Sales Process simplified for Startups and Small Business

No matter what you're selling, the process of converting your Leads to Customers require a process/structure.

In order to succeed and thrive in sales you would need to master each one of these below steps.

 1. Choose a Sector/Industry to focus

The product or service that you are offering is probably needed by the whole world. But, don't target the whole world yet. Choose one or two sectors with sufficient study done via channels like Surveys, Personal interview with potential buyers, Advisory board, Social Media, Blogs etc...

2. Convince yourself about the product or Service that you sell.

You can't convince a prospect effectively without knowing all about your products and services. If you don't understand the product or service OR if you are not convinced yourself, you cannot expect someone else to buy it, simple!

3. Understand your target audience 

After the step1, and once you are convinced about your products and Services, the chances are that you may start focusing too much on your brand and your products, while communicating with your audience - there is a big trouble here, as your target audience is more interested in knowing how the product/service will solving their problems.

4. Create and Manage Leads well

To succeed, you must make sure not a single lead is ever missed!, and to do that, you have to ensure that, the Leads generated through various marketing activities are seamlessly flowing into an central platform like CRM tool. Remember, setting up this integration is not a rocket science, and there are many firms that can help you get a usable and working CRM tool up and running for your small business for as low as Rs 500 ($10) a month!
While setting up CRM tool, please ensure that the 'Contact us' form and 'Request for quote' forms are bringing the data straight into the CRM Leads database. To learn more on top CRM apps for startups, micro and small business, click here

5. Identify the "Prospects"

The 'Potential' qualification stage usually takes place at the appointment itself, although you can also qualify briefly during your initial contact. The idea is to confirm that your prospect is both able and potentially willing to buy your Product or Service.

6. Set an Appointment

It's time to use those leads you collected in step 4. Many salespeople prefer to cold call over the phone, but you can also call in person, send one on one email or even use e-marketing activities to targeted Lead.
Use the right cloud based tools like Skype or Zoho meeting, which allow you to meet the prospect over a web meeting, which will help you minimize the cost.

7. Presentation(s) to Prospects

Presentation to the Potential customer is a key step. Do mock trials with a group of colleagues or friends. Personal branding and flaw-less presentation of your product/service with sufficient eye to detail is essential to generate and sustain the interest from the prospects.

During the presentation, you do get to deal with your prospect's concerns. the most common being "I may have to think about it” - prepare well to tackle this as an 'answer' during your presentation itself.

8. Ask for the Sale, Close the Deal

Once you've made your presentation and answered your prospect's questions and concerns, it's time to ask for the sale and close the deal confidently.

Ask for referrals, with or without a successful sale with your prospects, add them to Leads database of CRM, continue the process from step 5 onwards.