Save Time & Close More Deals: Salesforce Sales Cloud Is the Best Tool for Your Sales Process

In today’s competitive business landscape, it’s more important than ever for companies to have a well-defined sales process. As businesses strive to distinguish themselves in crowded markets, this process serves as the strategic roadmap that sales professionals navigate to identify, qualify, and close leads.

Picture this process as the architectural blueprint for success. It provides a systematic and clear framework that ensures every interaction contributes to sustained growth and enduring relationships. Its importance lies in its clarity and repeatability, creating a consistent approach that becomes the backbone of a successful sales strategy.In this comprehensive exploration, we delve into the intricacies of the sales process, uncovering its phases, key areas, and the transformative power of Salesforce Sales Cloud, shaping businesses in a competitive landscape.

What Is a Sales Process?

A sales process is a systematic approach to selling with a series of well-defined steps for salespeople. It aims to move prospects from awareness to purchase and turn them into loyal customers. Think of it as a roadmap; guiding sales professionals through identifying leads, nurturing relationships, and closing the deal. 

Is there a one-size-fits-all sales process? The truth lies in the uniqueness of each industry, product, and customer. Besides that, the best sales process for a company will depend on its specific needs and goals. However, some universal considerations will help your business create a sales process that works for you. Here are some tips:

• Make sure the process aligns with your company’s goals.
• Involve all stakeholders in the process.
• Use data to track and improve the process.

Navigating the sales world can be challenging, with ever-evolving rules and dynamics. But Salesforce is here to simplify your journey. We’ve compiled tips and tricks tailored to the current sales landscape. Curious to uncover more? Dive into the insights by downloading our comprehensive ‘How to Sell’ e-book.

What Are the Seven Sales Cycle Stages?

The sales cycle will vary from company to company, but some universal phases form the core of every successful sales process. It starts with meticulous research and progresses through prospecting, sales calls leading to deal closure, and unwavering customer care. Let’s have a closer look at the four sales process steps:

1. Research: Illuminating the Path Forward

In the age of information, knowledge is power. Cutting-edge analytics tools offer insights from historical sales data and demographic information about potential buyers. The salespeople should also gather information about the prospect’s company, role and challenges. Additionally, a robust competitive analysis tool allows companies to decode the successful strategies of industry counterparts, paving the way for a distinct competitive edge.

2. Prospecting: Nurturing Quality Leads

Lead generation is at the heart of every thriving sales process. By integrating sales and marketing endeavours, businesses can strategically orchestrate lead generation. Emphasis on lead qualification is essential – it ensures that only the most promising prospects advance through the pipeline. With features like sales forecasts and report generation, sales teams can efficiently navigate this phase.

3. Deal Closure: Mastering the Art of Sales

Closing the deal is where relationships can flourish or falter. Opportunity management tools play a significant role at this critical stage. Well-informed sales professionals can contribute more substantively to conversations while logging vital information for future reference. This strategic approach amplifies the efficacy of the sales process, shaping outcomes with precision.

4. Customer Care: Nurturing Long-Term Relationships

Customer care, often called ‘after-sales service’, is the final part of the sales process. It involves providing ongoing support, building relationships, and ensuring customer satisfaction after the sale. It’s about ensuring your customers not only have a positive experience with your product or service, but are also equipped to use its full potential. This step helps increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, and boosts brand reputation.

In addition to understanding the sales process stages, it is also useful to think about what to avoid: 

• Not having a clear and defined process.
• Not involving all stakeholders in the process.
• Not using data to track and improve the process.

How to Measure Your Sales Process

It’s important to measure the effectiveness of your sales process to assess its efficacy and identify areas for continuous improvement. Various metrics can measure sales performance, including:

• Lead conversion rate: The percentage of leads that convert into sales.
• Sales cycle length: The average time to close a deal.
• Average deal size: The average amount of money generated from each sale.

Tracking these metrics helps identify patterns, strengths, and areas for improvement within the sales process. You can start setting up a consistent schedule for tracking and reviewing these metrics. Regular analysis ensures that you stay proactive in promptly identifying trends and addressing issues.

It’s also important to compare your metrics against industry benchmarks or historical data. Benchmarking provides context and helps you understand how your sales process stacks up against industry standards or past performance. Be open to adapting your sales process based on the insights garnered. If the data indicates a bottleneck or inefficiency, consider making strategic adjustments to enhance overall performance.

