Your Sales Process Isn’t Constraining. It’s Empowering.

Your sales process doesn’t constrain you. It empowers you.

Process

The sales process is a global position satellite. No matter what you do, the sales process reminds you of where you are going and helps you focus.

• If you are in the qualifying stage, your process reminds you what has to happen for the target to reach qualified.
• If you are in discovery, your process keeps you laser-focused on getting to the point where you are and your client both know what needs to change and what needs to be done to help them get there.

If you are off course, your process tells you how to get back on course. But like a GPS, it sometimes can’t provide you turn-by-turn guidance. You sometimes have to find your own way.

Methodologies

Sales methodologies aren’t constraints either. They are a framework on how to achieve some outcome. Most of the best methodologies don’t prescribe an answer, but ask a set of questions.

• A questioning methodology doesn’t tell you what questions to ask, but tells you what information it is important to acquire and how you might obtain it.
• A good stakeholder methodology doesn’t tell you exactly what you need to do to win a complex sale, but it does provide you with some idea of the questions you might ask yourself to figure it out.

Good sales processes and methodologies are principle-based. They aren’t designed to be constraints. They’re designed to help you act in line with the principles of good selling and to help you produce better outcomes for you and your clients.

Your sales processes and methodologies are empowering. If you use them.