Friction is a force of resisting motion. When we think about friction in terms of business, we are thinking of anything that slows down or complicates movement along the customer journey. Understanding friction as a concept in human behaviour, rather than in physics, was first introduced by the philosopher Carl von Clausewitz in the book On War from 1832. He talks about the way that even small factors can de-rail a well-planned strategy. In that way, war and sales are the same. So how do make your sales process frictionless instead?

The process of frictionless selling can be broken down into 3 basic steps:

1. Enable
2. Align
3. Transform

Enable

The first stage of creating a frictionless sales process is enabling your sales team to do what they do best: sell! Most sales teams find themselves bogged down in day-to-day admin and internal meetings without having the time left to spend selling to prospects. This is the time to review how your salespeople spend their time and how effective the tools they use are. 

Is there a way to streamline processes and empower the sales team to spend more time selling and less time mired in admin? Would alternative tools make their jobs easier? Consider whether better-integrated platforms are possible solutions, limiting the amount of time your team needs for jumping from app to app and task to task.

Helpful reading: What is sales enablement?

Align

Once you’ve enabled your sales team to spend more of their time selling, it’s important to make sure that they are aligned to your customers’ buying journey. Although customer experience as a concept has been floating around for quite some time, many companies don’t apply it to the sales process. However, customer buying habits and needs are changing and many businesses have not changed the way they sell to reflect that. 

In this stage, it’s time to ask questions about what your clients want and need out of their buying journey. When customers have questions, are your sales team available? Do most queries come through a specific channel (email, twitter, contact forms, etc.)? What about the sale itself? Ask current customers what worked for them when they bought your product or service. And, more importantly, ask any lost deals what didn’t work for them. As you analyse your process and gather new information, you’ll be better able to align your sales team to your customer buying journey, eliminating one more layer of friction!

Helpful reading: Identifying the Ideal Lead

Transform

Now your sales team is empowered and enabled by smoother processes and efficient tech, they’re well-aligned to the way your prospects like to buy and be sold to - everything is looking good. What next? It’s time for transformation! Your team is set up for success, but now you need to implement a culture of learning.

Teams that embrace learning and growth are more likely to excel and exceed expectations. A more knowledgeable and highly skilled team will be better able to cater to customer needs and anticipate queries. Encourage your managers to coach their team on a regular basis and maintain development plans. Additionally, when you create a culture that champions learning, you will bring more creativity and authority into your teams as well.

The time has come to rethink the sales process and what it means to be a sales team. By embracing these three basic steps to creating a frictionless sales journey, you will keep prospects moving through your sales funnel and create an exceptional customer experience. Remember, enable your team to sell at their best, align to your customers, and transform your company’s culture into one that celebrates learning. If you keep these principles at the heart of your sales team, you’ll feel the lack of friction in no time.