"He who works the process awaits the result in peace..." - Old Proverb

If you're familiar with the gold call you've probably noticed the semblance of a process at work with each and every gold call conversation you have with prospects. Process has everything to do with determining the final outcome of any effort, including the effort of building a closing dialogue with prospective customers.

There are many examples of process in motion that can be found in a variety of businesses. My first after school job was working for McDonald's. I laughed when I saw a degree from 'Hamburger University' hanging on the wall in the manager's office. During training however, I learned just how process oriented grilling hamburgers could be. If I recall correctly, there was a company requirement that only 33 minced onions were to be placed on each hamburger patty they grilled. That's 33 minced onions! How's that for a process?

McDonald's requires 33 minced onions for a reason. I can only imagine that it has something to do with better taste, or to save a few dollars off the cost of onions if the count were kept to a minimum. Whatever the reason, the point I'm making here is that there was a rule, and a followed procedure in place to enforce that rule for a specific outcome. For McDonald's, their purpose for counting 33 minced onions was to serve a better tasting hamburger than the competition!

In business, there is a real need for a process during business negotiations, and while prospecting for new customers over the phone. When talking to business prospects about the possibility of buying a product, A+B must equal C. Otherwise, the conversation can wander all over the place, and things may not work out like you planned.

Do you ever wonder why sales prospects ask to be sent sales literature instead of agreeing to meet with you? There's a good chance that it's because the prospect's process for dealing with salespeople worked, while your process for persuasion did not.

The next time you pick up the phone to make a phone call to a sales prospect be careful to work a process that connects the dots in conversation, and leads to a desired outcome. Closing appointments requires a process much for the same reason a great tasting hamburger requires 33 minced onions!