SALES
Initial Outreach and Lead Generation
Setting Up a Minimum Viable Sales Process
A minimum viable sales process outlines the basic steps to turn leads into paying customers. It ensures consistency and scalability as your sales efforts grow.
Why it's Important
Creates a clear roadmap for the sales team.
Enables consistent lead handling and follow-up.
Provides insights for improving close rates.
How to Implement
Map the customer journey from awareness to purchase.
Define key stages of the sales funnel (e.g., lead, opportunity, closed).
Establish qualification criteria for leads (e.g., BANT: Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline).
Document follow-up cadences and key actions at each stage.
Use CRM tools to automate and track the process.
Available Workshops
Sales Funnel Mapping: Visualize each step from lead to customer.
Qualification Role-Play: Practice qualifying leads using BANT.
Cadence Development: Build follow-up schedules.
CRM Workflow Setup: Customize CRM pipelines.
Objection Handling: Workshop common objections and solutions.
Metrics Brainstorm: Define key performance indicators.
Deliverables
Documented sales funnel and process.
CRM setup with defined stages and workflows.
Sales scripts and templates.
How to Measure
Lead conversion rates at each stage of the funnel.
Time to close deals.
Number of qualified leads entering the pipeline.
Revenue generated per lead.
Real-World Examples
Asana
Simplified the sales process to focus on self-service for SMBs while nurturing enterprise leads.
Trello
Built a seamless funnel for users transitioning from free to paid plans.
Zendesk
Developed clear qualification criteria to focus sales on high-value enterprise clients.
Get It Right
Keep the process simple and flexible.
Train the team thoroughly on each step.
Regularly analyze data to identify bottlenecks.
Automate where possible without losing personalization.
Align sales and marketing on handoff points.
Don't Make These Mistakes
Overcomplicating the sales process.
Neglecting lead qualification.
Failing to follow up with leads promptly.
Skipping documentation for repeatability.
Using too many tools without integration.
Provided courtesy of Whitney Elenbaas, Fractional CRO