Sales:
Building the System to Consistently win the RIGHT work
When we look at the sales process for a service-based business, particularly those in the trades, we’re looking at a system that starts with generating leads and ends when the quote is accepted, the work is scheduled and the client is properly handed over to operations.
Without an effective sales process to guide ourselves and our prospective clients through that journey, it’s easy for opportunities to fall through the cracks, costing us work, revenue and profit that we could otherwise have captured with a good system in place.
The end-to-end sales process is a bit of a beast. There are a number of things that happen along the way: generating leads, qualifying them, pricing the work, delivering a professional quote, sales package and scope of work, following up, closing the deal and then making sure the client is properly handed over to operations so the work can get underway.
Throughout that sales process, you’ll have a number of systems and tools in place that make up the overall process you’re building.
For example, you might have a lead qualification checklist to make sure you’re asking the right questions and establishing whether the client and the job are a good fit for your business.
You might have a standard quote or sales package template that makes sure you’re consistently presenting the information a client needs to understand the work, the scope and the value you’re providing.
You might also have sales standards that determine how you manage different opportunities. If a quote is going to be over a certain value or level of complexity, for example, you might have a standard that means you provide more information to the client; product information, visuals, a more detailed scope of work or something else that helps demonstrate the value your business provides.
These systems give the client more confidence in what you’re delivering and help them see beyond the cost of the service alone.
And that’s really the point.
Sales performance doesn’t have to depend on personality. You don’t need to be the best salesperson in the world, and you don’t need to have the gift of the gab.
You need a sales process that makes the important things happen consistently.
When you have a robust sales process backed by good systems and tools, you can perform consistently without relying on your personality or having to reinvent the process every time a new enquiry comes in.
Building systems that create an effective sales process is a foundation of the coaching programs I deliver.
If your sales process feels inconsistent, takes too much of your time, or relies too heavily on you personally to make things happen, this is an area where your business could benefit from some attention.
Check out the coaching programs or get in touch for a free one-to-one discovery call.
