The DriveSales™ | Sales Process vs. Sales Methodology: Why you need both?

Undoubtedly, it is a known fact that sales are not a child’s play. It requires a lot of learning and experience to be able to excel in this particular domain. Sales can be very messy and chaotic if there is no proper approach or strategy in place.

However, if you have an idea about the sales planning and sales structure, your job becomes sixty percent easier. It is not a lesser-known fact that those who are considered masters in the sales domain are not only good at their selling skills but they have also mastered the art of efficient planning and strategizing.

You could put in hours and hours in convincing your clients why they should choose you amongst all others present in the market, but you will not even stand a chance if the client is not able to relate with your sales structure and planning.

Thus, it is absolutely imperative to have an efficient sales process in place. This process will guide you at every stage and will help you to bag those deals that might have even been out of your reach. An effective sales process will provide you with a uniform and consistent plan that will ensure that you perform for every client of yours without any fail.

It is also a known fact that sales reps are often confused between the sales process and sales methodology. So, we’ll deep dive into these two concepts and explore their importance.

Sales Process vs. Sales Methodology

Without any doubt, these two terms form the basis of any successful sales and are equally important to consider.

Sales Process is essentially the series of stages or steps that are efficient and unique to every organization. It constitutes all the necessary actions that a salesperson must follow to successfully bag the clients.

Every industry or company has its own unique sales process. It depends upon various factors such as the company’s domain, budget, target customers, previous experiences, market status, etc. Hence, it is a plan for a particular business made exclusively for their use.

Sales methodology is a broader concept that dictates how one should go about building his own sales process. Sales methodologies are not unique like a sales process. Since they are the reference points for the sales process, they are more versatile and flexible. They are no secret and thus, any business can avail them.

Sales methodology is like an approach to improve sales effectiveness. Generally, sales methodologies are not wholesome, i.e., they are not applied at the whole sales process, but are incorporated in some of the stages to further advance sales strategy.

Need of sales process and sales methodology

If you want to bag a client from the current extremely competitive market, you need a holistic approach to your sales strategy. You can’t just wing it when the time comes. You need to pre-plan every stage to impress your client with your approach and pitches.

This can only be achieved with the help of a great and working sales process. With an effective sales process, you will be able to comprehend how your every sales stage will look like. This will help you make informed decisions and will surely boost your confidence when dealing with the customers. It will make you credible and reliable in the eyes of your clients and will help in building a trustworthy relationship with your prospect.

Sales methodology, on the other hand, will provide you with the essential boost of strategy. With a lot of business coming up in almost every domain, competition is tight. Many of your adversaries might have a similar-looking sales process or a few stages of their sales plan might overlap with yours.

Hence, you need a more advanced approach at a few stages of your sales process. Sales methodology will give you that optimization of your sales process. It will provide your business an edge over your competition and that is all you’ll need to leave your mark on your client.

Now, as an effective SALESPERSON! We can do three things from here.

1. Not ignoring the opportunity and blaming the situation for revenue loss.

2. Taking important notes and going back to revisit your sales strategy with the growth mindset.

3. Reaching out to The DriveSales™ if you need any specialized help for sales.

To conclude, what you choose to think also provides some idea of your development as a consultative salesperson. It is something like Mark Roberge quotes “It’s no longer about interrupting, pitching and closing. It is about listening, diagnosing and prescribing.”

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