Over my time helping small businesses with digital marketing, I’ve watched many grow from 0 (or less) to millions of dollars in revenue per year.

The routes they took to get that point were all a bit different – not all businesses and models are the same and all have different stories to tell on how they got there.

Despite these differences, there were some common threads that are quite easy to pick out.

Among those common threads was a nicely streamlined sales system (function).

As a reminder from my “Systems Delta” post, the sales system takes in leads from your marketing system (input), converts them into a sales and sets up your operations/service/delivery system (output).

You can imagine, then, that your sales function is a vital piece to the puzzle.

Alignment & Differentiation Can Make Your Sales Process Easier

If you haven’t yet, take a look at my “Alignment Delta” and “Why Delta” blog posts.

In those posts I discuss the importance of a (well-defined) description of your customers/clients (alignment), as well as the importance of defining your differentiation (why folks should choose you over others with the same alignment).

1. Your lead quality will improve
2. Your sales process can shorten

This doesn’t mean you’ll have “instant sales” (in some cases it can), but it does filter out some of the noise you might get – making the sales process a bit easier for your sales folks (more on that below).

The “Sales System Delta”

While this can be different depending on your particular small business, there are a few things I’ve noticed with the best small businesses I’ve worked with over the years — all having a firm grasp of the following steps:

0. Alignment & Differentation On Point (Remember Your “Why”)
1. (Very) Fast Response Time To Leads
2. Well Defined Inputs For Estimates/Projects (If Customized Service/Product Offering)
3. Clear/Transparent Pricing & Payment Terms
4. Honest Service/Delivery Expectations & Prompt Scheduling (Operations Handoff)
5. Personal, But Repeatable Sales Experience

For many folks, if they miss one or more of these steps or don’t have them in place at all, your “Sales System Delta”  (delta, again, is a “gap” or “distance”) becomes larger — leading to frustration for your sales team.

As they step through this list – and improve each area – their “Sales System Delta” slowly goes to zero: meaning the sales function is operating efficiently.

Lead Response Time

Things move (very) quickly online.

The same can be said for your leads that come in online – if you’re not available to answer a call or quick with a call back from that call (or form entry or text), it’s very easy for that lead to “keep scrolling” to the next available small business.

Very often I’ve seen folks win a lot of business just by being the first to return a call — shorten that response time and you’ll find yourself in better position than many others.

Well Defined Inputs For Estimates/Projects/Services

If you’re like many small businesses, pricing for your projects or services can range depending on many different factors.

Identifying the exact inputs for each project type or service offering will help you quickly identify the right solution (or solutions) for the customer’s need – and offer faster estimates/pricing.

Knowing the exact inputs for customized pricing allows you to be more confident with the next step.

Clear/Transparent Pricing & Payment Terms

The clearer and more transparent you are with pricing – and associated payment terms – allows your leads to clearly understand what to expect when it comes to paying for your services or products.

Having clear breakdowns of line items included in the service and/or products allows you both to work from a mutual understanding – and set the right expectations (see next step) for a shared, desired outcome for both parties.

Honest Service/Product/Project Delivery Expectations (And Scheduling)

Setting expectations is vital for many things in marketing, but can be especially important for your sales process.

If you over-promise things during sales process, this could lead to issues later on for your operations/service delivery folks (and ultimately for your small business).

If something is established during the sales process, follow through on it – every time.

Personal – But Repeatable – Sales Experience

This part is likely the trickiest step for many small business owners.

Since most of the sales process is taken on by the owner of the small business in the early stages, the overall sales performance hinges on the personalized experience offered by the owner – it’s part of the charm of the small business experience.

Over time – and with a little training – that personalized sales experience becomes something that can be repeatable – and delegated to other folks in your small business.

Repeatable Systems Allow You To Multiply, Grow (And Step Away)

As mentioned in my “Replacement Is Just Algebra” post, you are a variable in every system you take part of in your business.

Since selling is often one of the last things a small business owner lets go of, it’s vital to create a sales system that is repeatable – and remove yourself from the equation.

If your selling process is overly customized or is too tied to things that can’t be repeated, you’ll find yourself constantly being the bottleneck in your small business.

Data & Feedback Is Crucial For Digital Marketing

Markets shift and change all the time (especially in the digital world).

No matter what your sales system looks like, if there’s not a feedback loop for data you might not identify important items that are slowing you down – or not identify them fast enough to make changes.

If you take a look at my “Improvement Delta” blog post, you can see that this feedback can help you stay aligned with your market, as well.

Really Good Digital Marketing Can Make Sales Feel Like Order Taking

Mentioned above, if your alignment and differentiation is on point, it can drastically shorten – and simplify – your sales process – ultimately making it feel like you’re “order taking”, rather than selling.

Since alignment and differentiation can change over time, it’s vital that the measurement and feedback loops are in place to help you monitor these – and fine tune your marketing over that time.

If you’re able to leverage a little data, a little math and zero out your “Sales Systems Delta” – the easier it will be for you to enable and align your digital marketing efforts – and grow your small business in 2025 – and beyond.