The stages of the sales process

A typical sales process consists of the following stages:

• Lead-generation: This involves generating potential customers who may be interested in the products that the organization has to offer. Leads may be generated via different means. They could either be generated by the CRM Marketing process or by activities such as phone calls, emails, appointments, and so on.
• Qualifying leads: After the leads are captured, each lead needs to be evaluated to understand their requirements in detail and the related products or services that the organization has to offer. Based upon the interaction with the lead, the lead may be converted into a viable opportunity.
• Demonstrate value: After an opportunity has been identified, the next step is to identify the resources and the personnel that will pursue the lead prospect. They will try to capture different information, such as the main customer contact details, requirements, and the list of competitors. They may also do a SWOT analysis to compare their product with that of their competitors.
• Quote creation/negotiation: Finally, after proper calibration, the organization may share a quote with the client. A quote basically consists of the product information and the associated price, along with other major information. The client may ask for some negotiation, and accept or reject the quote.
• Closing out the quote: When the client finally accepts the quote, the organization issues an invoice to the client. An invoice is a formal contract consisting of product information, associated cost, and support details. It should be on the same lines as that of the quote. The buyer must then sign the contract and pay the organization as agreed in the contract. At this stage, the lead is identified as a won opportunity.
• Supporting the customer: After the lead is converted to a won opportunity, the organization must manage the customer as per the agreement details in the contract. If the customer requires any support, the organization creates service requests either at the client's onsite location or via a call.