Process, product, and people in sales

Many sales departments focus heavily on filling the funnel—constantly trying to add more customers into the pipeline in order to sell more. However, this approach often distracts from deeper issues. If sales teams rely only on lead generation to hit their targets, they risk overlooking critical problems in process, product, and people:

• Process: Sales processes may not be aligned to consistently deliver successful results.

• Product: The offering may not fully match customers’ value requirements.

• People: Sales teams may lack a clear understanding of what matters in the sales process or how to execute it effectively.

Instead of allocating all resources to lead generation, organizations should channel some toward improving closing ratios, aligning products with customer value, reducing churn, building brand loyalty, and encouraging referrals. If salespeople cannot sell effectively or create meaningful customer attachment to the brand, then overfilling the funnel won’t help—only buyers with no alternatives or little concern for value will end up purchasing.