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How to Use Salesforce to Manage Your Sales Process

Aug 26, 2022

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In recent years, Salesforce has evolved as one of the most popular customer relationship management (CRM) cloud software systems. However, for those who are still using spreadsheets and other ad hoc solutions to manage sales, the concept of a cloud CRM such as Salesforce may be new to you, and knowing how Salesforce may enhance your sales process is an excellent first step.

 

Do you know proper CRM engagement results in customer loyalty, growth, and revenues? Salesforce's ROI is calculated as follows: Among other benefits, there was a 28% rise in revenue, a 45% increase in prediction accuracy, and a 38% increase in lead conversion rate.

 

In this article, we will help you learn everything you need to know about how to use Salesforce to manage your sales process. With QuantoKnack’s Salesforce admin training and QA Testing Courses, you can master the skills needed to work on the Salesforce platform and give wings to your dream career. Upskill yourself, drive new business, and get certified with QuantoKnack!

 

What Is The Sales Process?

The sales process is a set of procedures that takes a sales representative from product and market analysis through the close of the sale – and beyond. The number of stages in the sales process varies by industry, product, and prospect; however, they consistently involve four major stages: research, prospecting, sales call and close, and relationship-building.

 

A sales process may pave the path map for your sales staff, guiding them through the various phases of the sales cycle until they are turned into clients. The finest sales processes also contain phases or stages that specify how salespeople may maintain and grow customer connections.

 

  • Customer-centric

    • Today's modern buyers are empowered by access to information and a broader range of options. Smart businesses set up their sales process steps with their customers' buying patterns and processes.



  • Clear and actionable

    • All stakeholders should understand each stage and element of the sales process. Defining the essential activities eliminates uncertainty and the chance of mistakes.



  • Replicable

    • Any sales professional must be able to replicate each step of the sales process. Representatives must also be able to adapt the sales process or its components in various sales circumstances.



  • Predictable

    • The intended outcomes of each stage and the flow from one step to the next should be specified.



  • Goal-oriented

    • The sales process should direct sales teams on achieving their objectives.



  • Measurable

    • To assure compliance and allow improvement, you should really be able to measure all of the activities and actions involved in the sales process.



  • Rigidity does not allow for improvement

    • The sales process should be flexible enough to react to changing company and customer demands technological advancements, or sales operations changes.




 

Following a sales process might seem a little obvious, yet many sales representatives fail to do so. Frequently, these errors involve failing to complete critical sales process tasks. While great sales reps may close deals quickly, most sales professionals require some advice to prevent typical sales blunders that can cause negotiations to be delayed or drowned.

 

Why do you need a sales process for your sales team?

It's no surprise that the world's #1 sales productivity software has caused a buzz, with over 150,000 customers worldwide and a highly strong track record of bringing substantial improvements to its clients' bottom lines.

 

Suppose you're a sales manager in charge of a team with no sales procedure. Every day, your team performs a variety of sales tasks across numerous accounts and deals. However, the single measure recorded is the number of signed deals and their value. There is no insight into sales activity, and when money generated by the sales team decreases, no one knows why.

 

If this sounds similar, your team does require a sales process. Here are five additional advantages of having a systematic sales process:

 

Increase the number of qualifying leads

Your salesperson will be able to interact with and qualify the correct prospects if they can sift out the leads that are less likely to buy. Concentrating efforts on prospects willing to close shortens the sales cycle and compensates for the time and effort of your salespeople. CRM software with AI lead scoring assists them even further by ranking leads based on their interaction with the product and the salesperson.

 

Utilize the right talent 

You will obtain information about your salespeople's performance at each stage of the sales process if the sales team follows a consistent sales procedure. For example, you'll know how many emails a salesperson sent out, the metrics linked with them (open rate, bounce rate, and click rate), the number of dials, the calls to conversation rate, and so on. This informs you of who is writing the greatest emails and having the most exciting phone calls and who needs assistance in those areas.

 

If your CRM software allows you to retain email templates, you may reuse the finest emails and share them with salespeople who need assistance with outreach.

