The main goal of most businesses is to make revenue, and the most common way of achieving this is by closing sales. However, the sales team must be highly trained and prepared to face all possible customers and situations.
Sometimes, the sales process can become a bit messy, which makes it difficult for the sales team to execute effective operations.
Therefore, they must standardize their operational steps to simplify their daily job.
One great way of doing this is by creating sales documentation, which you will learn about in the following article.
What is Sales Documentation?
Sales documentation summarizes all the steps your sales team must follow when closing a sale. This is meant to make the whole process much more effective, as all sales reps will be on the same page and should deliver similar results.
The sales documentation process should cover all steps of the funnel. This process commonly starts when the customer is a lead on the company’s website or has just heard about the product or service.
Sales documentation helps the sales reps select the best customers and deal with all their questions to close the deal as soon as possible.
It is also crucial to remember that the sales documentation process must be tailored to each business, as this will help cater to each buyer persona and make customers feel more comfortable and pleased during their experience with the brand.
Types of Sales Documentation
Now that you know the importance of having proper sales documentation in your business, you must learn more about the two main types of sales documentation you can use to create a straightforward sale process.
Sales Process Playbook
A sales process playbook is the most crucial document for your sales team, as it indicates all the steps they must follow when dealing with a client and all the best practices. It is the document they will refer to whenever a doubt arises, and it should cover everything a person must know before meeting a client and pitching the product.
Sales Collaterals
These are other types of documents that are meant to move the client from one stage of the funnel to another. They usually carry valuable information about the product, which helps persuade the client to buy it.
Benefits of Having a Clear & Accessible Sales Documentation
Straightforward Process
Suppose you implement proper sales documentation in your business. In that case, your employees will have a straightforward and transparent process to follow, making it much easier to repeat it repeatedly with each client. This will create a standardized experience that your whole team will provide, no matter their level of expertise or time in the company. It can also be improved over time, and new things can be added depending on the success rates delivered by the team.
Ensures Consistency
To ensure that each client gets the best treatment, you can create a sales process that’s on brand with your business. This will make your business and sales team look like a cohesive group instead of random people who can treat your customers however they want to.
Increases Effectiveness
The sales pitch is one of the most important sales process elements. Having clear steps to follow can help your sales reps create a much more compelling pitch with all leads and customers.
However, remember that these pitches are commonly made over time and are prone to change to become more effective.
Faster Teams
Teams that follow a straightforward process with steps waste much less time than teams that have to figure out everything as they go. This creates a much better relationship with your clients, as their doubts will be solved almost immediately, which will ultimately help the sales rep close the deal much faster.
Better-trained Teams
A standardized process can also help you train new reps much faster and help them feel confident in their job, which is crucial for a sales team.
They will also know which leads to reach out to and how to identify good customers to help them meet their monthly goals.
Eliminates Redundancy
When employees need help figuring out what to do, they tend to revolve around unnecessary processes and take much longer to find the information they need to execute a particular operation.
Having proper sales documentation will allow your sales reps to focus on what’s essential: closing the deal with the client.
Your Guide to Creating Sales Documentation
Identify the Purpose
The first step before creating any sales documentation is to understand why you want to create it, as this will give you the guideline you need to make it meet its purpose.
This is crucial because not all companies have the exact needs, so you must create valuable resources for your specific business.
Create Templates
Then, it would be best to create sales templates that will make interacting with the client much more straightforward.
These templates must be adaptable to each situation but reusable enough for your sales reps to use them without overthinking the right thing to say in each case. They work as a script that saves time and energy and can be invested into other things.
Create Categories for Clients
You must never forget that only some of your clients will behave the same way, so you must create several categories to differentiate them. This will allow your sales team to develop tailored strategies for each type of client to get the best possible result.
By doing this, you can also decide whether they’re the right leads for your business and discard them much faster, not waste your time.
Create Approaches and Strategies
Now that you know the types of clients you will be dealing with, it is time to create strategies to approach them and convince them to buy your products.
Once your sales reps learn this, they will quickly identify which method to use with each client to meet their needs.
