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Developed exclusively for OnePageCRM, the Next Action sales methodology is inspired by David Allen’s GTD, or Getting Things Done, productivity principles.
The beauty of the Next Action sales method is in its simplicity.
It does not require hours of training, you don’t have to read multiple productivity books to understand the concept.
It really is that simple.
In its simplest form, a Next Action is a sales task that needs to be done next in order to keep your deal moving.
For example, if you’re trying to win over a new client, there’s a series of steps (sales actions) that you usually take. These steps are your Next Actions.
Here are a few examples of Next Actions:
And so on.
These are usually sales actions.
They are steps required to move your sales deal from one stage to another.
By writing sales actions down and visually organizing them, salespeople can clearly see their sales process, improve it, and move from one step to another at a steady pace.
Next Actions sales method is a powerful tool that lets you focus 100% on taking action (a.k.a. selling).
It incorporates several elements:
By encouraging upfront decision-making, the Next Actions sales method ensures you never miss out on an opportunity to sell.
“The Next Action Sales once applied within any sales system will help to minimise slippage and maximise deals.”
Imagine that it’s just after mid-day and among a slew of other tasks, you have to follow up on about a dozen potential clients.
With each of them, you have some previous communication. Be it an invoice with a note, a reminder, or a series of emails. There are lots of bits and pieces that you’ve been doing to build a relationship with your leads.
All of this information is—hopefully—diligently recorded in your CRM system: from meeting notes to email threads. It would have been impossible to keep track of who said what, when, and how you’re meant to follow up without a CRM system.
However, storing this information is not enough. To get new clients, you need to put this information into action.
This is where the Next Action sales method comes into play.
Next Action selling focuses on sales activities, which can vary across different companies and industries.
Here are the key benefits of the Next Action selling method:
The Next Action selling method involves a number of elements, namely: the diary, the strikethrough, the next action, the locked-in loop, the note, and finally, the nudge.
Once you understand the role of each of these key elements, you’ll be able to implement Next Action selling in your organization too.
First, you need to record every interaction (however seemingly insignificant) you have with your prospects and customers inside your CRM. This is what the diary is all about!
Keeping track of these interactions will help you personalize your approach and remember all details during your next meeting or call.
Once you record the last interaction, add a Next Action to this contact straight away.
For example, you can save a quick note with what you talked about during your last meeting—and add a reminder to follow up and confirm if they will have received your contract in 2 days.
Once you complete your Next Action, the next element is the strikethrough.
There’s an undeniable satisfaction in crossing off items from your to-do list—and the Next Action sales method lets you do it.
See how it looks inside OnePageCRM:
What’s more, once the Next Action is completed, OnePageCRM automatically asks you to set a new one (see point 3 below).
All Next Actions for the day are organized in your color-coded Action Stream. This way, you can easily move from one task to another.
It’s important to keep a proactive approach to setting your Next Actions with a client, by deciding on the follow-up action directly after completing the last.
This is the time when you have the clearest perspective of the situation and what’s required next. Being proactive at his stage will improve the quality of future actions, making them easier and more automatic to execute when the time comes.
Once you have decided on the next action required to move the sale forward, you can write this into your diary on the date of the proposed action.
Once noted, you can then forget about that action for the time being, freeing up your mind for other tasks. This, in essence, is how the next action selling works.
All your Next Actions are locked into a system, moving around in proactive cycles; disappearing from view when not relevant, and reappearing when the time is right, thus creating a locked loop of sales actions.
The sales loop is not complete until either a sale is made or the contact is put on hold (or deleted).
Remember: For every action, there is a corresponding future Next Action. See the visual representation of the locked loop below.
As well as dates, you also need to keep notes on your communications with people. Notes are an integral part of the next action selling principle. If you want to set the correct next actions, you need to know the history of communication (you can’t just set any next action and hope that it’ll help you close the deal).
Your notes should provide you with just enough detail to enable you to make the right move.
Notes should be linked to each customer and where necessary, each action. They might cover things like what the person said on each occasion they were contacted, what you replied and what tone the person used.
Next action selling is tightly connected with the concept of proactive sales.
In this example, a Next Action is a nudge, a gentle push in the direction of finalizing a deal with a prospective client.
