Sales is the bottom line for any business. It drives revenue. It helps a business grow. But what is sales, exactly? Is it just transactions and sales targets? This domain extends to building relationships with clients, understanding customer needs, and persuading a potential customer to know the product’s or service’s value. Discover what goes behind sales and why it is a highly rewarding domain for professionals.
Understanding the Sales Process
The sales process involves several steps that convert a prospect into a customer. It is like a roadmap that a sales team uses to close sales in a fast and organised manner. Depending on the organisation, the sales process can include five to seven steps.
Prospecting
The method of finding potential customers is prospecting. The term used for the customer who is likely to buy is a prospect. It is the first step that the sales team uses in the sales process.
It is one of the most difficult stages, as it does not guarantee the sale will be closed. In this light, the sales team focuses on determining the ways to meet potential buyers. This can be done both offline and online.
Salespeople go to industry events and conferences offline, while in the online space, they focus on the social channels their target audience generally uses.
Preparation
This is the next step when the salesperson is preparing to present the product or service information to the prospect. Preparation is done to pitch the product based on the individual’s wants and demands.
Approach
It is the initial point of contact with the prospect. The salesperson can give a free product sample, ask a question about the client in regard to the product, etc.
Presentation
Here the salesperson is demonstrating the product but also listening to the customer’s pain points.
Managing Objections
The potential buyer may only sometimes get the full idea of the product. They may also be unsatisfied with the presentation, as it may not cover the concern of the prospect. The salesperson should be able to persuade the prospect and not abandon them if they disagree.
Refer to Byju’s BDA interview questions
Closing
Here, the salesperson learns if the prospect decides to purchase. It is important that the salesperson offer the to-be customer something more in terms of payment options, discounts, etc.