Small businesses invest a great deal of time, money and effort into marketing. You might post regularly on social media, attend networking events, send email campaigns, improve your website, or even invest in paid advertising.
But what happens when somebody responds?
Generating interest is only part of the journey. If you are attracting enquiries but struggling to turn them into paying customers, your marketing may not be the problem. It could be your sales process.
A good sales process bridges the gap between marketing and securing a new customer.
Marketing gets the conversation started
Marketing's purpose is to make the right people aware of your business, build trust, and encourage them to take the next step. That could mean completing an enquiry form, sending a message, making a phone call, or speaking to you at a networking event.
Once they have done that, they have moved into a different stage of their customer journey.
This is where having a clear sales process becomes important.
Think about what happens when you receive an enquiry. How quickly did you respond? Did you ask questions to understand what the potential customer needed? Did you agree what would happen next? If they didn’t decide immediately, did you follow up?
For many small businesses, the sales process has developed informally. An enquiry arrives, and the business owner responds when they have time. A conversation takes place, a quote might be sent, and then everyone gets busy.
This can mean good opportunities are lost because there is no consistent process to move people forward.
Not every lead is ready to buy
It is also important to remember that someone showing interest in your business doesn't necessarily mean they are ready to become a customer. A good sales process helps you understand their needs, whether your business is the right fit, and how ready they are to decide.
Rather than immediately launching into a sales pitch, asking good questions can help you understand the person or business in front of you. It also makes the conversation feel more natural and less like traditional selling.
Make it easy to take the next step
Your sales process doesn’t need to be complicated. It simply needs to provide a clear journey from initial enquiry through to a decision. Consider how you respond to new leads, what questions you ask, how you record conversations, when you follow up and how you agree the next action.
Most importantly, don’t leave the potential customer wondering what happens next. I have been running my marketing business for over 15 years, and I still sometimes struggle to close a sale. Sometimes I send proposals and then wait ages, which can be frustrating. Having spoken to Ian Baker a Sales Coach recently I realised that good marketing needs to be supported by a good sales process. So, I have asked Ian to run a workshop as part of The Marketing Club series. I will take part and know I will learn a lot to help my business grow, if you’re interested take a look here.
Learn ‘how to sell without feeling salesy’
Our next Marketing Club workshop takes place on Tuesday 20 October and will focus on The Art of Selling Without Feeling Salesy.
Ian Baker will share a practical, human approach to sales, helping you build trust, ask better questions, and guide potential customers toward confident decisions.
The session is interactive, so you will also have an opportunity to practise your sales skills in a supportive environment.
If you are investing time and resources in marketing, make sure you have a sales process in place to turn more opportunities into customers.
For more information or to book, click here https://shamshadwalker.co.uk/marketing-club/event/30-the-marketing-club-nottingham-october-2026
