Your Sales Process Isn't Enough
- The REV Forge
- Sep 23
- 8 min read
The Sales Process Everyone Knows
If I asked you to write down your sales process in five steps or less, what would you come up with? I'm not talking about all those things we do to research a prospect, build a list, social media stock an inbound lead. I mean once you are talking to a real live person about a potential sales opportunity what are the steps that come next?
I have asked this question to countless sales professionals and leaders across every industry imaginable. While the words they use to describe these steps are different, and some steps are in slightly different order, I can always consolidate them into a list like this:
Generate Interest
Uncover Needs
Propose a Solution
Attempt to close
Follow Up (if you don't close)
Generate interest sometimes sounds like "book a discovery call." Propose a solution can sounds like "give a quote" or "do a demo". Maybe their process is to do a demo first then use that as a spring board to uncover needs. The order and the words aren't as important as the realization that nearly all sales conversations follow this same process. Whether you're a solo consultant, running a small team or part of a larger sales organization, chances are your steps look similar to this as well. And that's not wrong. This is the standard, logic following process that we've all been taught.
This begs the question, if the steps are basically the same in every sales role and conversation, why do so many salespeople and business owners still feel like they're pushing a boulder uphill while they see others effortlessly crushing their goals? Why do deals stall, prospects that loved our proposal ghost us and pipelines fill up with deals that were supposed to close weeks or months ago?
The Buyer's Hidden Process
Here's the part we don't usually consider: Buyers have their own process too, whether they realize it or not, and it rarely lines up with ours.
Let's think about this. When you are considering making a purchase and you have your first conversation with a salesperson do you say, "Hi, I'm Bob. I want to buy your widget because I really need it. My budget is $x,xxx.xx and I'm the decision maker but I'll need to talk to my spouse who isn't here today." If you're answer is "Yes I do that every time I buy something" call me and let's do business. For the rest of you who said, "No one does that when talking to a salesperson for the first time," your prospects are no different. Whether a prospect seeks us out or if we find them through cold outreach, the first step in their process is to hide their true intentions, but appear motivated.
This is happening while you, the sales professional, are trying to generate interest. We just got started and the first stage of friction is already happening. Our prospects are hiding their true intentions here because they don't want to feel vulnerable. They don't want us to use their budding interest against them. They don't want to be sold.
What's the next step in the buyer's process? Think about your prospects. What do they tend to do once you start your qualification or discovery process? Maybe at some point you ask if they have any questions or they come right out and ask about your solution. They start asking about features, packages, timelines, discounts and all other manner of questions. We feel inclined to tell them all about what we do, how we help, our company stats, our positive reviews. We would give them our mother's maiden name and social security number if we thought it would win us the deal. We do this because we want our prospects to see that we know what we're talking about. We know our solution inside and out. We know everything there is to know about the industry and they are in great hands doing business with us. Would it surprise you to know the second step in the buyer's process is gather as much free information as possible? Congratulations, they don't need you anymore. You have successfully consulted for free.
Shockingly, at this stage most sellers are thinking they have a live one here. The prospect sees how good you are at what you do, they seem interested in the solution and maybe they even asked some "buying questions." Time to move into offering a solution and wrap this deal up. Maybe you give your demo, provide a quote, build a proposal. You have fulfilled your end of the social agreement and it's time to ask for the deal. You ask, take a breath and wait for the inevitable objections. You battle through every objection with the slick lines you've learned over the years. You can see the gears turning in your prospects mind as you address all of their concerns with ease. You know the commission is almost yours. Finally your prospect gives you those words you've been looking for. "This is really great," "It looks like this will be a good fit for us," "You really know your stuff." All they need to do at this point is make sure the CFO is on board but the deal is as good as done. Or maybe they just need to submit the budget request. Or maybe they just need to cancel their existing contract. Now we see the third step in the buyers process; tell you what you want to hear, but avoid commitment.
Our prospects do this because we have given them all of our leverage and they own the control of pace at this point. They know exactly what we do, exactly how we help, exactly our steps of accomplishing a solution and exactly what we charge. All without giving us anything in return.
