In every business there is a sales workflow that is relatively the same. Whether you are a construction profesional, photographer, lawyer, consultant, owner of a flower shop, or a traveling salesman you are in the business of selling either a product or a service and you follow the same process. The details (tasks) may be different, but the process always the same.
The picture above shows the most common workflow for completing sales starting from first contact and completing with delivery of service or product:
1. Need clarification (0% probability). This stage doesn’t gain any probability because it might just first meeting, cold call or email message. Sales person should/could (it depends on your internal understanding) notice the need of the client. And if he/she thinks that it might be a prospective sale and lead to signing a contract. Only then he/she should establish the Lead.
2. Lead establishment (20% probability). At this stage sales person should gather all possible information about prospect client and how he/she will solve the problem for the client. At this point probability will be at least 20%.
3. Situation analysis / Proposal preparation (40% probability). Usually the sales person should analyze in detail what is the exact need for client. Every client is special. How quick and precisely sales person will determine the situation, so it will help to prepare the proposal/quote. Proposal preparation should not take much time. Sales person should be prepared to add item to the proposal and send it right away to the client.
4. Proposal presentation (50% probability). Imagine if you could prepare the proposal and at the same meeting you have an option to present it. Such an option could help you sell much faster, right? Sales person would show the professional attitude and client would be impressed on how much time he saved. That’s why mobile device for sales workflow management is so handy.
5. Negotiation (75% probability). Selling without negotiation is possible, but it happens only on lucky days. Most individual sales requires negotiation, especially in B2B segment.
6. Signing the contract (90% probability). When sales person convince the client about the need of his/her product/service we recommend to sign the contract. Even one page contract will show more confidence in your company.
7. Preparation for Service/Product delivery (100% probability). Even when the contract is signed you have to prepare for service/product delivery. You have to finalize paper work, prepare parcels or manufacture new products. Write down the most critical tasks and check it every time you in this stage. Only when all tasks are completed we can say the Lead is 100% completed.
The important thing to keep in mind is that this is a linear process but it can be repeated as many times as new Lead established. Even when the same client buys new products or expands the quantity for the same one, you should go through these stages again.
For this reason, it’s a good idea to keep your prospects and your confirmed sales separate so that you can mentally balance the work you have currently with the work you have coming up. Benroy allows you to keep your focus on both your leads and your current deliverables by establishing a Lead and Project workflow.
How It Works
We use term Lead in Benroy Business App for all prospect sales and Project for current deliverables. In Benroy, you can create a Lead for each prospective client. You can then assign an Actions Group to track your process through the stages mentioned above. Once you reach the “Preparation for Delivery” stage, you can convert the lead into a project. This separates your business on the table, from your confirmed deliverables. When you convert a lead into a project in Benroy, all the important details (Client credentials, proposal, contract data) are pulled so you have the information you need to stay focus on business. You can use a project Activity Tab here to track your process until completion.
Please read Benroy Business App’ User manual (page 31) for more detailed description on how to manage Leads, how to prepare Proposals and how to Sign a contract using iPad. And see page 19 for Project management description.
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