Sales Process Checklist

To generate steady quality leads, it’s important to prioritize and be consistent with the sales efforts. But often, important tasks get buried under small, insignificant ones. And this isn’t limited to rookies, even experienced sales reps fail to prioritize sales efforts.

That’s where having sales process checklist can help salespeople ensure that they complete all the necessary tasks, train new hires, and stay organized throughout the entire process.

Importance of sales process checklist

• It helps standardize the sales process across a team or organization, leading to more consistent results and higher sales productivity.
• Used as a training tool to help new hires learn the company's sales process and best practices.
• Help sales managers identify areas where the sales process can be improved, leading to higher close rates and increased revenue.
• Assist in tracking the progress of the sale and address any roadblocks that may arise and help the sales teams close more deals.

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Explore the sales process checklist

Identify potential leads

This step involves identifying individuals or organizations that may be interested in the product or service being offered. This can be done through lead generation, networking, and marketing campaigns. 

It also aims at finding the right people to whom you can send your sales pitch. Develop a strong database of potential leads that you can nurture until they are ready to talk with you. 

Initially, there are two types of leads:

• Suspects - Businesses or individuals who you think need your products/services but haven’t heard about your company.
• Prospects - Companies or people who have heard about your company and are interested in trying out your services.

Apart from that, leads can be segmented according to demographics or prospects' needs.

Research and qualify leads

In this step, the salesperson researches the potential lead to gather the information that can help to qualify them as a good fit for the product or service. This can include information such as the company's size, budget, and current pain points.

Schedule and conduct the initial meeting

Once a lead has been qualified, the salesperson will schedule an initial meeting to further discuss the product or service and determine if there is a potential fit.

This step will look different depending on each company's requirements. However, it is important to have a sales process map to create multiple pathways for different types of leads who enter the sales funnel.

One can reach out to prospects by sending cold emails,  cold calls, or messaging on social media. But, it is necessary to have a script to ensure that one is able to effectively communicate the product/service’s USP. 

Present product or service offerings

In this step, the salesperson presents the product or service offerings to the potential customer, highlighting the key features and benefits.

One can make different types of presentations during the sales process, including formal presentations and demos of your app or services. Here, one explains how the product or service can provide value to the lead. 

Address Objections

During the presentation, the customer may have objections. This step is dedicated to addressing them and providing solutions.

Some of the common sales objections one hears from prospects are:

• We don’t have the budget to buy your product.
• Your product looks good to me but I’m unsure.
• We have been using [your competitor] for the last three years.
• The product is good but can you handle our use case or the number of users.
• I’ll need to run it through my business partners first.

The sales enablement teams and leadership should document and train the team with effective responses to handle these common objections to ensure that the deal moves forward. 

Close the deal

At this stage, different scenarios can arise that can cause a delay to sign off the contract. One needs to be prepared for the different scenarios and ensure that the deal goes through.

Here is a list of different closing techniques one can use to get the lead to sign the dotted line. 

Follow up with the customer

This step is dedicated to following up with the customer to ensure they are satisfied with the product or service and identify upselling and cross-selling opportunities.

It is important to follow up with the customers regularly. This enables you to identify any dissatisfaction early and reduce customer churn.

Record details of the sale in CRM

The final step is to record all the sale details in the company's CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system. This will help track all the customer details throughout the customer lifecycle.