Someone once said that if what you are doing is not a process, then it is probably a problem. Analyze your business activities and, where possible, identify the steps that you go through to get things done. Particularly, study how you find new prospects and how you engage in follow-up.
For example, in prospecting there is:
- Defining your market. [Sponsored Link - Read the how to prospect book - Prospect Factory.]
- Acquiring a list. [Sponsored Link -100 Free Sales Leads! Find new customers & grow your sales with leads from infoUSA.com.
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- Categorizing outreach (i.e. what kinds of interactive outreach – calls, letters, email, ezine, blogs, Youtube, Facebook, seminars, trade shows, networking, etc.). [Sponsored Link - Email Communication Experts - Email Marketing, RSS, Surveys, and Autoresponders. Free Trial of iContact
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- Database creation. [Sponsored Link - Contact management database software - Act! By Sage 2010
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- Development and production of marketing material/collateral. [Sponsored Link - Learn to write sales prospecting letters - The One Pager Manual.]
- Data collection.
- Systematic outreach.
- Review and adjustments.
Once you have found an interested prospect via the process above, next comes the elements of follow-up:
- Proposal generation.
- Quoting.
- Scheduling.
- Presentation.
- Presentation follow-up.
- Closing.
- Assembly.
- Shipping and delivery.
- Ongoing follow-up.
At first it may seem tedious and time consuming to try and create a process for everything you do! However, make a process where you can. Identify the steps involved so you can focus on improving those steps and create greater overall efficiency. For instance, you can’t make a presentation without making a proposal first. You can’t make calls without a list. You can’t create a useful list without defining your market, etc. Avoid “ready-fire-aim” scenarios by properly aligning the steps you go through to make things happen.
- When I first started identifying the steps I was going through in order to prospect, my prospecting “system” came to life.
- Once I had the prospecting system down, I focused on other areas of my business -such as sales follow-up.
- I went on to create more systems by outlining and aligning the processes involved in various areas.
- Because I was able to generate a high volume of sales leads, follow-up became more difficult for me to manage. However, once I designated the steps involved with follow-up, it became like hitting baseballs in a batting cage. The business could handle much more volume and do an even better job of execution.
A final point about processes and systems is that they create opportunities for leverage. If a recipe is in my head, I’m the only one who can do the cooking. However, if I write the recipe down, then I can have someone else do the cooking for me. Companies like McDonald’s have taken this concept to the maximum. As others have noted, most folks can make a better hamburger than McDonald’s, but can you make a better system? It’s the system that makes all the difference! It was the focus on systems that brought the era of franchises to life.
So, where you can, break down whatever you are doing into steps and create a process. You will become more efficient, better aligned, and better able to apply leverage.
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Originally posted 2009-05-12 13:36:21.
