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Let’s break this idea down to its most basic concept: How do you create a process for anything? For instance, how do you create a process for making Thanksgiving dinner? Continue reading
When people ask me about which process in their business they should professionalize first, I inevitably tell them to start with sales. In case you haven’t picked up on it yet, I’m a big believer in sales, and it’s no coincidence that I tend to give it the highest priority. A refined and professional sales process is an asset that will deliver great returns for your over and over again throughout the life of the business.
Why start with sales? Because it’s hard to uproot and replace an entrenched sales system — even one that doesn’t work very well — and every day you wait, the more difficult it becomes. If there’s one thing you want to get right as early as possible, it’s sales. Continue reading
When a business doesn’t have professionalized processes in place, it’s obvious. Their performance is erratic and unpredictable. Instead of clearly organized methods and practices for accomplishing their operations, they’re essentially throwing spaghetti noodles at the wall and seeing what, if anything sticks.
That’s not an efficient way to run a business. By replacing that haphazard approach with a proven, reliable and scalable set of practices, those processes perform more consistently. In other words, it becomes “professionalized.” Every business has processes that benefit from being professionalized, from production to HR, and from finance to sales. Continue reading
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One of the biggest mistakes businesses make, from startup to established brand, is misunderstanding the sales development sequence. Skipping over an important stage can result in more than just lost time, it can result in poor understanding of demand, inaccurate customer acquisition costs, and even premature hires.
In this episode, host Tom Ryan explores the first stage in the sales professionalization process: Customers and demand. As always, Tom is joined in the discussion by co-host Jason Pyles. Continue reading