The days of the aggressive approach to sales are long gone. Building strong relationships with customers is the measure of modern sales success. And relationships require consistency that can be achieved with next action selling principles.
A nudge gives the sense of moving things forward which is so important in sales but without being too pushy. It could involve anything from being patient with a client while they make their decision, to helping them “sell” it to their colleagues/bosses.
Always set a Next Action to follow up, regardless of whether the time is now or later.
Next Action selling encourages you to follow up with a lead.
However, to benefit from its use, you must set proactive, actionable Next Actions that convert.
Here are our top tips for creating powerful Next Actions.
Use a verb at the start of the statement, this will trigger action, rather than procrastination. Actions should be decided upfront – so when the time arrives for ‘doing’, you’re halfway through the battle.
Examples of action verbs: call, email, meet, schedule, etc.
Action verbs are verbs that trigger the necessary action.
Be specific about what needs to be done, so that you can glance at the list and get an overview, without too much investigating.
That’s why it’s important to keep it to just a few words (that’s why we have a limit of 140 characters).
To be effective, Next Actions should be constructed in very simple and direct language. Be clear about what needs to be done and for whom.
Always use the Contact’s name. This reinforces a connection between you and your prospects and gets you ready for interaction.
Don’t overlook the importance of assigning sales activities to different sales reps.
If you have a few sales reps on the team, some of them might excel in negotiation, while others have a knack for cold calls.
If one member of your team works wonders in breaking the ice, assign all outreach activities to them.
On the other hand, if you have a sales rep who excels in navigating complex conversations, bring them in at the final stages of a deal.
Next action selling is a team sport!
Implementing a Next Action sales method can transform the way you do sales. It’s especially important for small businesses that often don’t have formalized sales processes and need an agile system instead.
Implementing Next Action selling in your organization isn’t an overnight success story. It might take time because it comes with a mindset shift.
Its implementation requires deliberate changes and a certain level of tolerance towards a trial-and-error approach. By focusing on what’s next, rather than getting overwhelmed by the end goal, you’ll likely notice how healthier your sales pipeline is.
Here’s how you can set up a Next Action sales method in a few manageable steps:
What is the sequence of steps needed to move a prospect closer to a sale?
The answer will vary from one business to another.
For example, for some companies, cold calls might be an integral part of their sales process. But maybe for you, regular follow-up emails are enough.
In this first step, take some time to reflect on your sales process and try to distill it into specific actions/steps/activities.
Once you’ve identified your top sales activities, break them down into smaller, manageable tasks (your Next Actions).
Every big activity should be dissected into bite-sized sales actions that can be easily tackled. Make sure to follow the guidelines above (use verbs, keep them succinct, and assign them to relevant team members).
If during the first step, your main task was to get a bird-view of your sales process, in step 2, you need to create an action plan, your to-do list, by organizing all activities into doable steps.
Every sales action should have a specific deadline.
This creates a sense of urgency and helps prevent tasks from being perpetually pushed to the back burner. Next action selling requires an uninterrupted flow of sales actions, which can be achieved by having clear deadlines.
When assigning tasks, be realistic about the time required to complete them. It’s a good idea to always accommodate for unforeseen delays. This will help reduce the unnecessary build-up of stress.
Does your sales team have the tools to execute these Next Actions efficiently? If you’re leveraging a CRM, make sure it supports the Next Action selling.
Next Action selling method works very well with an action-focused CRM.
It’s a simple CRM system designed to keep the focus on actionable sales steps. Every contact in the system can be assigned a time-sensitive Next Action. Besides, these CRMs sort all contacts by the urgency of the tasks and reminders set next to them.
Sales are dynamic. So should your approach be.
Regularly review your sales activities and the associated Next Actions.
What is working? What can be improved? What needs adjustments?
This helps to keep your sales strategy on track and your team aligned with set goals.
So, there it is; the systematic approach to sales based on setting Next Actions, performing them in a timely and well-informed manner, moving the situation forward with a series of nudges, until hopefully agreeing a deal.
Keep administration to a minimum and selling at a maximum with the Next Action selling method.
It takes an extra one or two seconds to write the sales action properly – but could mean the difference between winning and losing a sale.
