Why it's time to ditch your 200-year-old sales process
Firas Abo Assaf
Results-Driven Senior Marketing Director | Strategic Growth Planning Expert | AI Evangelist | Mentor | Driving Growth Through Complex Marketing Campaigns, Sales Funnels, AI and Automation | 13+ Years of Experience
As the world has evolved and businesses have become more complex, the traditional sales funnel is no longer sufficient to achieve optimal results.
While the concept of the linear sales funnel may have worked during the Industrial Revolution, it falls short in today's digital age.
Companies need to adapt to the changing landscape and plan a more targeted sales process that leverages the multiple touchpoints available today.
For those who aren't familiar with the linear sales funnel, it's a model that's been used for over 200 years, which originated during the Industrial Revolution.
It consists of four stages: awareness, interest, desire, and action.
Essentially, a potential customer goes through these stages before they make a purchase.
While this approach still works for some businesses, it's not enough in today's digital world.
The internet has changed the game, and with it, the way people buy.
Potential customers now have more access to information, and they are more likely to conduct research before making a purchase.
The customers now own the power.
They are in the driver’s seat not you!
As a result, your business need to be more proactive in its approach, using a more sophisticated sales process to target potential customers at the right time, with the right message, and through the right channels.
To achieve optimal results, you need to map out your sales process to ensure that you are maximizing every touchpoint available.
By doing so, you can create a more efficient and effective sales process that caters to your target audience's needs.
Let's take a closer look at some specific techniques that you can use to map out effective sales process:
1) Identify Your Target Audience
Identifying your target audience or market is a crucial step in mapping out your sales process.
Your target audience is the group of people who are most likely to purchase your product or service.
To effectively target your audience, you need to understand who they are, what their pain points are, and what motivates them.
To identify your target audience, start by looking at your current customer base.
Analyze the demographics of your customers, such as age, gender, income, education level, and location.
This information will help you as a starting point to develop a profile of your ideal customer.
Next, you need to understand your customer's pain points.
What problems do they face that your product or service can solve?
By understanding your customer's pain points, you can tailor your sales process to show how your product or service can help them.
You also need to understand what motivates your customers to make a purchase.
Do they value quality, convenience, affordability, or something else?
By understanding what motivates your customers, you can tailor your sales process to emphasize the benefits that matter most to them.
Once you have a clear understanding of your target audience, you can tailor your sales process to meet their specific needs.
This may include creating targeted marketing campaigns, developing sales materials that speak directly to their pain points, or creating personalized sales pitches.
For example, if your target audience is busy professionals, you may want to focus on the convenience and time-saving benefits of your product or service.
You may also want to create marketing materials that emphasize how your product or service can make their lives easier.
In contrast, if your target audience consists of cost-conscious consumers, it's important to note that this may not be your ideal market.
However, if you do decide to target this audience, you may want to focus on the affordability of your product or service.
You may also want to create marketing materials that emphasize the value they will receive for their money.
Identifying your target audience is a crucial step in mapping out your sales process.
By understanding who your customers are, what their pain points are, and what motivates them, you can tailor your sales process to meet their specific needs.
This will help you create a more effective sales process that delivers better results and builds stronger relationships with your customers.
2) Define Your Sales Stages
Defining your sales stages is an essential step in creating a well-structured and effective sales process.
The sales stages are the key steps that your potential customers will go through before they make a purchase.
These stages may vary depending on your business model, but the three most common stages are lead generation, lead nurturing, and closing the sale.
The first stage of the sales process is lead generation.
This is the process of attracting potential customers to your business.
There are many different methods you can use to generate leads, including:
The goal of lead generation is to get potential customers interested in your product or service and to capture their contact information so that you can continue to communicate with them.
Your reaching here people in their early stage of their awareness.
Usually they are totally unware or problem aware.
The second stage is lead nurturing.
Once you have captured a potential customer's contact information, you need to nurture that lead.
This involves building a relationship with the lead by providing them with valuable information and content that will help them make an informed decision about your product or service.
Lead nurturing can take many forms, including:
At this stage people are now more aware about their problem and available solutions
At this stage they start trusting you after knowing you from phase one.
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The final stage is closing the sale.
This is the stage where you convert a lead into a paying customer.
To do this, you need to have a clear sales process in place that includes a well-crafted sales pitch, a proposal, and a way to close the deal.
There are many frameworks available for creating a successful sales pitch, so it's important to find one that works for your business.
Closing the sale also involves addressing any objections the potential customer may have and providing them with the information they need to make a purchase.
