A sales process is the repeatable path a buyer takes from "never heard of you" to "signed and using it". Writing it down matters for one simple reason: when you know which stage a deal is in, you know the next thing to do. When you don't, you end up sending "just checking in" emails.
Most B2B processes use some version of the seven stages below. Rename them to fit your business, but keep the idea that each stage has an exit criterion, a fact about the buyer that must be true before the deal moves on.
1. Prospecting
Find people who are likely to need what you sell and start a conversation. The output is a booked first meeting, not a sale.
- Build a short list of accounts that match your ideal customer profile (industry, size, tech stack, a recent trigger such as funding or a new leader).
- Reach out across more than one channel: phone, email and LinkedIn together get far more replies than any one alone.
- Exit criterion: a named person has agreed to a first call with a date in the calendar.
See the full prospecting guide and cold calling guide.
2. Discovery
Understand the buyer's situation, the problem behind their interest and what it costs them. This is the stage most reps rush and the one that decides most deals.
- Ask about the current situation, what is not working, why it matters now and what happens if nothing changes.
- Talk less than the buyer. A useful target is to speak for under half of the call.
- Exit criterion: you can describe the buyer's problem, its business impact and their deadline in their own words, and they agree with your summary.
Use the discovery question list to prepare.
3. Qualification
Decide whether this is a real opportunity worth your time. Qualification runs alongside discovery, but it deserves its own checkpoint because the most expensive deals are the ones you lose after months of work.
- Check budget, authority, need and timing, or use a deeper framework such as MEDDIC for complex deals.
- Exit criterion: you know who signs, how they decide and what the money looks like, or you have decided to walk away.
The qualification guide compares BANT, MEDDIC and others.
4. Solution and demo
Show how you solve the specific problem you found in discovery. A good demo is short and built around the buyer's story, not a tour of every feature.
- Start with a recap of their problem and get them to confirm it.
- Show the two or three things that matter most to them, then stop and ask questions.
- Exit criterion: the buyer says the solution would solve their problem and agrees on next steps with other stakeholders.
5. Proposal and negotiation
Put the offer in writing and work through terms. The proposal should hold no surprises: everything in it has been discussed before.
- Price against the value you agreed in discovery, not against your cost.
- Trade, don't give: every concession should get something back, such as a longer term, faster signature or a case study.
- Exit criterion: verbal agreement on scope, price and start date.
Read the negotiation guide.
6. Closing
Get the contract signed. If the earlier stages were done well, closing is mostly paperwork and project management: chasing legal, procurement and signatures.
- Agree a mutual plan with dates for each step, owned by named people on both sides.
- Exit criterion: signed contract.
See closing techniques that don't feel pushy.
7. Handover and expansion
Introduce the customer to whoever delivers the product, and stay in touch. Happy customers are the cheapest source of new revenue through renewals, upsells and referrals.
- Hand over everything you learned in discovery so the customer never has to repeat themselves.
- Book a check-in at 30 and 90 days.
Common mistakes
- Skipping discovery and pitching right away. The buyer can't see why your product matters to them, so price becomes the only thing to compare.
- Moving deals forward on hope. If the exit criterion isn't met, the deal hasn't moved, whatever the CRM says.
- Single-threading. Relying on one contact means one job change or vacation can kill the deal. Aim for at least two or three contacts in every account.
- No next step. Every meeting should end with a date for the next one.
Put it into practice
Work out how much activity each stage needs to hit your target with the sales pipeline calculator, then practice the conversations in the sales call trainer.