What happens when you don't have a sales process?

You can't measure your team. You don't have accurate forecasting. New sales reps are often times left to wonder what step in their sales process should come next. There is a lack of consistency.

Effective sales processes help sales teams focus on actionable steps. Each step is clearly defined. The process is measurable.

One of the biggest effects sales teams see from implementing a consistent sales process across an organization is that they gain clarity in the sales process. Because everyone is selling in the same system everyone is aware of what the other sales teams are doing. If another team member looks at a prospects account they are able to understand what stage the deal is at. If a sales rep were to leave the company a deal could be saved because of this.

One of the greatest effects this has on sales reps is that it builds good habits. Building out a sales process with requirements at each stage creates strong habits when those times when sales reps are prone to making mistakes or being lazy. When they might normally fail to follow up or enter notes, process dictates that they do so. Enforcing the process consistently creates the expectation that salesperson complete the task at hand. It creates a culture of completion. The expectation that the sales process will be completed and the good habits consistently following the process create more effective sales people.