 

Forecasting accurate figures

Knowing where each salesperson is in the sales process helps you to predict revenue more precisely. Your salespeople can maintain your sales funnel filled with a well-functioning sales process, thereby increasing your income.

 

Forecast sales accurately: Knowing where each sales agent is in the process may help management anticipate sales more accurately. You can forecast how many deals can be concluded in a particular time frame and establish more realistic quotas as a result.

 

Having a better idea of your prospects

A well-defined sales process defines prospective buyers' buyer persona (BP) and ideal customer profile (ICP). This helps salespeople determine who they should be talking to instead of wasting time with every lead they come across.

 

Always keep on track

Prospects really have to hear from you an average of seven times before making a buying decision. However, most salespeople do not have a follow-up strategy. Sometimes they follow up once, maybe twice, and if they don't get a response, they go on to the next prospect—this inconsistency leads to missed chances.

 

An effective sales cadence approach reminds your salespeople when and how to follow up with prospects. This keeps the prospect interested in making a purchase alive.

 

Understanding bottlenecks allows you to move business easily

Each salesperson should be held accountable for following the sales process and helping the consumer through the sales process. You receive insight into blocked deals when you have a sales procedure in place. A sales process not only informs you what to do but also how and when to do it. As a result, you may identify bottlenecks and determine how to address each barrier.

 

Why You Should Manage Your Sales Process With Salesforce

For a good reason, Salesforce is a household brand in the sales industry. After developing a team-wide methodology for using the platform, the average Salesforce user reports the following ROI:

 

  • On average, companies who move to Salesforce will enjoy a 25 percent boost in sales.

  • Companies that utilize Salesforce experience a 66% boost in customer satisfaction.

  • Customer support representatives' productivity has increased by 25%, thanks to the implementation of Salesforce.


 

Even the most basic Salesforce feature may significantly enhance your sales team's day-to-day operations as well as its overall health. However, the program shines when its full capabilities are utilized to build and implement a proven sales process.

 

The sales teams who utilize Salesforce to build, manage, and measure a well-structured and well-defined sales process achieve the best outcomes.

If your sales team has not previously done so, it is worthwhile to set aside time to describe your sales process precisely. Here's how Salesforce can assist you in developing standardized sales processes that can take your business to the next level.

 

Improved Lead Management

One of the most well-known features of Salesforce is the simplicity with which it automates and manages even the most complicated prospect and client lists.

 

Users may identify and filter prospects and customers based on a variety of parameters, allowing representatives to keep a constant pulse on the status of their sales funnel. Salesforce can also display statistics based on the Opportunity Stage (more on that in a moment), which is critical for effective sales forecasting.

 

Automation

With salespeople devoting up to 64% of their time to non-revenue-generating tasks, effective and dependable automation is more important than ever.

 

Salesforce can quickly take on a plethora of administrative responsibilities that would otherwise be allocated to overburdened sales agents. Furthermore, the platform is very flexible and can be tailored to match your company's automation requirements.

 

Funnel Optimization

The more you understand your customers and their habits, the more profitable your sales funnel will become.

 

Salesforce can configure, manage, and analyze almost unlimited customer data points, allowing your team members to improve and optimize the sales funnel easily.

 

Even the most seasoned salesman may struggle to find the perfect material for the right prospect at the right moment. Salesforce can assist salespeople in keeping track of who needs what and when removing the guesswork from the process.

 

Salesforce is much more than just a data input management tool. The software has the potential to alter the way your team maintains client connections and may have a significant influence on a wide variety of your company demands.

 

The 7-step sales process

A general sales process begins with prospecting, gathering feedback, and cultivating the customer-supplier relationship. Each step can be completed as follows:

 

Prospecting

Prospecting for new clients is the first phase in the seven-step sales process. Buyer Persona (BP) and Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) papers are required to identify prospects who are most likely to purchase your product and to assist your salespeople in identifying them.

 

The finest source of information on this is your company's sales history. It is simpler to build them when you know who bought from you and why they did so.

 

  • Analyze past transactions and accounts to identify client and firm patterns.

