There are three levels of salespeople:
1. The Amateur – his or her assumption is that success is to be had in customer acquisition, lead generation and sales opportunities. They aren’t totally wrong as there are a few wins to be had with this approach but they will only ever be moderately successful.
2. The High Performer – they understand that customer acquisition, conversion, and removing the friction from the buying experience are where it’s at. They know that improving the conversion rate unlocks unlimited growth potential.
3. The Master – these guys are the paradigm shifters, the revolutionists. Their methodology? To remove the friction before all else. By doing this first they know that customer acquisition and improved conversion are sure to follow and will follow in tremendous numbers.
So the first thing you must do if you’re looking to advance to the next level in this game of sales?
Remove the friction.
As Brian Halligan, CEO of Hubspot, says “dollars flow where the friction is low.”
Anything that causes your prospect to abandon the buy is a source of friction. Thanks to the digital age your prospect has higher expectations and a vast array of choices all available to them at the click of a key. They want their purchase to be seamless and immediate all while requiring little effort on their end. This could look as simple as a quick loading website to as complicated as offering them a digital signature option when signing contracts.
Now how do you identify your prospect’s friction?
The wrong answer would be to send them a customer survey. This will only confuse them, and you, because very rarely can they actually put into words what they subconsciously feel.
You’ll find the answer in their reluctance to buy.
First, map your prospect’s journey through your sales funnel. Dissect your current process and identify how they might feel during each interaction. It’s important to be honest here, if at any point you roll your eyes, have to take deep breaths or find yourself making excuses it’s worth marking that in the ‘needs improvement’ column. You definitely want to include anyone else who might interact with your prospect and consider their perspective.
Then you have to commit to customer-centric processes, pledging yourself to removing the friction during every step of your customer’s journey. Look at Amazon – they responded to the ‘i want what I want and I want it now’ culture with same day shipping and one-click ordering. Then there’s Uber – not only is it less expensive than the traditional yellow cab but there’s no finding a local company, calling the dispatcher, giving lousy directions and then worrying whether or not the dude that just picked you up actually works for the cab company and isn’t some deranged psychopath destined to follow in the footsteps of Randy Kraft. And let’s not forget all the restaurants and coffee shops that offer in-app ordering.
So what does friction look like in the sales process?
What are some examples?
Do they apply to your business?
I started answering all of those questions but How to Remove Friction From Your Sales Process over at The Kingdom already did a bang up job of compiling some great bullet points. Got some to add? Comment below! Or better yet, let’s chat.
