What is a Sales Process?

Table of Contents

1. Movie Case Study
2. What is a Sales Process?
3. Types of Leads
4. Sales Process Stages
   1. Prospecting:
   2. Preparation:
   3. Approaching:
   4. Presentation:
   5. Objection Handling:
   6. Closing:
   7. Follow-up:
5. Understand Sales Process with a Video

Movie Case Study

The scene that you just saw shows Neil Walker (played by Bradley Cooper) showing Joy (played by Jennifer Lawrence) how a sales process works. He is showing her how the necklace sale is being presented on TV which is triggering phone calls for the salesperson.

The necklace is priced at a value of $100, and it is being sold for $39,99. The sales pitch is presented in a way that makes people call and buy the product. This blog, Learning Perspectives will explore the sales process.

What is a Sales Process?

The sales process helps the organization make more money. The sales process consists of the following steps:

1. Prospecting
2. Preparing
3. Approaching
4. Presentation
5. Objection handling
6. Closing
7. Follow-up

Types of Leads

Generally, sales development handles two types of leads. The first is often referred to as inbound leads which are given by the marketing department. These are in the form of marketing campaigns and content creation that bring visitors to the website. Marketers leverage social media to form a connection with the client and build trust.

Another type of lead is outbound leads that push messages out to the audience. It can also be called ‘in-your-face’ advertising such as TV advertisements, billboard ads, print ads, etc. The scene shown is a form of outbound advertising, people are not specifically looking for necklaces but they are being advertised on TV and demand is being created for them. Women are calling in to talk to celebrities who are selling the product. Both inbound and outbound methods require a deep understanding of the segmentation of the target audience.

Sales Process Stages

Prospecting:

In this stage, the organization finds potential customers who are interested in the product or the service and whether they can afford the same or not. Understanding whether the customer requires your product/service or not means qualifying.

Preparation:

This means preparation for the initial contact with the customer. Researching the market and tailoring the product to the need of the customer.

Approaching:

This is the first contact with the customer, it means talking to the potential client either face-to-face or on phone.

Presentation:

Demonstrating to the client how your product matches their need and giving them a sales pitch. Actively listening to the customer and then responding to their demands works wonders for your product.

Objection Handling:

This means understanding and handling any objections raised by the customer. These could be in the form of cost, time, fear, product features etc. Carefully listening to the customer and solving their worries is advisable.

Closing:

This is a stage where the client confirms buying the product or the service. Some decisions that need to be made in this stage include paying upfront the entire amount or paying through equated monthly installments. Providing discounts for a specific period of time and creating a sense of urgency for the customer also forms part of this stage.

Follow-up:

Once the customer has brought the product or service from you, understanding his/her customer service needs is important. Retention of customers gets the organization repeat orders and also referrals for the future.

Understand Sales Process with a Video