By Mark Blezard
What is the 'full sales cycle? We all know this, right? It is to 'qualify, match, and close', that's the full sales cycle. Get a signed order and it is time to party!
Well, I would say not quite. As a good client once said to me, "It's not an order until I've paid the bill." This got me thinking, the full sales cycle should actually be – qualify, match, close, deliver the service, receive payment for the service – AND – receive a repeat order. Only at this point can you celebrate the first sale before moving on with the second.
And this is why it is so crucial to ensure that anyone with any point of contact with a customer, from the accounts department to delivery drivers, receives the basics in sales training. They must understand what the sales executive does, and how they do it if they are to learn proper customer service skills.
And the good news is, if you roll out basic sales training across your organisation, staff will start spotting sales opportunities, and when they do they will know how to handle them. Imagine going from 8 sales executives to 80 without adding anyone to the payroll...!
