Abstract

Systematic exploration of events that precede and follow a sale can generate opportunities for improvement. This process orientation toward sales is the key to sales process engineering. For example, a business-to-business sales process can include components such as: securing leads; making contacts; needs analysis; presentation; proposal development; closure; ordering; service and follow up; and a reiteration of the process starting with an updated needs analysis. This kind of process mapping makes the sales process amenable to quality principles and tools. There are many opportunities here, for it is estimated that reductions in sales quality costs could increase profits by up to 6% in large corporations. A systematic approach to sales improvement can involve eliminating waste in areas like advertising outlays and service costs, as well as increasing sales through creative application of principles like cause and effect. Improvements also can be made in the moral, spiritual, and ethical aspects of selling. Improvement opportunities are revealed through process analysis, such as when constraints or bottlenecks are identified. Examples of sales process engineering efforts include: application of just-in-time principles to customer contact at Pitney Bowes; listening to the voice of the customer at Mead School and Office Products; shortening the order-to-delivery cycle at Ascom-Timeplex; and applying cause-and-effect analysis to sales presentations at the U.S. Postal Service.