Sales Funnel, Process And Methodology Essentials

In this lecture, Janice introduces the four stages in a sales and marketing funnel, referred to as AIDA (Awareness, Interest, Decision/Desire and Action) and explains the key benefits of using a funnel.

Having understood the purpose of the sales funnel, you will learn in this lecture how to optimise your sales funnel using metrics. This process of continually measuring conversion rates and fine-tuning the four stages will result in the highest acquisition, conversion, and retention of your customers.

Exercise: Your exercise for this lecture is to download and read the supporting article 'Ultimate Guide to the Sales Funnel: Strategy & Resources' (zoominfo.com).

Having understood the importance of optimising the sales funnel, in this lecture you will consider the type of customers you wish to attract into your sales funnel. Janice will then take you through the important process of identifying your ideal customer profile.

Exercise: Download the 'Worksheet ICP' supporting document and create your Ideal Customer Profile. Ensure you complete this before moving on to Section 3, which focuses on how to generate sales through your sales process.

In this lecture, Janice takes you through the 7-step sales process. This is a repeatable process that, when applied well, generates target customers and sales revenue.

Worksheet: Download the 'Sales Process Worksheet' to use for both Lecture 5 and Lecture 6 exercises.

Exercise: Complete the Seller's Activities for one ICP.

1. Think of one ICP and read through the Example Sales Process Worksheet's 'Seller's Activities' row from steps 1-6 ('Prospecting' to 'Close Deal').

2. On the following page, under each of the headings in the 'Sales Process: Seller's Activities', write down what activities you do to prospect, or to qualify,

3. Create a detailed description of each of the 6 steps in your Sales Process for your ICP.

At the end of the next lecture (The Buyer's Journey), you will complete the 'Buyer’s Activities' and align the sales process.

In this lecture, Janice talks about the buyer journey, the buyer's preference for personalised experiences and the role of CRM in the process. Once you understand the buyer's journey, their challenges and their wants and needs, you will be able to serve them better than your competitors.

Worksheet: Use the 'Sales Process Worksheet' you downloaded in the previous lecture.

Exercise: With the same ICP in mind, complete the Buyer's Activities.

1. Consider the same ICP and read through the Example Sales Process Worksheet's 'Buyer's Activities' row from steps 1-6 ('Prospecting' to 'Close Deal').

2. On the following page, under each of the headings in the 'Sales Process: Buyer's Activities'', complete the mapping of your 'Buyer's Journey'. What action do they complete at each step and what questions or concerns do they have?

This is the time to stand in your buyer's shoes as they progress through their buyer journey.

Having explored the detailed sales process and mapped the buyer journey, to acquire and sell to your customer, Section 4 will now focus on how to retain them.

In Lecture 7, we will explore why customer retention is critical to long-term sales success and how customer lifetime value is a metric you need to know intimately.

Exercise: Download the How to Calculate Customer Lifetime Value supporting document. Your exercise for this lecture is to measure the CLTV for your key customer.

In this lecture, Janice explores the connection between customer experience and the elements that impact recurring sales. You will learn how the recurring sales model is helping to align the entire sales process.

In this concluding lecture, Janice offers a summary of what the course has covered and the next steps for putting into practice what you have learned to scale your sales.