  • Map the prospect's responsibilities with their difficulties and aspirations.

  • Determine how a customer's pain point was used to persuade them of the essential necessity of the goods. Make an easy-to-understand paper out of your results and distribute it to your sales staff.


 

Qualification / Assessing needs

When the relationship with the prospect warms up, they are ready for a call. The salesperson should conduct a discovery call with the prospect to determine whether the product can address the prospect's concerns.

 

Prospects are quantified using a variety of methods. The BANT is the most widely utilized (Budget, Authority, Need, Timescale). To determine whether a prospect is sales-ready, the salesman asks questions such,

 

  • Do you have a sufficient budget for this project? If not, when will you have it?

  • What are your organization's decision-making and approval processes?

  • How are you now dealing with this challenge? What can we do to improve or resolve it?

  • How does your timeline look? When do you need this solution to be put in place?


 

Other qualifying procedures, such as CHAMP (Challenges, Authority, Money, Prioritization) or MEDDIC (Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identity Pain, Champion)

 

Demonstration

Following sales qualification, the salesperson or account executive sets a demo call with the prospect. During this conversation, they discuss the product's characteristics that are important to the prospect's use case, concentrating on how it can assist them in solving their issues.

 

It is a great idea to arrange your demo ahead of time. Prepare use cases related to your prospect's domain and tailor your presentation. Building a solid rapport is critical at this point, and the goal is to sound nice and accessible. Listen to the prospects' problems, sympathize with them, and answer their issues.

 

While promoting the benefits of your product, don't impose them on them. Allow them time and space to decide, which will bring us to the following level.

 

Evaluation

Product assessment enables a potential consumer to test the product utilizing a free trial account for a short time. The premium characteristics of the product may be presented to the consumer to assist them in evaluating the product as a whole.

During this time, the salesman or account executive should keep in touch with the prospect to confirm their desire to buy is strong.

 

Negotiations

Dealing with objections is an unavoidable element of the sales process. Buyers are unwilling to accept a product without much resistance and require convincing. Prospects may raise a variety of objections based on their product usage, ranging from privacy issues to product cost. Though concerns are difficult to overcome, they might indicate the prospect's interest in the product. By effectively overcoming objections, the prospect is persuaded of the product's value and is prepared to invest in it.

 

Closing

This is the goal of every sales representative. Closing a deal depends on completing different steps such as submitting a quote, final discussions, signing the contract and other key paperwork, and so on. If the transaction does not go as planned, sales representatives should enroll the prospect in a nurturing stage to re-engage them in the future.

 

Nurturing and continuing to sell

The sales process doesn't really finish when a sale is made. When a prospect becomes a client, they might be assigned to an account manager or customer success representative who will begin the onboarding process.

 

A salesman should keep in touch with the customer regarding any post-sales help they may require. Nurturing a connection with the consumer will provide chances for cross-selling and upselling, as well as qualified recommendations.

 

3 Things You’ll Need for Setting up a Salesforce Sales Process

Every business is different, yet all businesses seek to discover, win, and keep clients. Your Sales Process comprises the actions your team takes to accomplish this. The finest sales executives understand how prospects progress through each stage of their Sales Process on their route to making a purchase.

 

A CRM, such as Salesforce, records that prospect as they progress through the buyer's journey toward becoming a client. Leaders can improve team performance around what works, analyze funnel health in real-time, and uncover chances for development with a well-managed Salesforce instance.

 

If you are starting your journey on "How to become a salesforce architect," then learning the following three steps will be helpful to you as they are the foundations to set up a Sales Process in Salesforce:

 

Understand Salesforce’s Standard Object Architecture

Salesforce uses object architecture to monitor sales data, which ensures information is kept as Leads, Contacts, Accounts, and Opportunities. Learn about these four items, representing various stages in your Sales Process.

  • Contacts are persons affiliated with your account who are important to your company. These can be decision-makers, advocates, influencers, or other key figures.

  • Opportunities are possible revenue-generating sales opportunities that you should monitor until the deal is closed.


