A standard sales process is the means by which your team carries out every sale, every time. Standard sales processes offer a number of benefits – yet many sales departments hesitate to implement such a process.

Here’s what every sales leader needs to know about standard sales processes.

Signs You Need a Standard Sales Process

 A standard sales process offers a set of repeatable steps that take contacts from “prospect” to “customer.” Your team can benefit from a standard sales process if:

• Cold calling is still the number-one way your team reaches out to prospects – no matter how well or poorly it seems to work.
• Team members have a high ratio of prospects to actual customers.
• Potential customers disappear due to lack of communication or follow-up (or for reasons you can’t name because you don’t have the information).
• You’re still basing your management decisions on instinct, not data.

Benefits of a Standard Sales Process

A standard sales process provides a number of benefits to a sales team, impacting every aspect of their work and their manager’s ability to lead. In fact, a standard sales process may be the single most important thing sales managers can provide for their teams.

Key benefits of a standard sales process include:

• Clarity and confidence. What comes next? When your staff know exactly what to do next at every stage of the sales process, they don’t waste time worrying or improvising. They get to work, with the confidence that the process will be there for them.
• The ability to measure and compare results. Which prospecting methods work best? How quickly do sales staff need to get back to a prospect at any stage? With a standard sales process, managers don’t have to guess: They have the data they need to answer these questions. They’re also able to compare performance among team members directly, which can lead to better promotion decisions.
• Better hiring and onboarding. With data about your team’s process and performance, it’s easier to see how a candidate might fit with the existing team members. It’s also easier to onboard new hires, since even new salespeople can quickly get up to speed on a standard process – and every member of the team will know exactly what to recommend at each stage.

 Hiring?  We Provide Exceptional Talent You Would Otherwise Not See

Even the best sales processes depend on outstanding sales staff to carry them through. That’s why the staffing partners at SMR Group focus on connecting our clients in the medical device, biotech, and pharmaceutical industries to some of the best sales and marketing talent available today. Contact our office today for more information.