Sales System SOPS (A Non-Negotiable)
“I’m starting a business because I LOVE processes and documentation,” said no one, ever. My arm-chair theory of entrepreneurs is that there are 2 types: diagnosed ADHD and undiagnosed ADHD. Yeah, we aren’t necessarily known for being fastidious about organization or processes. And don’t even get me started on the documentation thing. I did an entire episode in Season 3 (episode 8 if you want to listen) about overcoming my documentation avoidance.
No matter the aspect of business, defining processes and documenting them is indisputably necessary for maximizing profitability and enabling growth. Go ahead, tantrum all you want – I did, but it’s the truth.
When you come to finally accept that if you want a profitable business that feels easy & spacious (and allows you to take vacations), Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and documentation are non-negotiable. Fine, let’s talk about how to do it for your sales system.
The right answer is: somewhere consistent. What do you mean that’s not helpful? Every business is a bit different, your business is already using specific systems and have processes in place. Choose a spot for your sales system SOPs and processes and make sure they all go there. Yes, okay – you’re looking for more specifics, we can get into that in a minute. But seriously – if you already have a spot you’re using, just be consistent.
Documenting Sales System SOPs: From Wrong Approaches to Winning Strategies
The wrong answer for documenting sales system SOPs and processes is that you aren’t doing it. This just really isn’t an option if you enjoy sanity and vacations. Trust me, I thoroughly researched all the other possibilities.
Okay, let’s talk about the better answer of having a process or SOP for processes or SOPs. Honestly, if you’ve started a folder or document where you are capturing these, that can absolutely work – as long as it is used consistently. The consistency part can be a struggle, which is why there is now software that is designed specifically to help with documenting processes. There are several out there, but 2 of the top options are Trainual and Whale (like the mammal).
Streamlining Sales SOPs with Trainual and Whale
Both of these apps provide a framework for documenting and also templates to get you started. Templates can be incredible assets for creating processes. For example, if you are not sure what your policy on using AI will be – grab a template as your starting point. Have the basic steps of what your client onboarding process is, but maybe want to know other possibilities? Grab a template for inspiration.
Kickstarting Your Sales SOP Documentation Journey: A Step-by-Step Guide
If documenting your sales system sounds like something you want to do, but you aren’t sure when or how to get started, let’s break that down.
- It takes some time, effort & energy to start creating SOPs. You can start small by having members of the sales team begin writing down their processes and get those all in one place. Then you can collectively review those and draft the beginning of your sales process from that.
- If your sales system is a key player in your growth for the near term, or a key challenge standing in the way of your defined goals, you may want to take a more direct approach and dedicate a team member or monthly/weekly set of time for defining sales system SOPs and documenting them.
If you want to implement documentation software like Trainual or Whale, I recommend choosing a 90-day window to focus on rolling it out to the team and weekly touchpoints to integrate it into existing workflows. It can also help to have a team member be the lead on the software, becoming the in-house expert who creates the implementation plan and leads the roll out.
No matter how you decide to get a handle on your sales system process, you and your organization will benefit greatly from having defined the process and writing it down. Once I started embracing documentation and we created our system for it, not only is it easier to delegate work, but our consistency in delivery and ability to innovate has also vastly improved.
In the next episode I’m wrapping up this season by sharing one of my new favorite apps that we are using to supercharge our sales system. It is easy, incredible and… free. Tune in to get all the details.
