Sales process steps: When to break the rules. (13)

Your sales process is like a well-paved road to sales success. It’s designed to guide you and your team toward your ultimate destination: closing new accounts. Without that road, you’re just wandering aimlessly, relying on randomness to get your next new account.

Think of it this way: successful sales teams focus on high-probability actions that keep them moving forward. They have the discipline to follow their process consistently, mile after mile. But they also know when a detour or sharp turn is necessary to avoid a dead end or seize an unexpected opportunity.

If you or your team are constantly veering off course—taking too many detours or sharp turns—you’re definitely going somewhere, but it’s not to a sales closing. If there are too many exceptions to your sales process, you don’t have a process.

Staying close to your process isn’t about rigidity; it’s about consistency, structure, predictability, and the ability to scale your efforts. It’s your framework for repeatable success.

When you decide to break from your process, do it deliberately and for the right reasons—not out of boredom or emotional impulses. Remember, what works, works.

The top appointment setters, lead generators, and closers trust their process. They adapt when needed but never lose sight of the framework that provides the best chance for results.

Your team must master the balance between discipline and flexibility. That is the key to top sales performance. Stick to your process to stay on the road to the next new account, but know when it’s time to make a wise detour.

Hope this got you thinking.

This is a memo edition of the Finding Business with Scott Channell podcast. For more information about this podcast and services offered go to Scott Channell with 2 t’s, 2 n’s and 2 l’s, dot com.

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