Sales process, in principle at least, doesn’t need to be complicated. So what’s all the fuss about if its simple? The fuss is about improving results. Our favourite golf caddie tells a story which illustrates the point in a sales context.
A sales process is just a sequence of actions, a plan of how we’ll do anything. Seeing a list of actions as a process helps us understand the context of each. We can also measure each action in terms of inputs, resources and outputs to understand which bits don’t work as well as they should. Once we know which bits don’t work we can find ways of improving what we do. As the performance of each action improves so does the overall result.
In our golf story the caddie is hired by a big shot banker from Denver for 4 days. It’s a good gig with tee times around mid morning every day, and a regular bag. They’re playing at Royal Dornoch where the 2nd is a famous par 3, called simply Ord. The green is a 12ft high mound with the top somewhat flattened, sloping from back to front. Tight lies on all sides make missing the green an unattractive prospect. The front is guarded by two of the scariest bunkers. These genuine hazards require a vertical lift of 8ft if the next stroke is to be a putt.
Our sales process starts with the two standing on the tee and the golfer asking for a yardage. The caddie explains distance to front, flag and back, adding it’ll need 155 yards in the air to clear the bunkers. The golfer asks for his 6 iron, pulls the shot a touch and finishes in the bunker front left. Writing a 7 on the card the golfer groans as he walks to the next.
To cut a long story short on each of the next three days the pair go through exactly the same sequence with exactly the same result. The golfer just won’t accept he doesn’t hit the 6 iron 155 in the air, despite the proof.
If he’d understood process improvement on the 3rd day he’d have taken a 5 iron, hopefully with better result. He’d have figured what wasn’t working quite right and fixed it.
Neither did the caddie understand the concept, otherwise he’d have found a way to improve his sales process. Recognising the golfer wouldn’t admit to lack of distance, the caddie could have suggested the shot’s a touch uphill, or into a breeze, or the humidity stopped the ball flying so far. He’d have added more information to inform the club selection.
He’d have improved his sales process and gotten the golfer a better result without hurting his ego. Perhaps more importantly happier golfers generally tip more generously.
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