How a Proven Sales Process Stops the Confusion and Reaps the Rewards.Confusion abounds in business from who is the best person to hire to where should I place my limited resources of time, energy, emotions and dollars. No where is this more evident from my experience than within the sales process. Small business owners, sales professionals to C Level or C Suite executives confuse marketing skills and subsequent behaviors with selling skills and behaviors. This confusion may help to explain why anywhere from 40% to 70% of all sales targets are missed. In working withWholesale Jewelry clients, I share a 3 Phase, 7 step Sales Process that clearly separate marketing and selling skills. The first 2 steps are all about marketing. Absolutely NO selling takes place during this time. The goal of this first phase is to make a friend and to be asked back. Now, the second phase is where the selling skills shine. During the next 4 steps, the sales professional conducts fact finding, presents the case to take action, earns the sale and ensures the delivery of the sale. Unfortunately, far too many salespersons ignore the delivery of the sale and relegate this action to customer service or support. As I ask in my new book on sales, Be the Red Jacket in a Sea of Gray Suits, “Whose business card does your client have?” The answer for 99% of those involved in selling is simply “Mine.” Sales professionals need to embrace “The buck stops here” philosophy of President Harry Truman. In the third phase, seventh step, marketing skills once again surface. The goal here is to simply ask for three referrals. If you have expected the sales process flawlessly up to this step, then receiving three referrals is almost a “no-brainer.” This is one step many in sales totally skip and end up working harder not smarter. When organizations (no matter what they are selling including not for profits who are seeking donations) follow a proven sales process, they can dramatically increase sales in a relatively short time depending upon their sales cycle time. Another benefit of a proven sales process is determining where missteps are being made and allowing for corrective actions. From my experience, 90% of sales professionals, business owners and C Level executive will continue to play “Captain Wing It” by spraying and praying their actionsunlocked cell phonesall over the place with the hope that something will stick. Their beliefs (a proven sales process is not necessary) will drive their behaviors creating their results. Change is not easy. Yet if the goal is to increase sales, then now is the time to take corrective action so when the economy rebounds, your business can truly reap exceptional rewards. Are the sales behaviors of your team or even yourself where you want them to be? If not, then you may discover an easy read on how to increase sales in this book, Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, the Keys to Unlocking Sales Success including looking at your sales approach. Take this free sales skills Chicago Sales Wholesale clothingCoach Leanne Hoagland Smith helps with sales coaching, leadership to sales management development. Schedule a free strategy session at 219.759.5601.Sell, Sell, Sell is now the name of the game and if you aren’t willing to embrace this fact you will experience hell, hell, and hell in the marketplace. Most companies have cut back as much as they can and find themselves at a place where they can cut no further. Wall Street has recently rewarded companies because of their cost cutting but the next round of rewards will only be entitled to those that can increase sales revenues and ring the cash register. And by the way, sooner or later you will have to do so without the help of government sponsored stimulus. Therein lies the problem because not even ‘this’ government can continue to offer endless programs for every industry. The companies that will prove to be most valuable are those that can actually sell their products and services without the help of short-term programs, government stimulus and gimmicks that are not sustainable. Anyone creating products that are wanted and needed and more importantly has a trained sales force and management team that focuses on how to effectively sell their products will survive and become the darlings of Wall Street. Stimulus programs like the recent, Cash for Clunkers, may have created a short-term spike in sales but it leaves the players with a false sense of recovery. The consumer took advantage of the program, manufactures blew out inventories, dealers had a great couple of months but where do we go from here? The manufacturers are unable to project forecast production and the dealers won’t know what inventories to obligate themselves to when these programs are over. That brings us to the real problem–businesses don’t know how to generate an opportunity without stimulus. Contrary to all the bad news, people are still buying goods and services. The question today is where are the buyers? How do you get your product and service in front of them and then close them? People are more selective now and that is why it is critical that companies train their people how to activate and generate a sale–not just wait on one. If someone had a lease reaching maturity they will have to buy a new car, recession or no recession. If they need a new roof on their house they are going to replace it or repair it regardless of the economy. The question today is how to find those people who are able and willing and in need of a purchase without the help of some unsustainable program. The days of businesses getting abundant opportunities and sales forces wasting them is over, or the business is over for some time. Which business would you rather be, (a) last month was incredible and none of our transaction were stimulus money/programs, or (b) last month was great and most of it was stimulus money. Oh by the way in answer (b) the company is still waiting for their money from the government. Companies today must start with their people learning how to generate opportunities not just waiting until they show up for the ‘big sale’. Selling today literally starts with the creation of the opportunity in the first place. This requires a creative think about how to identify who is in need of your products or services, who is qualified to buy and how to get your product or service in front of them. You must: (1) break your dependence upon stimulus programs, (2) think outside the box and (3) become willing to do what your competition will not do, and, (4) learn a lost skill set. If you find this article beneath you, somehow I assure you that you will experience hell in the market place for some time to come. The greatest need of companies today is to generate an opportunity and ring the register by making ‘the sale’. For the 26m people that are unemployed the easiest place to get a job today is the very same place where companies need the most help - SALES. Regardless of the product or service your company represents, real selling skills is the name of the game today. It is no longer gimmicks, incentives or government programs, and it isn’t cost cutting. Make selling the number one priority of the CEO, the management team and all every person that works within the company. Whether you are in mortgages, real estate, autos, furniture, technology, financial planning, banking, accounting, law, advertising, consumer retail, health care, grocery or whatever, know that first and foremost your company depends on selling for its survival more than any other skills. Even if you make the best product in the world you will still have to activate someone to be interested in it and then sell that product in order to Survive in the market place.