Capitalizing on potential opportunities depends on having the right sales process steps in place. A great sales process is well thought out, thoroughly documented, fully understood, and most importantly, actionable. As a long-term strategy, creating a sales process that’s repeatable—and proven—will save your organization time, money, and resources that can be injected back into the sales department to pursue new prospects.

Sales Process Stages Should Align With the Product or Service Being Sold

From identifying the potential opportunity—to making initial contact and to closing the sale— all sales will travel through generally the same stages throughout their life cycle. But, whether you engage in B2C, B2B, wholesale distribution, sell a product, a service, or some combination of the two, the checklist related to the sales process will differ.

For certain non-commodities, such as fast moving consumer goods, the sale will move through the various stages with relative ease. For other more complex products, the activities carried out in each stage may require more involvement on the part of the salesperson. For instance, the sales process for selling software licenses on a subscription basis will differ from the sales process for selling a tangible product, like a pair of shoes. When selling a subscription service that lasts one year, it’s crucial that part of your sales process involves informing you early on that the account is up for renewal (i.e. at nine months). In this case, paying attention to renewals early on ensures that a competitor won’t scoop up your business.

A Great Sales Process Will Involve Opportunity Assessment

During the initial stages of the sales process, it’s important to look at the opportunity that you’re trying to win; analyze all the knowable factors and work to fully understand what the opportunity really entails. Every sales process should involve a qualifying methodology that determines whether the prospect is in the position to buy. Businesses often use an acronym like BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timescale) to help determine whether the prospective lead is worth investing the time in.

Questions to ask during this stage include:

• Does the prospect have a need for your product or solution?

• Does the prospect have the budget to invest in your product or solution?

• Can you deliver the solution they need?

Every Sales Process Must Incorporate a Win-Loss Analysis

The early stages of the sales process involves a lot of individual steps—initial contact, identification of opportunity, identification of sponsor, opportunity better defined, stakeholders identified, budget holders identified, etc.—and early on during this opportunity assessment (around stage four or five), it’s essential that you ask, “Is this even worth winning?” Despite the work that’s already been put into winning the sale, you need to determine whether the opportunity is of strategic importance to your organization, whether it’s possible to price correctly, whether there’s enough margin in it, and whether you can compete— and win.

Sometimes the prospect won’t be won, and in these instances it’s far better to get out early than to come in second. Moving forward with an ill-fated opportunity wastes time, resources, and money that could be better put into searching for opportunities that will pay off. As the expression goes, “measure twice, cut once,” meaning that you really need to be sure an opportunity can be won—and is worth winning—before you commit fully to it.

Make Account Reviewing Part of Your Sales Process

The sales process doesn’t end when the sale is closed. Fostering long-term client relationships requires maintenance, and existing client accounts should be reviewed on a regular basis to assess your level of performance. A follow-up call or meeting to determine how well the product or solution is performing goes a long way to ensuring that the client does repeat business, especially in situations where repeat buying is a goal.

Reach out to the client to find out how well the product or service is working for them and to see if there is any additional support that can be provided to make their experience even better. The extent of follow-up will depend on your product or service. More complex purchases that involve installation or training of staff may require more extensive post-sale care; those simpler transactions may require much less effort. The more you learn about your customer and their business, the more equipped you’ll be identify future selling opportunities.

Review and Refine Your Sales Process to Reflect Changes to Your Business

As businesses scale, opportunities change and sales technology advances, the sales process will require refining. Revisions should always be done by the Head of Sales Channel (i.e. VP of Operations). Team leaders need to clearly demonstrate to the sales team that they fully understand the process they have designed and convey to the team that they are adding new layers to bring about better opportunities. Before launching the new process, it’s a good idea to allow individuals to ask questions and offer feedback to address any inefficiencies or problem areas.

There is no one set of sales process steps that every business can follow; it all depends on the nature of your services and products and what your objectives are. By carefully crafting a sales process, involving all the right people, and reviewing it often, you’ll be better equipped to assess potential money making opportunities and further the long-term goals of your organization.