The 6 Steps in the Sales Process: An In-Depth Look at Closing Deals

Nick Saban, former head coach for the Alabama Crimson Tide and winner of six national championships, once said, “Becoming a champion is not an easy process. It is done by focusing on what it takes to get there and not on getting there.” Saban is widely regarded as the best college football coach of all time, thanks to his legendary approach known simply as “The Process.”

What makes “The Process” so effective? It’s a disciplined, step-by-step strategy designed to set his players up for success — not just by focusing on the win, but by focusing on what it takes to win. And when it comes to field sales, the same principles apply: process is everything. In fact, in sales interactions, following a structured sales process leads to four-times higher ticket sizes. 

You want to coach your reps with the same strategy as the best college football coach of all time, right? At Rilla, we’ve gathered and analyzed data on thousands of sales calls to uncover what makes a winning approach. Here’s an in-depth look at the six steps in the sales process that can help your reps close more deals.

1. Greeting and Rapport: Start Building Trust ASAP

When it comes to field sales — or any initial contact with potential leads — first impressions matter. Nick Saban famously had his players obsessively watch game tape to understand their own strengths and weaknesses, ensuring they were fully prepared before stepping onto the field. Similarly, your reps need to prepare thoroughly before meeting their ideal customer so they can set the stage for success.

Preparation starts with understanding your target audience. Reps should use your organization’s customer relationship management (CRM) software to refresh their knowledge of key buyer personas and tailor their approach accordingly. They can also leverage platforms like LinkedIn to uncover relevant details about the potential customer, such as their professional background or interests.

By taking the time to personalize their initial contact, reps can make the customer feel valued and understood right from the start. This approach moves beyond generic introductions and builds a foundation of trust that leads to stronger connections and better outcomes.

Reps’ goal should be to make customers feel heard and understood, and they should tailor their greeting or introduction so it’s specific to the customer’s context. They should stay away from any “cookie-cutter” approach and aim to make a personal connection immediately.

‍Quick Tip: Monitor Your Talk Speed

Top reps typically speak between 150 and 200 words per minute — this pace allows for enough back-and-forth to uncover your prospects’ needs and make them feel valued without monopolizing the conversation.

2. Inspection: Discover Customer Pain Points

Successful sales reps are active listeners — in fact, they should do their best to keep the talk-to-listen ratio around 50-50 and not surpass a 65% talk ratio.

They need to ask questions that uncover challenges and pain points early in the sales process with a new customer, so open-ended questions are best here. Showing empathy in this step is key: If reps show customers that they understand (or are at least attempting to understand) their needs right away, it lets customers know they’re actually trying to offer solutions and not just make a sale.

Reps should aim to tailor customer conversations around their specific industries, common challenges, and operational gaps the potential client may face. This not only helps to better identify qualified leads but also provides the foundation for more personalization later in the sales methodology.

Like in football, maximizing time on the field creates more opportunities to score big. For sales reps, this means spending quality in-person time with prospective customers during the buying process. The more time reps invest in conversations, the stronger the relationships they build — which leads to more closed deals and higher ticket sizes.

For home services, when reps spend less than 30 minutes in a customer’s home, the average ticket size is $3,809. However, when they spend three or more hours in-home, ticket sizes jump to an average of $17,000. Investing extra time with decision-makers shows your reps’ commitment and attention to customers’ specific needs, making a big difference in their ability to close the deal.

3. Present Options: Share Customized Customer Choices That Resonate

Once the inspection phase is complete, the next stage requires your sales professionals to demonstrate their product knowledge. They should drill down into your product or service’s functionality and value proposition and communicate the tangible benefits of your offering. This could be cost savings, efficiency improvement, or long-term ROI.

The goal here is to align customers’ needs with a solution that resonates with them, boosting credibility and trust. So, reps need to consider what matters most to the customer (e.g., operational efficiency, financial flexibility).

Personalization is the name of the game — and this is accomplished through interactivity. The average score for interactivity is 2.25 speaker changes per minute of conversation. And during the conversation, your reps’ sales pitches should reflect the pain points discussed in the previous stage. The solution your reps offer should address your customers’ exact problems. 

