How healthy is your sales process? When you have a steady flow of customers, it’s easy to overlook bad habits that may have crept in. You might not notice how you’re wasting your budget or hurting your margins with outdated practices or by taking shortcuts. However, if your client list dwindles and you reduce your working capital, you could be left in a bad situation.

That’s why financial copywriter David Rodeck says it’s important for sales professionals to re-examine their sales processes when times are good. In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we discuss his five reasons why it makes sense to reexamine your sales process.

1. Your sales team can deliver better results. A sales process lays out each step for how your team should manage leads. Rodeck says these points could include:

  • The steps it takes to get someone from a cold lead all the way to a sale
  • A script for what the sales team should say at each point
  • The amount of time sales people should spend in each stage, along with the number of estimated contacts they should make
  • An explanation of your overall strategy and the mindset of customers

By clearly explaining what your sales team should do throughout the entire process of making a sale , you may see more consistent results from every team member.

2. You’ll focus on more profitable leads and customers. Rodeck reminds salespeople that not all leads are equal in value. A sales rep could end up spending considerable time chasing down a prospect that keeps saying maybe, when that effort would be better spent on finding new leads . Your sales process should outline how much time a salesperson should spend with an undecided prospect before they move on. You can also review your existing clients to see how much revenue each one generates, relative to their overhead. Chances are, you’ll find some clients are less worthwhile than others, and some may not even be profitable at all when you consider all in the time spent managing their accounts.

3. You’ll receive valuable market data. By seeing what types of customers are buying from you and what they are spending, you can fine-tune rather than relying on a hunch. For example, you may have thought that your best customers would be midsize businesses, but then you see that your smaller accounts have more of a budget than you thought. You can also see what marketing approaches work best for different segments of customers and adjust your strategy as necessary, says Rodeck. Your sales process should focus on creating the most efficient company possible.

4. You’ll remember to raise prices. Raising your prices naturally builds more of a profit margin but figuring out when to do so is not always clear. You can build into your sales process times when you automatically try increasing prices. For example, every 20 new accounts or each time your revenue grows by five percent. This way you have a reminder to experiment with pricing strategies when demand is strong, Rodeck says.

5. You’ll save time through sales automation. By laying out each step of the sales process, you can find opportunities to automate the work, allowing your team to focus on other, more important tasks.

By taking time to make these small improvements to your sales process, you can create a stronger, leaner and more productive company.

Source: David Rodeck is a financial copywriter based out of Delaware. Before writing full-time, he was a financial advisor.