You have seen this time and time again, but you're not worried because you have a rock solid follow up cadence. You know that there will still be some small hurdles ahead but it's nothing you can't handle. Over the next few days or weeks you implement your follow up process to the letter. Touch-base calls, status request emails, voicemails and texts. You aren't hearing anything back so you lean in harder. We have reached the last step in our buyer's process; disappear or delay.
Maybe you get lucky and catch them off guard and they answer a phone call. They are happy you called because they've "been meaning to call you" because they had just a few more questions before they can say yes. They get you to do more free consulting, they again avoid commitment and the cycle starts all over again.
Does this journey sound familiar? I'm I saying that you'll never win this deal? Of course not. If you do this enough times you'll eventually get business, but think about all the deals that you should have won but didn't. Think about all the deals that you did win, but the stress, energy and time that it took because you fell into the buyer's process. It's like two people trying to dance, but both insist on leading. The result is messy and out of sync. It leads to frustration and an experience that everyone dreads.
The Collision of Processes
When these two processes clash, here's what happens on the sales side:
Unpredictable sales cycle. Since you have given away most or all of your leverage there is no reason for the prospect to move any quicker than what they feel is necessary.
Bloated pipelines. Many of these deals land in our pipeline but never end up closing. They sit in forecasting stages for weeks or months because we don't want to admit that we missed the boat and the deal is dead. This makes forecasting a best guess rather than a confident projection.
Wasted time. The time spent chasing prospects or jumping through hoops in the buyer's process would be much better spent having more sales conversations with other prospects. In some cases I've seen a sales rep have twice as many sales conversations in the same amount of time simply by not falling prey to the buyer's process
Loss of profit. When sellers fall into the buyer's process often their last shred of leverage to move the deal forward is discounting to win the business. It's a race to the bottom to capitalize on all the time and energy that we spent with this prospect. We tell ourselves, "At least a deal is a deal."
Frustration and burnout. Following the buyer's process with commission, job security and your manager's sanity hanging in the balance creates unnecessary stress on sales professionals. They worry about hitting their number every time it resets. They wonder when that inevitable sales slump will hit them. Maybe they jump ship to another company because the grass looks greener over there. Good talent is lost or businesses close because they just can't figure it out.
Process ≠ Method
"So," you ask, "are you saying the process is broken?" No. The five step process isn't the problem. IT's the same basic process that we follow here. I'm also not saying that you have to force the buyer out of following their process. You can't force anyone to do anything. The key here is realizing that there is a piece of the puzzle missing that causes the buyer to default to their process. The sales process simply provides an outline of the steps you take in a sales conversation. A sales method outlines how you take those steps.
The method is what turns a rigid checklist into a fluid conversation. It allows you to lead the decision making process instead of fumbling around hoping the prospect follows you or gives in. Without a sales method, your process is just a list of steps and will leave you vulnerable to the buyer's process.
A strong sales method does a few critical things:
Reduces friction: Instead of pushing against buyer resistance, it acknowledges it and works with it. Like water flowing around a rock, it finds the path of least resistance.
Gets to the truth: Sales methods create space where buyers feel safe being honest. Instead of sugarcoating or dodging, they'll tell you what's really going on.
Qualifies effectively: Instead of guessing who's serious and who's not, a method surfaces qualification quickly. This means you stop chasing the wrong people and start focusing on the right ones.
Facilitates decisions: The goal of selling isn't to "close" someone, it's to help them make a decision. A method gives you a framework to guide them to that decision without pressure or manipulation.
These are just a few of the differences between a process that looks good on paper and a method that actually works in practice.
Why Most Sales Training Falls Short
Here's the tough truth, most sales training is process-heavy and method-light. It teaches steps, scripts and closing techniques, all of which have their place. But without a strong sales method, those steps feel like forcing square pegs into round holes. Buyers resist, sellers get frustrated and the cycle continues.
This is why you can have two sales people with the same process, selling the same product, in the same market; and one crushes quota while the other struggles to survive. The difference isn't the process, it's that one of them is using a repeatable and structured sales method (whether they realize it or not).
So here's the question to ask yourself, is your sales process just steps on a page, or do you have a sales method that makes those steps work? If the answer to this question isn't a confident and resounding "yes" rectifying this should be your number one priority. Your business and your bank account will thank you.
Comments