Last month, I reached out to 3 different IT hardware suppliers to make inquiries regarding laptops. I had a clear budget, basic technical requirements, brand preferences, and a timeline. If you were to assess my situation according to the BANT framework that looks into Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline, I was what you would call a qualified lead.

The responses were as follows:

• One promised to send me details via WhatsApp but didn’t, even after sending them a reminder.
• One sent me a quote with two options: a new machine or an ex-UK machine.
• One sent me 2 options, both of which were ex-UK machines.

Sixteen days later, and none of them had reached out to follow up to close the sale.

This made me reflect on how easy it is to lose opportunities for closing a sale without a proper process in place, one that is preferably not managed by the business owner themselves as they tend to wear many hats.

Remember that you only grow when you maintain the business you already have while closing new sales. So build a sales process regardless of how small your business is.

Article also available on Linkedin.