Writing your Sales Rules of Engagement (process) document
It's as scintillating as reading any type of manual
Let’s back to talking about process. I ran through the Knoster Model in a previous article. This time I’m going to run through something a bit more mundane: process documentation. Just reading those two words can illicit a feeling of taking medicine as a kid. You don’t want to do it but you feel like you have to. Process documentation feels very much the same.
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As a Revenue Operator it can feel like creating documentation is…
an afterthought
a side quest
something that only bureaucratic mature companies do
Now all of that might be true. If you’re thinking it, then it’s most definitely true at your company.
But what if it wasn’t?
Here are my hacks to building documentation quickly
Record a Zoom or a Loom (crazy that they rhyme here) video of what you’re doing. Then upload it into a video-to-audio transcript tool. Drop the transcript into ChatGPT and ask it to format for you.
Is that a bad idea? No it’s really good. Trust me.
Then obviously take the time to EDIT the document. Try not to just ship it as is.
It’s honestly never been a better time to have tools that will CUT down the amount of time it takes to build documentation.
Best Practices
Here’s a quick list to make sure you use in your documentation:
Add bookmarks so you can reference previous sections
Add a “last updated date” to the bottom of each section
Add a “section owner” to the bottom of each section
If your team goes into the doc and sees that a section hasn’t been updated in THREE years then maybe it needs a touch up
Sections to to be phrased as a question or a “how to”
Add a list of questions that might be relevant to each section
Eventually this will all be served up via an AI bot so it’s best to start designing your docs with this in mind
So let’s imagine you have a new Account Executive who joins your team.
What would they want to know?
Just off the top of my head this is an outline of what I think they’d want to see. Use this and fill it out with however you do this in your own organization.
Accounts: which companies should I reach out to?
How to find your accounts?
How does my company tier accounts?
How do I look up previous opportunities on the account?
How do I look up existing business, if any, with this account?
How do I look up the last activity on the account?
How do I claim open accounts?
When does an account become open to claim?
Will I receive a notification if an account is moved to open? Or out of my name?
What fields can I edit?
What fields should I edit?
When should I edit them?
Who do I go to if I have a question that needs to be escalated?
For the Leads and Contacts section in your RevOps document, you'll want to provide comprehensive guidance on how the sales team should manage and interact with leads and contacts in Salesforce. Here's a suggested outline:
Leads: how to work inbound?
Lead Assignment and Prioritization
What do I do if a lead is a duplicate?
How leads are assigned to sales reps?
Criteria for prioritizing leads
How do leads that were previously inbound that “warm back up” re-enter the funnel? (re-MQL?)
Lead Qualification
What are the guidelines for determining if a lead is qualified or not?
What information to gather during lead qualification?
If I’m an SDR and book a meeting for an AE, how do I reassign the lead?
Do I convert first? Then reassign?
Lead Conversion
What are the steps to convert a lead into an account, contact, and opportunity?
What are the best practices for ensuring data accuracy during conversion?
Lead Follow-up
What is our protocol and SLA for following up with leads?
Recommended timeframes for follow-up actions?
What is the SLA for leads that come in during the weekend? Do you tackle them all Monday morning?
Lead Status Tracking
Explanation of lead statuses and their meanings.
How to update lead statuses accordingly?
When do I move a lead to nurture?
Lead Engagement History:
How to view past interactions and engagements with leads.
Utilization of activity history and notes.
Lead Routing and Distribution:
Processes for routing leads to appropriate sales reps or teams.
Automation tools or rules for lead distribution.
If a lead is not touched in a timely fashion does it round robin to the next rep up?
How are leads routed when a rep is on vacation?
Contacts: how to work outbound, existing customers, and previous inbound?
Contact Management:
How to search for and access contacts in Salesforce.
Understanding the relationship between contacts and accounts.
Contact Information Update:
Guidelines for updating contact information.
Importance of maintaining accurate contact records.
Contact Engagement Tracking:
Methods for tracking interactions and engagements with contacts.
Utilization of activity history, emails, calls, etc.
Contact Ownership and Assignment:
Procedures for assigning contacts to sales reps.
How to claim ownership of unassigned contacts.
Contact Relationship Mapping:
Strategies for identifying and mapping relationships between contacts.
Importance of leveraging existing relationships for sales opportunities.
Where do you build an account / org map? Offline? Using an online tool like Prolifiq or LinkedIn Sales Navigator?
Contact Segmentation and Targeting:
Techniques for segmenting contacts based on attributes or behaviors.
Tailoring outreach and communication based on segmentation.
Contact Data Integrity:
Best practices for maintaining data integrity for contact records.
Importance of regular data hygiene practices.
Contact Communication Guidelines:
Guidelines for effective communication with contacts.
Tips for building and nurturing relationships through communication.
Escalation Process:
Protocol for escalating contact-related issues or questions.
Who to contact for assistance or clarification.
By including these topics in your RevOps document, you'll provide your sales team with a comprehensive guide for effectively managing leads and contacts within Salesforce, ultimately helping them streamline their processes and drive more successful outcomes.
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