Support of the Sales Process

In general

The previous chapter was about the first level of the CRM system being management of the Accounts, Contacts and activities data. It is very useful to have the whole image of the customer and therefore the image itself is a large part of sales support, offered by Produs IT. But it really is a small part.

Many companies sell their products through personal sale, especially when they are selling complex products or solutions. This kind of sale is demanding, complicated and includes many interactions between salesmen and buyers. This kind of sale at the same time has a high added value, so its success is of most importance for the company's success.

This chapter focuses mainly on this kind of companies. It talks about the next level of data management - sales opportunities management. Every potential deal and every sales opportunity should be observed on its path through our organization − through the sales process. Why? Because this field of business is one of the most important fields for business in general. Managing data on sales allows us to manage this key business function. We plan it, organize it, observe it and take action if needed.

Collecting data on sales opportunities by itself is of no use if there is no unified structure and form. To enable all the possibilities that sales support managing offers, we must first determine the sales process (the phases most of our businesses goes through) and notes we wish to make in any of those phases.

Sales phases

Our potential deals go through following phases or forms: - acquiring Leads - sale in the narrower sense of the word - realization or delivery - after sales activities

Produs IT offers support to all of these phases. This chapter will explain more about sale in the narrower sense of the word.

Sale in the narrower sense of the word

Sale in the narrower sense of the word (sale) is happening from the moment the person in charge (usually salesman) decides to start an active selling to certain Lead. That usually means we will start performing a series of activities, usually ending with signing the contract. It is then that the sale is concluded.

Individual deal

Every individual deal, handled in this manner, is named selling opportunities, opportunity or business or project in Produs IT.

It is directly connected with the Account it is happening in and the Contacts, included in the activities. In selling opportunity as a record we note data about business e. g. value, date of expected conclusion, selling phase, next step, etc., with links to all the planned or performed tasks and events.

manage data on selling deals

Selling process

Selling process is a series of steps or activities, performed during the sale, but we can talk about it only when it is defined and unified for everybody. It is only then that it serves us as a basic managing tool

For the selling process to be defined, the sequence of activities to perform has to be written down. If needed, the decisions are included too. When more coworkers (of different roles) have to take part in the sale, we have to determine their duties in a single activity. We also determine which data should be attained and noted within the sphere of this activity

The selling process is unified when it is designed to be performed in all cases and with very seldom exceptions. The course of action can of course be altered, but it is still a part of the same process and the decision to divert it stands on evident criteria. The consultant, who is helping you establish the system, can give you more information on this topic.

Policy making

A clearly defined and unified selling process guarantees many advantages concerning policy. All of them arise out of clear, objective communication that this process enables. Salesmen know the next necessary step and what they need to find out in the next meeting. They and their manager know in what phase a certain deal is, how likely the sale is and when it could happen. Managers know about the next period's sales outlook, where the risks are and which salesmen need additional help.

Observing and pipeline

Produs IT offers many ways for sales managers to observe state and progress of the sale. We can observe the progress of some deals according to what was agreed with the salesmen. The clearly defined performed steps can be observed weekly, which is also much more objective than unstructurised discussions. It is also possible to check if the right data is entered and if it indicates the right course of action and possible errors or risks, especially regarding important deals.

The unified selling process determines some general phases of the deal. The string of this phases is called sales pipeline, with the last phase being closing the deal. Based on our experience we can determine the probability of the deal being successfully closed. That allows us to define the so-called (statistical) value of the pipeline, which is the sum of all deals multiplied with the probability of the deal being closed.

Analysis, forecasts

Many different techniques of the sales situation's assessment and analysis arise from the above stated view of our pipeline. It can be cumulatively used for analysis concerning fields and salesmen too.

Other techniques are used to analyze individual deals. Mostly it is done by analyzing progress and history of individual deals.

Good observation and analysis also allow us to better perform maybe the most important tasks of sales director − forecasting sales results. If there is a chance of forecasting, we can also detect the so-called „pipe's infirmity“. In this way we can foresee the approaching risks that could in months time cause even bigger problems and take appropriate measures with actions, sales techniques, etc.

review the situation