For higher closing rates: practice what works

Tightening up your sales process and using best practices doesn’t cost a lot of money and it can boost revenue fast.

Doing more of what works. Over the past few weeks Bungalo Group met with several top sales people at a specialty contractor. Our client’s sales team could easily point to several best practices – like sending a proposal within 72 hours of a meeting – that were not used consistently by everyone on the team. Bungalo documented these best practices and is helping the team use them to win more projects.

After just a few weeks of focused effort the team is excited. Just doing more of what they already know works is improving results. When everyone does more of what works more of the time, closing rates go up.

For more sales, identify and then practice more of what works:

1. Document your Sales Process. Create a Sales Process Map*. A process map is a detailed outline (usually a table or flow chart) of the steps involved in buying and selling a product or service. It’s called a map because it describes your way of getting from Point A (lead) to Point B (signed contract).

2. Pinpoint what works. Identify the best practices used in your company. Where and how do they fit in the process? Apply your resources and streamline systems to do more of what works.

For example: if follow-up calls improve closing rates by 50% but they aren’t getting done, take a close look at how your time and money is currently allocated. Would it be a better bet to spend time and money on phone calls than some other activity?

3. Look outside your own company and industry for ideas. Adopt and adapt what’s working for other businesses and sectors and make it part of your process.

4. Use the “3 x 90” formula. Choose three best practices (chunks of your sales process) and focus on implementing them consistently for the next 90 days. Start with just a few improvements so you can build momentum and create success. Attempting to fix everything at once is frustrating and counter-productive, so try not to bite off more than you can chew.

5. Create reminders. Post signs; add reminders to your calendar. Slap post-its on the dashboard. Write it in the icing on a cake. Do whatever you can to make your best-practices a focal point for the team.

6. Track results. Make a best-practice check-in part of your regular team meeting and share examples of what’s working. Use your CRM or Contact Management System to document when and how you are using your best practices to close sales.

*What Good is a Sales Process Map?

You can get from place to place without a map. But having a map helps you get there more quickly, and reminds you how you got there last time. A Sales Process Map documents the best and fastest route to closing a sale.

A sales process is a series of actions and best practices that lead to winning a job, signing a contract, or closing a sale. If the sale is complex, there may be a lot of steps over an extended period of time. The longer the sales cycle, the more opportunity there is for the process to break down and the sale to be lost.

Process mapping often leads to detailed conversations and creative problem solving. It’s powerful because it helps companies discover better ways to get from “hello” all the way to “signed contract.” Even when the process is long or complicated.

Bungalo Group helps companies in the residential building industry create better business results. For a tighter sales process and higher closing rates contact us.