company that fits your ICP, but in this case you'll contact to find out this trigger.

Now let's talk about stalking, or as I like to call it: SWP (Stalk With a Purpose).

Stalk your buck, I do mean this almost literally, I'm not saying go all "You" on them (I haven't seen it but I know what the plot is about haha).

I mean that it might be a VERY good idea to check their profiles, see what they post about, check out what they share, etc..

Take a couple of minutes to check out both the company and the prospects you'll be contacting. YES, I mean PROSPECTS, the more bucks you have on your sight, the more chances you have of taking one on your back.

Since you've already picked your buck out of the crowd, you've taken your time to aim, you're relaxed, cool as ice. It's time to pull the trigger. You'll do this by asking questions, you'll find out what things your prospect is dealing with at the moment. This serves two purposes, the first one, to tell you if you can help them or not. Secondly, to find out what they're prioritising now.

Let's get back to the previous example: If you're talking with your prospect and the prospect tells you that indeed, managing their remote-based workforce is something they need to tackle BUT "X" is also a priority, now you have more information. You can see if your company solves that problem as well.

Let's say it does, now you can help them solve two things instead of one. Booking a meeting with them has become much easier now for they have more value to gain from what your company offers.

Because in the end, that's your goal, to book that meeting with someone that can gain value from what your company offers. Your goal is to take that buck on your back and get home.

To put it in simple terms, your process at the moment looks like this:

1-Prospect: Look for companies that fit your ICP and for people within those companies you could talk to. Then SWP.

2-Pull the trigger: Contact, you can do this by different means, either be a cold call, a LinkedIn DM or a Cold email. The point is talking to them.

3-Carry it back home: Once you've talked with them enough to find out if they could use what your company offers, it's time to schedule a meeting, this usually means a meeting your with assigned AE (a discovery call or a demo, depends on the company and what product or service they offer).

Now that I've talked about outbound a bit, it's time to talk about inbound.

INBOUND:

Again, while you do inbound your role is still that of a hunter (this won't change ever while you work in Sales or Business Development).

But while you deal with inbound leads you won't be dealing with bucks, you'll be dealing with ducks. Let me explain.

In Inbound you deal with leads that have already shown an interest in what your company offers, they can come from marketing ads, a post your company's profile made. An event that your company organised, a talk or interview your CEO gave.

They will come in different ways but they'll be coming right to you. This means that now that you know where they're going (right at you) all you need to do is to aim and pull.

What I mean by this, your most important duty will be to qualify them. To see if they indeed fit the description of your target. You'll have to find out what they're dealing with and how big of a priority this is when you talk to them. It might not be the highest priority right now but that only means that it will be in the future.

In that case, those are the ones you let go. But the ones that fit both your ICP and have a good timing (the problem you solve with a product or a service is of the utmost importance right now. Those are the ones you take out mid-flight.

Those are the ones you pick up and bring back home. Those are the ones you prioritise, the ones you schedule a meeting with.

In simpler terms. While you deal with inbound leads your process, in general terms, will look like this:

1-Take aim: See which leads fit your target.

2-Pull: Take those leads down, dive into what they're dealing with right now.

3-Pick up: Book the meeting, once you've dove deep enough to understand their problem is time to book the meeting. Do not keep them talking too much, just go for it.

Of course I'm talking in general terms, some companies might have a more complex process (let's say a discovery call, a demo, and so forth) but in general terms, as an B/SDR your general process will look like this.

So good luck my friend and WAIDMANNS HEIL (Both german for Good Hunting and a great song by Rammstein).