Why your sales methodology really matters

Engineers and ‘time & motion’ professionals have evidence in abundance that ‘methodical’ outweighs ‘random’ or ‘haphazard’ if you want to become more effective and efficient. This is also true of business processes, either in production or essential administration.

You can apply this rationale to something as simple as building an extension on your house or getting a bespoke suit made-to-measure. It’s clear that there is a proven. methodology if you want to avoid failure, unnecessary costs or time delays. It’s also true in selling where a complex or sometimes chaotic series of events can be organised into a repeatable, transferable and understandable way.

There are many business development methodologies available, and most are good. Where they ‘fail’ (if fail is the right description) is that they are designed with completeness in mind rather than ease of adoption. Most are good, but rarely used and seldom provide a return on investment. If they are too sophisticated, they simply won’t be used and if they are too simple, they won’t have a positive impact on results.

Typically, these methodologies focus on ‘what to do’ rather than ‘how to do it’. Enlightened Sellers understand the methodology AND the benefits. They are adept at understanding the process (the ‘what to do’) and therefore focus on how to do it better. That’s what gets them the results they strive for.?

They plan and execute client meetings and then review them in a way that helps them understand what behaviours, language, sequences work best when deploying the methodology. If something works well, they repeat it and improve it if possible. If not, they try a different approach and figure out what the optimum approach is for them that gets the results they need consistently and repeatably.

If you have been struggling with a sales challenge for more than 30 days, should we be talking? Click this link to hear from people like you who are working with me.