The process of developing an effective and efficient sales system requires a clear set of selling steps that mirror the way in which a prospective client likes to make buying decisions. For example, a purchasing manager looking to purchase a laptop computer for an individual employee would have different requirements than one looking to outfit IT hardware for an entire office. In both cases the intention of the client is different, but the decision-making process is the same.

Your Activity Funnel Client’s Decision Process
Lead Management Where should I look for this?
First Contact Do I like this company/ Salesperson?
Quality Are my needs being met?
Pitch Am I ready to decide?
Negotiate Am I getting a good deal?
Client Satisfaction Call Did they deliver?

The sales representative’s goal is to help the client through the decision-making process. Prospective clients ask themselves questions through the steps. Each step and each question successfully answered influences the successful outcome of a purchased service or product. The flawless delivery of the sales activity funnel ensures the highest return on time invested with both potential clients and sales representatives. Keep in mind as well, in some instances; the same client may have needs for multiple services. For example, an IT hardware prospect maybe be interested in software solutions as well. In addition, they may also be interested in office furniture or ergonomic solutions. The opportunity to provide cross-selling and upselling opportunities should be kept in mind.

Each step in the activity funnel has a defined sales objective for the sales representative. When the representative completes these sales objectives, they also answer the questions most commonly asked by the prospect. The completion of each objective in each successive step increases the probability of signing an agreement. Measuring this successive activity provides a clear probabilities forecasting model to forecast future service and product sales. Service/sales excellence is achieved when all steps are applied consistently and flawlessly by all sales representatives.

Logan Mathieson is a sales representative at Velsoft.