With the last quarter of 2015 already here, it’s time to turn thoughts toward 2016 and how to best control your sales process. Going into the new year, you need to ensure you have a solid pipeline of qualified leads. If you’re selling a product or service for more than $5000, it’s very likely that multiple people or a committee will be involved in the decision, and that they require placement into the overall school budget by spring.
For every opportunity you are pursuing, your sales organizations should be able to provide you with information on three key criteria:
- Has a champion been identified and established for each opportunity?
- Has the champion agreed to mutually identified next steps?
- Has the champion provided access to power?
Your sales representatives should be able to give you specific, precise details and an understanding of the lead’s evaluation process. If they can’t give details, chances are that it’s not a qualified opportunity – it is simply the sales staff hoping that the customer likes your product enough to buy it, and hope is not a sales strategy. Building the expectation that your sales staff has concrete, actionable knowledge of champions, next steps and access to decision-makers is key in maintaining control over your sales process, rather than crossing your fingers and hoping for the best in 2016.
And for companies looking to take it to the next level in 2016, the Arc Revenue Diagnostic is an intensive, short-term examination of a company’s current situation that allows Arc to develop an actionable plan for the best strategic options and top tactics for moving to the next level of organizational growth. Contact us today for more information.
