Dec
1

By CommenceCRM

5 Essential Components of a Sales Development Process

There are many things that can influence a businesses’ success but the most important factor is the sales development process. Having a well-structured strategy and process for sales development will determine your sales team’s overall performance in identifying leads, engaging and closing prospects, and meeting the company’s target values. 

 

So what are the necessary components that a sales development process should have? An effective sales development process should have a good CRM platform, lead qualification system, content management, sales analytics, and feedback and collaboration. Sales development can be found at the top of the marketing funnel and it’s important during the early stages of enticing prospects and convincing them to take buying action. 

5 Components That An Effective Sales Development Process Should Have

 

The marketing and sales team are the two departments that are responsible for bringing new clients and driving business growth. But at the same time, they have distinct roles: marketing is a process for increasing awareness and reaching the target audience through various touchpoints whereas the sales department takes over engaging the prospects and persuading them to make a purchase. 

 

Designing a sales development process will guide both your inbound marketing and sales team in having better interactions with prospects and preparing them for securing deals. Here are the five important elements of a sales development process:  

1. A CRM Platform That’s Compatible With the Team’s Needs

Sales development is a primary part of the sales management that takes care of prospecting,  lead qualification, and customer background and research. Connecting with the best prospects will almost guarantee their conversion into end buyers and having a good CRM platform will help this. 

 

CRM, or customer relationship management, is an important aspect in the sales development process and it pertains to the entire process of generating new leads and classifying them as prospects. Having a good CRM system will help support both your marketing team and salespeople as they gather information about consumers and reach out to them one-by-one. 

 

It’s important that you equip the right CRM software that suits your team’s needs and provides reinforcements to your daily workflows so they can work more efficiently and bring results. A CRM platform is always a good investment that will help build a customer base and maintain business success in the long run. 

2. An Efficient Lead Qualification System  

Before classifying an individual or organization as a prospect, the marketing team will attract and generate leads for the salespeople. A huge part of the sales development process is preparing a checklist or defining a system that will identify leads as potential prospects. If you recommend a non-qualified lead to the sales team, they will only be wasting their resources and time. 

 

On the other hand, if you have set a standard for qualifying leads, the sales reps will be able to smoothly assist the customer throughout the buying journey and ensure a closed business deal. The lead qualification system should always be data-driven and there are typically two key components that can help determine whether they’re a qualified lead:

  • Buyer’s persona fit: During the planning stage for the sales process, the marketing and sales team should have come to an agreement about the customer profile, demographics, and behavior of their intended market. The team should always cross-check a lead with their ideal target audience before recommending them as a prospect to the sales team. 
  • Level of engagement: This pertains to the marketing team’s assessment of the lead’s interest in their product or service. Having a high level of engagement or interest can determine how likely they’re to make a purchasing decision. Several factors can influence their level of engagement such as social media interaction with the brand, website visits, and email response.  

3. Accessible Content Management Portal 

Sales content management refers to the creation, organization, and publishing of promotion materials and sales collateral that will be used throughout the selling process. These assets are important for informing and educating the prospects about the product or service with the intent of increasing their buying interest. 

 

To save time in searching for the right marketing and sales collateral, there should be a centralized database or content portal where all materials for marketing and promotion can be easily accessed and found by all members of the sales team. The sales content should always be labeled and tagged accordingly depending on the buyer’s persona and where they’re in the buying journey. 

 

In most cases, a general sales collateral will not always work for all prospects especially since they have varying needs. It’s always ideal to prepare specific and relevant materials with the right messaging to increase the chances of encouraging them to make a purchase.  

4. Tools for Sales Analytics 

Data is important for every step of the sales process since this makes sure that all strategies are aligned with the business objectives. Careful analysis of sales data and metrics also helps in predicting sales outcomes, identifying trends, and improving the understanding of the consumers to improve their sales planning and development. 

 

Sales analytics will give your salespeople and marketing team insights on the efficiency of their sales materials and collateral are performing, how many prospects are showing interest to purchase, and how well each phase of the sales process is performing. 

 

Some of the usual metrics for sales development analysis are SQL win rate, number of calls, quota attainment, prospect response rates, number of outreach attempts, and revenue growth. 

5. Means to Share Feedback and Encourage Collaboration 

The main function of sales development is to align the marketing and sales teams on the goals of the business. Establishing a good working relationship and fostering an environment of collaboration will help boost the morale of every member of the department and lead to better sales success for the company. 

 

Creating a platform where everyone can share their feedback will spur healthy communication between the two teams. This is also important for identifying challenges early on in the sales process and mitigating them to assure the efficiency of the team. There should also be built-in programs and tools where the members can work collaboratively to boost productivity and sales results. 

 

Why a Sales Development Process Is Important

 

A sales development process will help your team to be more efficient and quick at classifying qualified leads into prospects. This acts as a bridge for the common areas of disconnect between the marketing and sales departments, usually in lead generation and prospecting. With a standard sales development protocol in place, your sales team will have better lead response times and conversion rates. 

 

In addition, this will help improve the quality of the leads and reduce the chances of failed sales attempts. When your marketing team is able to identify which are ideal prospects, the process of engaging prospects and closing deals will become easier for the sales reps. This will lead to increased revenues, ROI, and may even exceed the set quota for the team. 

 

Sales development is also vital for improving marketing efforts and providing better customer service and experience. Using the insights gathered from sales analytics can help you see the areas of improvement of the entire sales process. It’a useful for optimizing your sales content and ensuring that you deliver the right campaigns and messaging to the right audience.

 

How To Implement Your Sales Development Process 

 

Once you’ve created a sales development process, it’s important for all marketing and sales employees to be acquainted with its components. A thorough onboarding will help them understand the concepts and objectives of the sales development protocols. You should also involve the team in defining milestones and ensuring that they’re trained with the right skills to achieve them in each stage of the sales process. 

 

In addition to sales training, your salespeople should also be provided with the appropriate resources so they can communicate with their prospects. Whether it’s customer profile, sales and data analysis, or industry-related case studies, it’s important that your sales team is prepared to take action. 

 

And most importantly, you shouldn’t be afraid to improve and accept feedback about the sales experience from both customers and employees. This is the only way to ensure that the sales process remains effective and consistent in producing results and meeting targets. Regular feedback and evaluation of the sales development process will help reduce mistakes and maintain sales efficiency. 

Commence CRM: Setting Your Team Up for Sales Success

 

A CRM software is a great investment that will improve your sales development process and streamline all your workflow and tasks for better management. At Commence, we offer a comprehensive CRM solution with all the features that you will need for lead generation, accounts management, and the best customer experience your company can provide. 

 

Commence is a trusted CRM provider for any small and medium-sized company, providing excellent sales management and operations solutions to meet company goals and objectives efficiently. Contact us today to experience what Commence has to offer. You may also visit our website.

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