How To Build A More Effective Salesforce Sales Process?

By: Michael Tetrick Oct 17, 2022

What you can read in this blog?

  1. Know Your Product
  2. Know Your Customer
  3. Lead Generation
  4. Find The "Needles"
  5. Analyze A Customer's Needs
  6. Make The Sales Call
  7. The follow-up call
  8. Nurture this relationship
  9. Define Your Terms
  10. Agree On A Methodology
  11. MEDDIC
  12. Solution Selling
  13. Account Selling
  14. Gate Approach
  15. Use Salesforce to incorporate the process.

Effective Sales Strategies with Salesforce! Every company is different, even those of similar size working in the same sector. But they have a critical characteristic in common. They want to gain and keep customers. How your company does this is your sales pipeline, your Sales Process. If you know how a prospective customer becomes a customer, you think you know how the pipeline works. Ideally, you have a Customer Relationship Management tool that can show you exactly how the goal of "customer" is achieved. Salesforce is one such tool, maybe the best tool to track the evolution of prospects to customers. And as we'll see, a device that illustrates the pipeline is crucial. Salesforce was developed by sales professionals who wanted to codify the Sales Process. So they created the Salesforce Sales Process. Now, Salesforce Professional Services offer the ideal Customer Relationship Management tool - the Salesforce Solution.

To quote from the Salesforce website:

"How you sell matters. What your process is matters. But how your customers feel when they engage with you matters more. The sales process is not merely a series of steps that result in a sale. It's a way to connect with prospects and customers. Over time, you understand their pain points and can provide solutions that make their jobs and lives easier. This results in customer loyalty, consistent sales, and, over time, business growth."

Eight Effective Strategies For Salesforce Sales Process

What are the steps in the Sales Process? All enterprises will vary in detail, but basically, these are some ideas that have worked for others.

  • Know Your Product - New to sales or with years of experience, here are some steps in the sales process. It wasn't that long ago that the sales and product design were in two different silos and only interacted in a limited way. This process has evolved into a symbiosis that has created a seamless integration between the two. This communication and cooperation have increased productivity tenfold.
  • Know Your Customer - Business intelligence, just like any research, builds knowledge of what drives your customer to buy. Hopefully, from you! Successful enterprises spend a great deal of time and money understanding what their customers are looking for, what they like, and what they don't like. This should be a crucial part of your sales process.
  • Lead Generation - This is done using any number of methods, from personal referrals, Google searches, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other online resources. Generate leads with social media and email campaigns targeted at likely prospects. Then there are display ads, paid search ads, and online advertising.
  • Find The "Needles" - The somewhat scattershot methods mentioned above won't allow you to hone in on your actual target. It's out there, but you'll have to do some legwork to find them. No worries! This is the natural starting point, and with some contact, you can discover if the lead qualifies or not. Now rank them in order of likely buyers and when they might anticipate the purchase.
  • Analyze A Customer's Needs - Call the "needles" again to understand their needs further and establish more personal contact. Keep in mind that the vast majority of buyers make purchase decisions based on emotions (95%!). In finding more details, you not only demonstrate that you have the customers' best interests in mind, but you're also able to zero in on specific things that will seal the deal.
  • Make The Sales Call - With all this information and the prospect knowing you better, schedule an in-person or virtual sales call where you can deliver your best pitch and answer any follow-up questions. Be prepared for objections and able to offer solutions.
  • The follow-up call - So you did a great job with the pitch, and the customer is now firmly on board with your product, don't ignore them. Constant contact will keep them in your corner when your competition approaches them. And they will be closed by your competition!
  • Nurture this relationship - Now that you've closed the deal, don't be a stranger. Look for opportunities to upsell this new customer and stay close to them.

It's important to remember that using Salesforce will facilitate all of these steps! There is no better CRM available!

Improve The Sales Process With Salesforce

The basics of sales also depend on an individual's style and approach, with many to choose from. You should use the one that feels more natural and, thus, more comfortable. Please don't assume that you can slip into a role that you might see others use; it will be more complicated than you think. Customers usually see through an "act," so why not be genuine and forgo the acting?

Start At Square One

  • Define Your Terms. - For clarity in communication, ensure everyone understands your acronyms: MQL - marketing qualified lead, SAL - sales accepted lead. SQL - sales qualified lead standardizing these terms will help all communicate more effectively.
  • Agree On A Methodology - This is also known as tactics to execute your plan. You know what you want to do; now, agree on how.
  • MEDDIC
  • According to Hubspot, this approach includes:
  • Metrics: What's the economic impact?
  • Economic buyer: Who controls the budget?
  • Decision criteria: How does the company evaluate and select a vendor?
  • Decision process: What stage does a company take to pick a vendor?
  • Identify pain: What are the triggers and financial impacts of the company's pain point?
  • Champion: Who is selling your offering internally to company stakeholders?
  • Solution Selling - Remember finding a customized solution to the buyer's pain? This is called solution selling.
  • Account Selling - This targeted methodology prioritizes spending more time on lead qualification to narrow down the prospective customers.
  • Gate Approach - Using the gate approach manages the sales cycle by moving customers through discrete steps. Guiding your prospects through predefined steps so that sales can close the deal.
  • Gate 1: prospecting
  • A contact shows interest in your product or service but has not yet been contacted. This includes general information about inbound contacts and outbound contacts.
  • Gate 2: qualifying leads
  • At this point, the answers to all of your "right fit"; and "buying power" are positive.
  • Gate 3: proof of concept,
  • the goal of matching your product with your leads.
  • Gate 4: price negotiation
  • Making sure your price matches what the buyer can afford and is willing to spend.
  • Gate 5: the closing
  • All that has come before has led to closing the deal and making the sale.
  • Use Salesforce to incorporate the process.
  • Create a sales process in Salesforce by following these four steps:
  • Define your Opportunity stages.
  • Create the fields that your sales process needs.
  • Add custom features to control your sales process.
  • Embed hints, tips, and materials that help salespeople with each stage in the sales process.

When it works, it works. And Salesforce works!

So make Salesforce work for you. Its performance will be off the charts. It can make the difference in the enterprise you've been looking for. And with its capability for Salesforce customization can be the perfect fit to take your sales to the next level.

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