Follow a Winning Formula

One of my all-time favourite bands is AC/DC. From a teenager until today, their songs have been a regular feature on my mixtapes and playlists. And I’m not alone. Their killer guitar riffs and epic anthems are as popular today as they were back in the ‘70s. They have sold more than 200 million records worldwide, making them the 16th best selling artist of all time.

Lead guitarist, Angus Young, summed up their approach with this comment:

“I'm sick to death of people saying we've made 11 albums that sound exactly the same. In fact, we've made 12 albums that sound exactly the same.”

In fact, AC/DC have now produced 17 albums that sound exactly the same. They have found a winning formula that sells albums and sells out shows.

Top performing sales teams also follow a winning formula. They know that in order to have a rockstar performance, they need to follow an effective sales process that gets results.

Without an effective sales process, salespeople wing it and make things up as they go. Their random approach causes random results. Sometimes they strike it lucky, but most of the time they strike out.

A great process turns one hit wonders into chart toppers. Your sales process is a step-by-step system that you guide your customers through, from the initial contact through to the final agreement. It gives salespeople confidence, increases conversions, improves consistency and enhances the customer experience.

Whilst there are a number of great generic processes that your team could follow, the top performing companies develop their own. Every company is unique and a customised sales process will bring your point of difference to life and give you a massive competitive advantage. It’s like the difference between a cover band and... well, AC/DC.

I’m interested in your thoughts. How much would your company’s performance improve with a customised sales process?

Mark Windust is an influential Thought Leader in the areas of Sales Strategy, Sales Leadership and Sales Performance. Since launching his consulting practice in 2007, Mark has worked with 1000's of business leaders, salespeople and entrepreneurs’ to help them transform their sales results.