 

 

Leads serve as a transfer mechanism between marketing and sales. When a prospect is a Lead, salespeople try to achieve early qualifying before the deal enters the pipeline formally. These folks are unlikely to be interested in your products or services.

 

Accounts are used to store information about a firm, such as its name, website, and location. These are businesses with which you have a relationship and who are possible customers. They might include prospects, partners, and rivals.

 

You will link your prospects, customers, and organizations to these standard objects when you set up Salesforce. This will allow you to monitor how leads and accounts proceed through the funnel.

 

Map Your Selling Path

Now that we've established each object let's look at how to map your unique selling route within the Salesforce platform. To do this, you must first consider your selling process, defining the most significant events and activities and determining which should be recorded constantly.

 

Stages of leads

Lead stages are critical to get right since they are a core component of the selling process. Begin by tracing your best deals down to the initial point of contact with your sales team:

 

  • From where did the lead come?

  • What sparked their interest?

  • How did you go about qualifying them?

  • Did those stages involve a product demonstration, consultation, request for a price, or another meeting?

  • Did they fill out an inquiry form on your website?


 

Each significant step you select will become a lead stage. Here are a few examples of popular lead stages to help you discover and define your own.

 

  • Open

  • Contacted

  • Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

  • Qualifying

  • Sales Accepted Lead (SAL)

  • Converted


 

Establish an Activity-Tracking Process

You've laid the groundwork for a healthy Salesforce instance, and your team can now begin monitoring activities and populating your CRM with useful sales data. The key to success here is to set clear expectations for your sales representatives. What activities should be measured? When should representatives log them? How do you anticipate this will influence rep productivity? Discuss this with your team early on and solicit feedback to uncover process inconsistencies and inefficiencies before execution.

 

Reps may be afraid that a new Salesforce procedure would slow them down and make it difficult for them to meet their targets. These are legitimate worries, and it may take some effort to bring them on board.

 

As per Salesforce, salespeople spend 66 percent of their time on repetitive duties such as data entry and note keeping, which may persuade them to switch sides. One option to put representatives at rest is to automate manual activity tracking with a Sales Engagement Platform or AppExchange app that automatically logs actions to Salesforce. Connecting your email inbox to Salesforce using a Salesforce connector, such as a sales engagement platform, is another option to boost rep efficiency. Connecting Salesforce to your email inbox reduces the need for salespeople to transfer between platforms, decreasing friction and saving time.

 

Finally, a sales engagement platform will be able to automate the progression of an opportunity stage depending on activities such as scheduling a Discovery Meeting in Google Calendar.

 

How to Create Sales Process In Salesforce

 

  • Firstly, you will need to find the Sales Process into the Quick Find box by following these four steps:

  • Define your Opportunity stages

  • Create the fields that your sales process requires.

  • Add custom features to control your sales process.

  • Embed hints, tips, and materials that help salespeople with each stage in the sales process

  • Now click Sales Processes and press the New button.

  • Under the Existing Sales Process column, you will need to choose Master. Then enter the name and description of the sales process.

  • After you've completed all of your entries, click Save.

  • At last, define the values you wish to link with the new Sales Process from the Opportunity Stages page. Then press the Save button.


 

Voila! You're all set with the Sales Process in Salesforce. With this tutorial on how to create sales process, you have learned to make an efficient sales process for your sales team.

 

Bring in your sales executives on-board and walk through the entire process. Don’t forget to get their feedback.

 

Conclusion

The correct tools and smart technologies are required to improve your sales process. In this sense, Salesforce provides the skills to assist you in effectively managing your sales process from qualification and need assessment through close and follow-up. If your firm has unique sales stages that differ from the norm, it is sensible to tailor opportunity stages to the company's unique sales process to reap additional benefits.

 

QuantoKnack's Salesforce admin course helps you learn how to effectively develop, administer, and manage Sales & Sales processes. We provide a complete learning strategy for acquiring Salesforce Developer and Administrator skills. You can become a Salesforce expert and obtain a certificate after completing the training program!

 

 

Register for QuantoKnack's Salesforce admin and Salesforce developer training programs to gain the skills and knowledge needed to work more effectively with Salesforce!