Building a Sales Process for Technical Founders
A Guide to Creating a Scalable, Repeatable Sales Model
Most technical founders focus heavily on product development but often overlook the importance of building a scalable and repeatable sales process. This post will walk through how to create a framework that helps ensure steady growth and efficiency as you engage with prospects and guide them through the sales funnel. Without a good sales process your revenue will be inconsistent. You will also not be able to predict how much revenue to expect month to month or quarter to quarter.
Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
Start by clearly defining the types of customers that are best suited for your product. Without a clear understanding of your target audience, your sales process will be inefficient, and you’ll waste time chasing the wrong leads. Start small, what is the minimum viable audience for your business. This matters because you need to be laser focused on your ideal customer and what challenges they have. 68% of businesses say that defining their Ideal Customer Profile leads to more efficient sales efforts and higher conversion rates (Source: HubSpot’s “State of Sales”). With your ICP defined you can focus your efforts on the right group and the right places to meet your customers where they are. You can also focus on the key pain point that your customers have. Become an evangelist for the problem. When you talk to anyone make sure they understand the problem you are looking to solve. A solution is only as good as the problem it solves.
Create a Repeatable Sales Process
Once you know who your ideal customers are, it’s important to establish a sales process that can be followed consistently. This process should outline specific steps, from the first contact with a prospect to closing a deal and beyond. Use your calendar or digital tasks lists to schedule follow-up reminders. Use your e-mail marketing campaign to schedule follow-up e-mails or new product announcements. These standard steps in the process will create a repeatable process from day one. Companies with a standardized sales process are 33% more likely to be high performers (Source: Harvard Business Review’s “The New Science of Sales Force Productivity”). Your customers current and future like your solution but they do not care about your solution, or your company the way you do. That means that you have do help them see the value you can bring. You also have to ask them for feedback on the product, service, and process. Do not be afraid to ask if you are following up too often, or not often enough. Your customers are busy and your follow-up is their reminder to engage with your company and solution.
Understand your sales process today, even if you think you do not have one you do. The key question is how effective is it and is it scalable.
If you gain 10 new customers tomorrow would they all get a similar experience?
How can you build that consistency in to the system?
Remember that tools like a CRM can be a huge help here, even if it’s just a simple spreadsheet.
Measure, Optimize, and Scale
No sales process is perfect from the beginning. As you start implementing your sales framework, continuously gather data, review performance, and adjust your tactics to improve the process over time.
What gets measured gets done, what gets incentivized gets done repeatedly.
Once you have the process now you have to make sure that it is working. Keep in mind that as you grow and your team and solution changes your process will need to change as well. That is why measuring, optimizing and scaling are so important. Companies that regularly measure and optimize their sales processes can see revenue increases of up to 28% (Source: Salesforce’s “Why You Need a Scalable Sales Process”).
What parts of the process are driving customer engagement?
What parts of the process are struggling with customer engagement?
What data or information are you not getting?
Review these questions and your sales process on a quarterly basis to start. Once you get into a good groove with the process you can shift to a bi-annual or annual review. But continue to keep eyes on the process. If you see a dip in customer engagement or revenue, is that market driven? Or does something need to change in your sales process? Continue to review the process and you will have a great process for the life of your company.
Action Step
Set aside 30 minutes this week to write out your current sales process. Ask yourself: What steps am I missing? How can I better track performance and ensure that this process is repeatable for future sales team members?
Additional Reading
“The New Science of Sales Force Productivity” – Harvard Business Review
“How to Build a Scalable Sales Process” – Salesforce
Are you looking to improve your sales process or hire your first sales professional?
Are you a technical expert ready to transition into sales and need guidance?
If so, we’re here to help! Reach out to us with your specific challenges, and we’ll schedule a time to discuss how we can develop a customized plan to meet your goals.