Creating Documents
This step consists of creating all the documents your sales reps will deliver once they start their sales pitch. It should be done considering all the previously described steps and the individuality of each customer.
Dealing with Objections
In most cases, your client won’t be 100% sure of buying your product, so your sales reps must have a previously described guideline on how to deal with their objections.
Doing this will guarantee your team will have the correct answers to each question, improving the chances of closing the deal.
Keep Selling
The three main goals of this whole process are to convert, upsell, and cross-sell. This consists of closing a sale and continuing the relationship with the customer so that they buy other products or services, which can be much easier than acquiring new customers.
Examples of Sales Documentation
You can use many documents to standardize your sales. Still, the ones you need will change depending on your business. However, some are more common than others, so we gathered the following list with the most common documents that virtually all companies will use during their sale process.
Business Proposals
Business proposals are usually the most crucial sales document you will need, as it will be the first contact your client will have with your product. Their goal is to create an excellent first impression by showcasing all the best aspects of your product in the most innovative way possible.
The best thing you can do is create a highly professional proposal that summarizes everything your customer may receive and highlights your product’s value proposition. This will help to persuade your clients and convince them to buy your products or acquire your services.
Still, to create an effective business proposal, you must get to know your client exceptionally well. Gathering information about their likes, dislikes, and needs will help you make a convincing offer that will stand out over other businesses in your field. It would be best to display how your expertise can meet your customers’ needs and help them solve their problems.
These proposals usually include a summary, social proof, product description, pricing, terms and conditions, and a final call to action to convince buyers and help them process all the information they read. It is also wise to include a contact number for them to call if they have doubts about the product.
Case Studies
If you need more than the initial proposal to convince your client to acquire your product, you will have to demonstrate that your company is the right one for the job through social proof.
A fantastic way of doing this is through case studies, as this will help them get a third-person perspective about the quality of your job and success rate.
These documents usually include numeric data to prove your effectiveness, but they also combine with emotional testimonies to connect with your clients.
Still, your case study will change depending on your goals, whether to acquire new leads or expand your market. Therefore, you must adapt your storytelling to meet the specific plan your business is hoping to achieve.
Sales Decks
A sales deck is an excellent addition to the regular sales pitch used by your sales team to explain your product’s value proposition better. The best way of creating a sales deck is to showcase the problem your product is trying to solve and how it will gradually improve the given situation.
This document is meant to be easy to read and understand, so you should rely on visuals and infographics instead of large blocks of text. It should engage your client and help them process all the information much faster.
Invoices
If you want to keep all your sales under control, you will need to implement invoices. These are the final document your clients will receive and will help you to keep a record of your sales and legally protect your business.
Please make sure to include the following elements in your invoices:
- The company’s logo
- Invoice number
- Complete name of the seller and buyer
- The total cost of the service
- Tax regulations
You may need to add other elements to your invoice depending on your specific case, but these are the ones that generally cannot be skipped. We recommend you check out your state’s regulations regarding this.
Contracts
You won’t always need to create contracts, as it usually depends on the kind of service you offer, but you must still understand how they work. These protect your company from undesirable circumstances, so you must add as many clauses as possible to clarify everything between you and your customer.
These legally binding documents make them indispensable for your peace of mind and ensure your business won’t take any preventable damages.
Getting Started with Sales Documentation with Klutch
Klutch is an excellent knowledge base and company wiki software that helps you create all of the previously described documents and store them in a safe space for all your employees to check and use whenever necessary.
We all know how crucial knowledge management is for all companies, so you can set up your account for free and start your path toward a much more productive team today.
Conclusion
A sales team without proper sales documentation is doomed to fail. These processes are properly curated to ensure every team member is on the same page and can tackle all problems without hassle.
They also increase the company’s total revenue by making them much more productive and efficient.
The previously described processes and documents are only the beginning of everything you must do to make your company succeed. Now you must start implementing and teaching this knowledge to all your employees.
This will ensure you’re all aware of the importance of the internal processes of the sales team and promote collaboration within the team to create these steps and procedures.
