Making Good Sales Records a Habit
Selling is a process. It involves specific inputs to gain defined outputs. Getting from input to output requires a process. It's the process of selling. Within it, you will develop processes for identifying prospects, interviewing them about needs, finding solutions, selling your product or service, and making sure that the customer is happy after the sale. Each of these is a process as well.
You can make accurate sales records a part of your selling process without making it a difficult chore. How? By first defining the required inputs. That is, to know relevant facts about your prospects and customers, you must identify what they are and then determine the best way to get and record them. For example, maybe you've determined that to help a prospect you need the following information:
Name, location, and phone number
Title and responsibilities
Work hours and best times to contact
Preferred methods of contact (in person, phone, e-mail, fax, etc.)
Preferred products or services
Alternate products or services
Relationship opportunities (personal interests, sports, hobbies, etc.)
Your customer data process then should include a checklist to ensure that you gather each key data component on specific customers and prospects early in the selling process. You can use a printed reminder, a printed form, a CM program screen, or whatever else will make all of the data easy to gather and record.
You also can develop processes for other recordkeeping tasks. They will be your guides through the process, with reminders of what you need to know. You can have processes for the initial sales contact, completing the order form, customer order follow-up, and other components of your job as a professional seller.