By defining your sales stages, you can create a more targeted and efficient sales process that moves potential customers through the funnel more quickly.
For example, if you know that your target audience is most likely to respond to email marketing, you can focus your lead generation efforts on collecting email addresses and developing targeted email campaigns.
Similarly, if you know that your target audience needs a lot of education about your product or service, you can invest more time and resources into lead nurturing.
Defining your sales stages is a critical step in creating an effective sales process.
By identifying the key steps that your potential customers will go through before making a purchase, you can create a more targeted and efficient sales process that moves potential customers through the funnel more quickly.
This, in turn, will help you close more sales and build stronger relationships with your customers.
3) Align Your Sales Process With Your Customer Journey
After defining your sales process stages now you should align your sales process with your customer journey
Aligning your sales process with your customer journey is a crucial step
You need to understand how your customers move through the buying process.
The customer journey typically includes three stages: awareness, consideration, and decision-making.
During the awareness stage, customers are just becoming aware of your business and the products or services you offer.
They may have a problem or need that they're trying to solve and are looking for information to help them make a decision.
At this stage, your goal is to create awareness and educate potential customers about your business.
During the consideration stage customers start to research and compare different solutions to their problem.
They are considering different options and are looking for information that will help them make a decision.
During the decision-making stage, customers are ready to make a purchase decision.
They may be comparing prices, evaluating features, and looking for incentives or offers.
Your goal at this stage is to provide a clear path to purchase and remove any barriers that may prevent a customer from making a purchase.
By aligning your sales process with your customer journey, you ensure that your sales and marketing efforts are focused on each stage of the customer journey.
For example, during the awareness stage, you might use social media and content marketing to create awareness and drive traffic to your website.
During the consideration stage, you might use email marketing and case studies to provide more in-depth information and build trust with potential customers.
Finally, during the decision-making stage, you might use targeted advertising and promotions to encourage customers to make a purchase.
By aligning your sales process with your customer journey, you'll be able to create a more targeted and effective sales process that is tailored to your customers' needs.
This, in turn, will help you to convert more potential customers into paying customers and ultimately grow your business.
4) Build The Right Technology Stack
One important technique that should be added to every sales process is leveraging a technology stack.
A technology stack refers to a set of tools and technologies used by a business to streamline their operations, including the sales process.
By using a technology stack, businesses can automate various tasks, such as lead scoring, lead nurturing, and customer relationship management (CRM), freeing up time for sales reps to focus on high-value activities such as building relationships with potential customers and closing deals.
Some examples of tools that can be included in a technology stack are customer relationship management software, marketing automation software, email marketing tools, sales enablement tools, and analytics tools.
By implementing these tools, businesses can gain valuable insights into customer behavior, track their progress through the sales funnel, and create targeted marketing campaigns that resonate with their target audience.
Overall, incorporating a technology stack into the sales process can provide businesses with a competitive advantage.
5) Use Data to Optimize Your Sales Process
By tracking and analyzing data, you can gain insights into customer behavior, identify areas where your sales process may be falling short, and make data-driven decisions to improve your process.
One of the first steps in using data to optimize your sales process is to define the metrics you want to track.
This may include metrics such as lead conversion rate, sales cycle length, and customer acquisition cost.
Once you've defined your metrics, you can start collecting data and analyzing it to identify trends and patterns.
For example, if you notice that your lead conversion rate is lower than you'd like, you can use data to identify the specific stages of your sales process where potential customers are dropping off.
From there, you can make adjustments to your sales process to address these issues, such as improving your sales pitch or providing more targeted content.
Another way to use data to optimize your sales process is by implementing A/B testing.
A/B testing involves creating two versions of a sales page or email and sending each version to a randomly selected group of customers.
By tracking the performance of each version, you can determine which approach is more effective and make adjustments accordingly.
Overall, data-driven decision-making is a must today, and businesses that don't use data to optimize their sales process will fall behind their competitors.
By tracking your sales metrics, analyzing your sales data, and making data-driven decisions to improve your sales process, you can stay ahead of the game and achieve better results.
In conclusion, it's crucial for businesses to recognize the limitations of the traditional linear sales funnel and embrace a more personalized and strategic approach in today's dynamic digital landscape.
By understanding your customers' needs and preferences, and using the latest technology and tools available, you can build a sales process that resonates with your audience and delivers exceptional results.
Remember, your sales process is not set in stone;
It should continuously evolve to adapt to changing market conditions and customer expectations.
With the right mindset and tools, you can stay ahead of the competition and drive sustainable growth for your business.
So, start planning your next sales process today and unlock your true sales potential.