One tactic that works well during this stage is storytelling. Sharing success stories and case studies from similar customers — especially ones that relate to the client’s challenges or business vertical — humanizes the sales process. Real-world examples of your offerings in action help to ground the pitch and increase customer engagement. 

Reps can look for physical cues that customers are engaged (e.g., nodding, asking questions, displaying “open” body language) and recalibrate their sales presentation when they see signs of disengagement (e.g., looking away, providing brief answers, crossing arms/closing themselves off).

As Allan Langer discussed on a recent Rilla Labs podcast, body language plays a critical role in adjusting your sales pitch. Langer emphasizes that a successful sale often hinges on a rep’s ability to read non-verbal cues and adapt their approach in real-time. By mastering the “secrets of body language,” reps can create emotional connections with customers, build trust, and make their conversations more impactful.

4. Payment Methods: Close More Deals by Being Flexible

Providing flexible payment options is just as important to closing deals — if not more important — than the initial sales pitch. Pricing objections are the most common roadblock, so outlining financing or split-payment choices helps your sales team navigate this highly likely occurrence. In fact, mentioning financing during home remodeling sales interactions increases close rates by more than 5%. 

Offering flexible payment options makes it easier for customers to say “yes” to products and services they may avoid due to budget constraints. Discussing financing during home remodeling field sales meetings increases average ticket sizes by more than threefold because reps can upsell or recommend higher-value products. 

During the sales process, reps should position financing as a value-added option. This helps to build trust by showing the decision-maker that your company is willing to work with them and accommodate their financial circumstances.

5. Objection Handling: Overcome Customer Pushback Gracefully

As mentioned, pricing objections are the most common type of objection in field sales interactions, but customers may have others. Clients may say they “need time to think about it,” they “don’t fully see the value of your product,” or they’re “happy with their current solution.” Your salespeople need to be prepared to deal with different types of pushback. 

The first step to overcoming objections takes us back to good ol’ empathy. Instead of rushing to solve the problem and potentially looking too eager to “sell” rather than “ease pain points,” reps should take a step back and listen carefully. They should address the issue head-on by asking clarifying questions to gain a deeper understanding. Then, they should restate the customer’s objection so they demonstrate their comprehension before offering a clear, relevant solution. 

For example, if a customer brings up price as a potential barrier they're concerned with, this would be a great time for your reps to mention any promotions or deals you have running. Talking to customers about promotions increases ticket sizes by more than 92% in home services sales interactions.

6. Closing: Seal the Deal With Certainty

In the sport of sales, turning your target prospects into fully-fledged customers is the hallmark of a decisive win. To achieve this, your reps need strong closing techniques that include follow-up phone calls. At this stage of the sales funnel, proactive outreach is key to addressing any remaining hesitation and keeping the momentum moving forward.

Your reps’ time with their customers doesn’t end when they get back in their car after their in-home meeting. On the sales playing field, exercising extreme discipline means never resting on your laurels. Reps need to keep the momentum going by staying engaged with customers through follow-up messaging and personalized sales calls. Automation may be helpful, but a personal touch is essential during this final step to make customers feel fully supported throughout the process.

If your reps are struggling to close deals, remind them that discipline in script compliance is key. Our data shows that script compliance is the leading factor in boosting closing rates and average sales. By sticking to the script, reps are better positioned to upsell and build trust, which can lead to customer referrals and new opportunities for lead generation. This approach not only helps close the initial sale but also keeps upping the score by fostering long-term customer relationships.

Support Your Reps Through Each Step of the Sales Process

Bottom line: A well-defined sales process just leads to better outcomes. The only way you can make sure your reps are following the roadmap is with data. And the only way you can gather this type of data is with virtual ridealong software.

Rilla’s real-time feedback allows sales managers to coach reps through every process stage. Sales leaders can analyze reps’ interactions with customers and track a variety of metrics like talk-to-listen ratios, customer sentiment, customer engagement, objection handling, time spent at each sale, close rates, ticket sizes and the effects of promotions, and any keywords or key phrases. This data can be used to optimize and improve any stage of the sales process, which benefits not only your sales pipeline but also your overall sales workflow.

As a sales strategy, cold-calling is out. Data-driven, effective sales processes are in. When you’re ready to discover the power of data on your sales cycle — and your reps’ conversion rates — contact us to book a demo.