Top 10 Indicators that You Need a Sales Process

If you’ve managed sales teams for a long time, you begin to accumulate knowledge of the warning signs that a sales process is either ineffective or nonexistent. The importance of a sales process – that is, what will be done to work a deal to closure – should not be underestimated.

These are the top ten signs that a sales process is needed in your organization:

1. Inaccurate forecasts and deals continue to appear in the pipeline quarter after quarter
2. Sales cycles vary greatly and lack consistency across similar markets and solutions
3. Use of the words “ I think” when reps describe their deals, and a missing buyer’s point of view in their explanations
4. Absence of a clear strategy or set of guidelines when reps describe how they plan to win
5. Reps are stuck in reactive mode rather than controlling the next steps
6. Most of the opportunities being worked are lost at the very end of the sales cycle
7. Reps state your solution’s features as what is driving the customers to evaluate your offering
8. Your organization seems to have a low deal capacity per rep
9. There is no common language when reps are explaining deals to the needed resources
10. Reps are rushing to demos and meetings, or doing proposals as a key selling event with little knowledge of the key strategic initiatives, priorities or needs of the organization and/or key stakeholders

Do any of these indicators look familiar? Take a moment to reflect on how your reps work deals and manage their sales cycles. It’s possible you’ll need a sales process that will help you establish a framework for more accurate sales forecasting and achieving your goals.