Treat the metrics as a dynamic feedback loop. Continuously seek opportunities to refine and improve your sales process based on the evolving landscape of your industry and customer expectations.

Salesforce Sales Cloud: a New Era for Sales Process

Various solutions can map, manage and enhance your sales process, but Salesforce Sales Cloud stands out as innovative and efficient. This cloud-based solution is tailored for diverse business needs, offering unparalleled flexibility to customise the sales process. Let’s explore how Salesforce Sales Cloud sets the stage for success.

Customisation & Automation

Salesforce Sales Cloud allows businesses to personalise their sales process to specific industry demands, product intricacies, and customer expectations. The flexibility to custom design the journey ensures that no two sales processes are alike, reflecting the unique needs of each enterprise.

Efficiency is the cornerstone of Sales Cloud’s CRM Process Automation. This feature streamlines routine tasks, from data entry to follow-ups, allowing your sales professionals to focus on high-value activities. Automation ensures a consistent and systematic approach to your sales processes.

Analytics & Forecasting

Integrated analytics tools within Salesforce Sales Cloud provide businesses with dozens of insights. Access to past sales data and demographic information about potential buyers enables informed decision-making, helping companies advance in the competitive landscape.

Salesforce’s Quota Forecasting Software empowers businesses to set realistic sales quotas based on historical data and market trends. This feature ensures sales teams are equipped with tangible targets, driving motivation and strategic planning.

AI & Mobile CRM

Sales Cloud Einstein is a tool that brings the power of artificial intelligence to your sales strategy. Predictive analytics, machine learning, and data-driven insights help teams make informed decisions, identify trends, and drive more successful sales outcomes.

And in a world that thrives on mobility, Salesforce’s Mobile CRM Software ensures that your sales team stays connected and productive on the go. Access critical customer information, update records, and manage tasks seamlessly from any device, enhancing flexibility and responsiveness.

In essence, Salesforce Sales Cloud goes beyond being a conventional sales tool. It emerges as a comprehensive ecosystem with features that meet market demands and anticipate future trends. Whether using AI for smarter decisions or ensuring seamless connectivity through mobile CRM, Sales Cloud positions itself as a transformative force in sales solutions. 

Now, let’s look at a real-life example of what Sales Cloud can do for your company.

Scurri’s Success Story: A Journey of Efficiency and Growth

As the face of retail evolved in the past decades, with a surge in online shopping and escalating customer expectations, Scurri, an Irish scale-up, found a strategic ally in Salesforce Sales Cloud to redefine its future. The company faced the following challenge: how to adapt to a shifting retail landscape and meet customer expectations.

Adopting Salesforce Sales Cloud and Marketing Cloud Account Engagement marked a step change for Scurri. With this tool, the company streamlined online shipping, offering real-time tracking, reporting, and comprehensive support, thereby maintaining an exceptional customer experience. Scurri also replaced legacy systems and Excel spreadsheets, providing a unified platform, and Salesforce Inbox facilitated seamless email integration, enhancing the sales experience and promoting user adoption. 

According to Rose Power, Head of Operations, salespeople don’t like structure by nature but understand the advantages of adopting the Salesforce platform. It gives everyone a greater visibility of leads as they come in from marketing channels, are converted into accounts, and go to the BDR team for onboarding. Enhanced data access helped the team to adopt a more predictive approach – tracking deal closure timelines to make intelligent predictions about average lead times is an example. 

“Salesforce has helped the whole company become more sales-driven. We can qualify leads faster and add more data to records to help the sales managers further down the funnel. I can’t picture life without Salesforce now, we’d be lost!” commented Adam Roche, Business Development Manager. 

Despite the hurdles posed by the pandemic and Brexit, Scurri flourished and achieved remarkable milestones:

• Achieved a 93% customer satisfaction rating.
• Achieved 100% growth in Q1 2021.
• Attained an impressive +63 Net Promoter Score (NPS).
• Earned a +100 NPS rating post-Brexit, showcasing Salesforce’s impact on visibility and accountability.

Now, Scurri continues to make incremental changes. Integrations with G Suite and DocuSign, supported by Salesforce, enhanced productivity and customer service, and there are plans to implement Tableau CRM to drive proactive sales.

If you’re eager to explore how Salesforce Sales Cloud can elevate your company’s growth and enhance efficiency, we invite you to delve into our Sales Cloud demo. Additionally, you can opt for a 30-day free trial of Sales Cloud, empowering you to convert leads seamlessly and close deals with confidence.