Optimising sales

Sales is the engine that drives stability, growth, and long-term success in a any business.

Yet, many founders and business leaders struggle to turn sales into a predictable, scalable function.

Instead of treating it as a structured process, it's common for sales to be reactively switched on and off when their pipeline dries up, or delivery gets busy.

But here's the reality.

Sales isn't a tap you can turn on when needed and expect immediate results. It requires structure, consistency, and continuous optimisation to be effective.

It often feels like solving sales is a myth. An unachievable feat only talked about in legend.

But the reality is that it can be solved.

It's not a fast process. Often, it's never done. It's in a constant process of improvement. But to solve it, we need to balance myth and legend with facts, science and a more operational view to implement a scalable, repeatable system that delivers predictable results.

Why sales often fails.

So why is sales such a pain in the arse?

Let's not beat around the bush. It is. It's one of the harder challenges in any business.

1. Sales feels unpredictable and chaotic

Many businesses view sales as a black box. Something intangible, difficult to control, and unpredictable.

As a result, they avoid proactive sales strategies and rely too much on passive channels like referrals and inbound leads, that 'appear' to work.

But while these sources are valuable, they can't be controlled or scaled in the same way outbound sales can. On the other hand, trying to control chaos seems like an unachievable task.

2. Sales efforts are inconsistent

A common mistake is only focusing on sales when revenue starts dropping. Businesses scramble to generate leads, try outbound sales for a few weeks, and give up when results aren't immediate.

But sales isn't an instant win.

It's a long-term process that compounds over time.

3. Lack of a structured process

Too many businesses perform 'random acts of sales' rather than a structured, systematic process.

Without clear workflows, defined steps, and a focus on continuous optimisation, sales efforts become ineffective and unpredictable.

The good news? Once you structure sales properly, it becomes a manageable, scalable function that you can improve over time.

4. Your team owns too much of the process

You may have too few people in the sales process. You probably hired 'the salesperson', and they're going from the Top of the Funnel all the way down to the Bottom of the Funnel.

You're stretching them too far, meaning the work they get to is so thinly distributed that it's ineffective.

5. You gave up too early

You tried something new, and it didn't work the first time. So you gave up.

When did something work perfectly the first time? Do Olympic athletes arrive on this planet being able to run 100 metres in 9.58 seconds?

No.

They trained, optimised and focussed on the outcome.

The Foundation of a Scalable Sales Process

To operationalise your sales engine and achieve scale, predictability and sustainability, you need to break your funnel down into three key stages.

• Top of Funnel (TOFU): Cold outbound prospecting

• Middle of Funnel (MOFU): Lead nurturing

• Bottom of Funnel (BOFU): Closing the deal

1. Top of Funnel (TOFU): Cold Outbound Prospecting

Cold outbound is often dismissed as ineffective, but most businesses fail at it because they execute it poorly.

A successful outbound strategy requires:

• A clear value proposition - Your messaging should be laser-focused on the problems your ideal customer is experiencing, not just a list of what you do.

• Highly targeted prospecting - You should only reach out to prospects who match your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), not spray-and-pray to anyone with an email address.

• A structured, multi-touch outreach strategy - A single cold email isn't enough. Successful outbound sequences use a mix of emails, LinkedIn engagement, phone calls, and content sharing to warm up prospects.

• A softer sales approach - Stop trying to get to fourth base on the first date. Take your time, find common ground and be patient.

• Ongoing optimisation - Every outbound campaign should be tracked, analysed, and refined. Small tweaks to subject lines, messaging, timing, and follow-ups can significantly impact response rates.

• Why most businesses fail at outbound: They send one or two cold email campaigns, get a low response rate, and declare outbound sales 'doesn't work'. The reality is that outbound needs iterative improvement—just like marketing does

2. Middle of Funnel (MOFU): Lead Nurturing & Sales Process

This is where most businesses fall short. They generate initial interest but fail to nurture leads effectively, causing potential deals to slip through the cracks.

Most businesses fail at lead nurturing because they either give up too soon or don't provide enough value-driven engagement to stay top-of-mind.

What you should be considering:

• Lead qualification - Not all leads are equal. Define clear criteria to prioritise high-value prospects who are most likely to convert.

• Personalised lead nurturing - Use insights from your conversations to send tailored content, case studies, and solutions that speak to each prospect's specific needs.

• Follow-up processes - Most sales are won through follow-ups, not the first interaction. Having a structured follow-up system ensures leads don't go cold.

• Patience - B2B sales cycles can be long. Many businesses lose deals simply because they don't stay engaged long enough. The key is consistent, value-driven touchpoints over time.

• Moments to engage - Find those extra special moments that can move the relationship to the next level. An event, a reason to engage, a chance to get out from behind the screen and meet in person.

3. Bottom of Funnel (BOFU): Closing the Deal

If your business has survived the economic conditions of the past few years, you already know how to close deals.

However, refining this stage can significantly improve conversion rates.

Key focus areas include:

• Optimised proposals & pricing - Your pricing and proposals should clearly articulate value, not just list deliverables.

• Effective objection handling - Great salespeople don't fight objections—they reframe them into deeper conversations.

• Streamlined contract and onboarding processes - Reducing friction in the final stages makes it easier for prospects to say 'yes' and move forward.

Operationalising sales

Most businesses don't need a complete overhaul at this stage, just small optimisations to improve efficiency and reduce bottlenecks.

Sales is a continuous process. Once you change your mindset and adapt to this approach to sales, life will become easier, and your sales engine will improve.

The biggest shift business leaders need to make is treating sales like a system, not a last-minute fix.

To help you achieve this, you need team members with that natural sales ability and a natural affinity to process, rigour, and operations.

Bring these two types of people together with the right strategy, process, technology, and culture to support the engine, and you have a powerhouse on your hands.

To get the most out of them, can you support them further with the right mindset:

• Consistent execution - Sales efforts should run continuously, not just when revenue dips.

• Data-driven optimisation - Sales should be refined over time-based on performance metrics, not assumptions.

• Long-term thinking - A high-performing sales engine compounds its results over time, just like a well-run marketing strategy.

When sales become structured and repeatable, it stops feeling chaotic and becomes one of the most predictable drivers of business growth.

Let's wrap this up

Operationalising sales isn't about quick fixes—it's about building a structured, sustainable system that delivers consistent, predictable results.

• Stop treating sales like a switch - Commit to sales as a continuous process, not an on-off activity.

• Break sales into stages - Focus on TOFU (outbound), MOFU (nurturing), and BOFU (closing).

• Optimise, don't abandon - Refine your approach over time instead of giving up too soon.

• Bring an operational mind into the engine - Pair your sales expertise with operational expertise to drive a better process driven approach.

If you're serious about making sales scalable in your business, now is the time to take action.