Your Shiny, New Sales Process is Already Wrong

30 Jan 25

Learn how fast starters adapt their sales process to stay customer-centric and agile, driving growth and success from day one.

As we kick off a new year, many organizations are rolling out updates to their sales process. The changes are introduced to team members at sales kickoffs (SKOs), localized events, and one-on-one check-ins to reinforce the importance of adhering to the newly established sales process. The new system is operationalized and then placed on a shelf, often left untouched until sales process refinement begins again at the end of the year. Or worse, sellers become frustrated by the complexity and ineffectiveness of the new processes. 

This is the result of a sales process that is out of touch with the rapidly changing buyer environment we operate in. How effective can this process be for sellers if it does not align to the buyers' journey? 

Fast starters take a different approach by aligning to the buyers' journey through a series of ongoing sales process transformations.

Sales Process Misalignment 

While revising outdated sales processes is important, companies often make critical missteps by treating it as a static framework rather than a living document. The problem lies in the fact that many companies fail to connect their process to the evolving needs of the buyer. This leaves an abstract, outdated process that is misaligned to customer interactions, making it difficult for sellers to effectively engage prospects.

The new year is seen as a great time to communicate changes made to the sales process that reflect current market conditions and buyer behavior. Many organizations still hesitate to make real-time adjustments, fearing they will disrupt sales flow or overload their sellers with new tasks. As a result, the sales process becomes stagnant, leaving sellers to wing it and struggle with longer deal cycles and missed opportunities. It also leaves buyers confused and frustrated. 

It's important to recognize that a sales process can become outdated shortly after making changes. This does not reflect poorly made decisions, but rather a constantly evolving market. In order to keep up with this evolution, the sales process needs to be adjusted in real-time so your sellers can operate with efficiency.  

What Fast Starters Do Differently

Regular Evaluations

Fast starters take a different approach. Instead of creating the sales process as a fixed set of rules, they treat it as a flexible framework that evolves with the market. They actively monitor and adjust their processes to ensure they remain customer-centric and responsive to market shifts. By continuously fine-tuning the process, they create an agile sales environment that can quickly pivot to meet new challenges or take advantage of emerging opportunities.

Align to the Buyer’s Journey

Rather than simply lining selling stages up with buying stages, fast starters recognize that the buyer’s journey is rarely a straight line. Buyers move in unpredictable ways, and fast starters ensure that their sales process is flexible to accommodate this movement. Sellers are trained to diagnose where they buyer is at in their journey, regardless of what stage they think they should be in, ensuing more tailored and effective engagement.

Impact of Achieving a Fast Start

Slow starts are the result of sales processes that don’t reflect the current landscape. By continuing to create static sales processes, these companies fail to adapt to the ever-evolving market, resulting in slow sales cycles and missed opportunities.

Fast starters start the year with a customer-focus sales process. By regularly evaluating and aligning to the buyer’s journey, they drive stronger customer interactions and shorter deal cycles. By achieving a fast start, these companies successfully overcome the challenges of Q1 and position themselves for success throughout the year.

 Dive deeper into the research report, How a Fast Start to the Year Defines Your Growth Outcomes

Yes contain Sales Process

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