The data backs this up. Research shows that sticking with a sales process correlates with success. Sales teams that don’t follow their sales process find it difficult to meet sales goals.
Data from our Best Practices of High-Performing Sales Teams report shows:
- 95% of teams who met or exceeded revenue goals follow their sales process all or most of the time.
- Only 69% of underperforming teams follow their sales process.
Proven Strategies for Sales Results
In today’s competitive selling environment, having a consistent, repeatable sales process is critical for driving revenue growth. That’s why many leading sales organizations are turning to The Brooks Group’s IMPACT Selling® program to equip their teams with proven selling skills that get measurable results. Over the past 45 years, one million sales professionals worldwide have learned the IMPACT Selling sales process.
“Since we put the IMPACT sales process in place, we’ve grossly exceeded our goals. It led to 2023 being a record year for us—20% above plan.” —Matthew Thiel, President, AUMA Actuators Inc.
What is IMPACT Selling®?
IMPACT is a straightforward acronym representing the core stages of the sales process: Investigate, Meet, Probe, Apply, Convince, Tie-It-Up. This sequence guides sales professionals through strategic milestones while providing tactical techniques to navigate each buyer interaction with confidence.
- Increased sales revenue and margins
- Shortened sales cycles
- Better buyer communications and stronger relationships
- Greater strategic focus
- Increased efficiency
- Seamless application to real-world selling
Using a Consultative Sales Methodology
At its core, IMPACT uses a consultative sales strategy to empower sales professionals. The program teaches probing questioning skills to deeply understand customers’ needs and challenges up-front. They then apply this knowledge to present the best product solution and overcome objections. The process culminates in negotiating a mutually beneficial close while laying the groundwork for future sales.
The IMPACT sales training program begins with a sales assessment of each participant to understand their behavioral patterns, communication styles, and decision-making processes. The Brooks Talent Index™ assessment reveals individual preferences and gives sales leaders a valuable tool for managing, coaching, and developing their team as a whole.
Following a Field-Tested Sales Process
Over two immersive days, IMPACT participants become proficient at skills such as qualifying opportunities faster, becoming a trusted advisor through advanced questioning, identifying and adapting to buying styles, presenting value over price, building loyalty, and more.
Unlike theoretical training, IMPACT is laser-focused on immediately applicable tools and techniques field-tested by top sales performers. Through instructor-led sessions, role-plays, assessments, and more, your team will walk away with approaches they can apply right away.
Here’s a snapshot of the training modules:
IMPACT Fundamentals & Personal Selling Styles
- Understand your sales behaviors, motivators, and selling skills
- Recognize customer needs vs wants and identify solutions
Investigate: Prospecting, Planning & Positioning
- Identify your most effective prospecting strategies
- Prepare for an effective sales call
Meet: Setting the Agenda
- Engage the buyer and turn a potential resister into an avid listener
- Identify behavior styles and communicate more effectively
Probe: Discovering True Needs
- Learn questioning types and sales conversation strategy
- Understand your buyer’s needs, challenges, and priorities
Apply: Providing the Right Solution
- Recommend the best solution for buyer needs
- Manage objections
Convince: Proving Value
- Learn targeted strategies to prove your value
- Confirm prospect’s buying decisions
Tie-It-Up: Negotiations & Close
- Negotiate and finalize the sale
- Reinforce the sale and establish follow-up standards
Implementation Planning:
- Develop a plan for critical ideas, strategies, and/or concepts
6 Reasons You Need a Sales Process
1. It drives consistency and predictability in sales performance.
Without a defined process, sales professionals are left to their own ad hoc approaches, which can lead to inconsistent results. A proven methodology ensures everyone follows the same best practices for pipeline management, opportunity qualification, discovery, presenting, negotiating, and closing. This levels the playing field and makes sales cycles and revenue more predictable.
2. It increases sales effectiveness and efficiency.
An established sales process eliminates wasted time and effort by providing a roadmap for reps to follow. They know exactly which selling activities to prioritize at each stage, allowing them to progress deals forward methodically. This results in higher velocity through the funnel and increased sales effectiveness.
3. It improves customer experience.
Customers appreciate a professional, consultative sales approach. Having a process centered on asking the right questions, truly understanding needs, and providing tailored solutions enhances the buying experience. This positions the salesperson as a trusted advisor rather than a pushy vendor.
4. It aligns the entire sales team.
When everyone follows the same overarching process, it promotes unity, communication, and collaboration across the sales force. Team members speak the same language, can strategize together more seamlessly, and can even hand off opportunities between each other smoothly if needed.
5. It accelerates onboarding of new sales hires.
Rather than experienced sales professionals passing along inconsistent institutional knowledge, new hires get immersed in the company’s standard selling methodology and toolset from day one. This ramps them up to full productivity faster.
6. It provides a framework for coaching and accountability.
With a defined sales process, sales leaders have a benchmark for evaluating performance, identifying skill gaps, and coaching them to improve adherence in areas such as discovery, presentations, or negotiating.
Training a sales team on a repeatable sales process injects discipline, skill, and confidence into your selling approach, so forecasts are more reliable, revenues more predictable, and customers more satisfied. It’s foundational to effective sales force enablement.
Unlock Sales Team Potential
A sales training program will take the guesswork out of sales and equip your team to control the sales process from start to finish.
Whether you have a team of seasoned pros or new talent in need of guidance, IMPACT Selling provides the foundation for more consistent, high-impact selling performance across your entire sales organization.
Learn More
See how our award-winning IMPACT sales process training programs can improve sales performance.
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22 Tips for Choosing the Right B2B Sales Training Provider
Choosing a sales training provider is one of the most important business decisions you’ll ever make. But with so many confusing choices, finding the right partner can be overwhelming.
These valuable 22 tips should help remove the uncertainty and give you greater confidence in your decision.
