Sales methodology vs sales process – how they influence each other and how to build them effectively

Sales success isn’t just about hitting targets. It’s about having a repeatable, structured approach that actually works. But let’s be honest: no two sales cycles are the same. 

Sometimes, deals move smoothly from one stage to the next. Other times, they take unexpected turns, requiring a more flexible approach.

You’ve likely seen both scenarios play out. You know that relying on gut feeling alone won’t scale, but you also don’t want a rigid process that doesn’t reflect how real sales happen. That’s where the right sales methodology comes in – one that balances structure and adaptability.

In this article, we’ll break down the most effective sales methodologies, helping you choose the best fit for your team and sales process.

Sales methodology vs sales process – key differences 

Here is a quick overview of how these two terms differ. 

How to choose the right sales methodology?

Selecting the right sales methodology is important for a few reasons: to improve efficiency, align with customer needs, and close more deals. While it might be tempting to pick the most popular one, I recommend going with a sales methodology that aligns with your customers, sales team, and business model. 

By analyzing your process, testing options, and continuously optimizing, you can build a sales approach that will drive consistent results.

1. Analyze your sales process

Before choosing a methodology you want to work with, you need to understand how your current sales process works.

Here are the steps you should take:

• Map out your sales funnel – from lead generation to closing a deal.
• Identify where prospects drop off and look for other bottlenecks, for example, where sales cycles are taking too long.
• Check if your team follows a structured approach or improvises too often.

For example, let’s say that your sales team struggles with handling objections late in the process. A consultative methodology like SPIN Selling (which emphasizes asking the right questions) might help improve conversions.

2. Understand your buyer’s journey

Your sales methodology can’t collide with your sales process nor with your customers’ awareness and knowledge.

To understand this, I recommend that you:

• Define key decision-making stages for your ideal customers
• Identify what customers need to make a decision – is it extensive education, quick decisions, or maybe hands-on demonstrations?
• Make sure the complexity of your sales process matches the complexity of their buying process.

Say that your customers require multiple approvals before purchasing (common in B2B software sales). A structured approach like Solution Selling (focusing on demonstrating ROI and problem-solving) might work best.

3. Assess your sales team’s strengths

Not all methodologies work for all sales teams. Pick one that plays to your team’s strengths. You’re probably wondering – how can I shortlist the best-fitting ones? Here are a few steps:

• Evaluate whether your team thrives in relationship-building or prefers data-driven approaches
• Consider how well your sales team handles objections and (perhaps more importantly) how good they are at negotiations
• Assess if your team does best when given flexibility or if they’re working on detailed scripts.

Let’s assume that your sales reps are subject-matter experts and have a definitely bigger domain knowledge than your clients. They also know how to use their expertise to advise the customer on the best option, i.e., one they wouldn’t singlehandedly come up with. In such a scenario, you could go with The Challenger Sale approach, which teaches reps to challenge customer assumptions and add value.

4. Match the methodology to your business model

By now, you can surely see how important the sales methodology vs sales process overlap is. Naturally, the same can be said about finding alignment between the methodology and your business model.

Here are some of the common methodologies and when to use them:

• Solution Selling – this type can work perfectly for high-ticket, customizable solutions like consulting services or enterprise software
• The Challenger Sale – ideal for competitive industries (like SaaS or cybersecurity), where customers are resistant to change
• SPIN Selling – works well for complex sales that require a deep understanding of the product/service that’s sold (think: healthcare or manufacturing)
• Inbound Sales – best for brands that use nurture leads with content (for example, digital marketing agencies and SaaS platforms)
• MEDDICC – a great fit for B2B sales teams dealing with complex, high-value deals that involve multiple stakeholders and long sales cycles.  

For a deeper dive, I recommend that you give our sales methodology overview a read.

5. Test on a small scale

Rolling out a new methodology is a big task, so before you go full-scale, I recommend testing it with a smaller group. For example, one of your sales teams could use SPIN Selling, while another Solution Selling for three months. You could then compare which team closed more deals to decide which sales methodology is more effective. Here are a few tips on how to approach testing:

• Select a few reps to try the new methodology
• Set clear goals and measure key performance indicators (KPIs) such as conversion rates or deal velocity
• Compare the results against your existing approach.

I recommend doing this on a separate sales funnel so that it’s easy to compare results. The sales process (i.e., its stages and actions) should also account for the methodology.

6. Train and integrate

Even the greatest methodology will be useless if your team doesn’t fully adopt it. Here are a few steps you can take to make sure that they are on board.  

• Provide formal training, including real-world role-playing exercises. It’s important that sales reps participate in the implementation process. Otherwise, they won’t be keen on using it.
• Adjust your CRM to align with the new methodology (e.g., adding structured fields for SPIN questions)
• Assign mentors or coaches to reinforce the new approach.

For example, if you were to switch to the Challenger Sale, you could train your reps on disrupting customer thinking and provide case studies on how past clients benefited from changing their approach.

Bear in mind that you need to set up a separate sales process in your CRM to be able to compare how your sales methodology impacts results. 

7. Measure success and optimize

After implementing your sales methodology you have to track performance to make sure it drives results. Here is how: 

• Monitor KPIs like deal closing rates, average sales cycle length, and customer retention
• Gather feedback from sales reps and customers to refine the approach
• Adjust training and strategy based on data insights.

For instance, if after six months, conversion rates improve but deal sizes decrease, you may need to combine SPIN Selling (better discovery) with Solution Selling (value-based approach) to maximize effectiveness.

How to implement the right sales processes to boost performance

1. Decide on the criteria you’ll use to distinguish different processes

Your business is likely to sell to more than one type of customer – for example, SMBs vs enterprises. As a rule, there should be a separate sales process per segment or product. 

But even if you sell the same way to different segments and the sales process looks identical, it’s still worth having two separate sales funnels in the CRM to easily monitor these separate groups.

One customer group might have a shorter time to win and go through fewer decision-making stages in the funnel. Similarly, each group might appeal to different upselling and/or cross-selling techniques. 

Your sales processes should be tailored to these differences. Only then can you build out and define stages that align with them.

2. Define sales stages clearly

In the modern approach to sales process design, a salesperson’s main role is to make the purchase easier for the customer. That’s why the sales process should mirror the buying process and address the needs of the buyer. It should act as a response to your customers’ purchasing process, and all the stages and actions within them should encourage them to buy.

Once you narrow down the stages for your business, you should create specific action points. This is the only way to ensure that the process is both repetitive and predictable. 

This is easy to set up and track with a solution like LiveSpace. 

You can learn more about the approach we recommend in a recording of our webinar on designing the sales process.

3. Standardize key activities and best practices

Defining key activities and practices for each step is a natural next step. These should be clear action points for each stage (some optional) to push the process forward to the next stage.

I recommend:

• Developing scripts, templates, and checklists tailored to each stage
• Training sales reps on how to run discovery calls, present solutions, and handle objections
• Align sales activities with your CRM tool for tracking and automation.
  

4. Integrate the sales process with CRM and technology

If you can’t measure a process you can’t improve it. That’s why it’s so important to integrate your sales process with a CRM to track all your sales activities. Here are a few tips on how to do this:

• Configure CRM software to match the sales stages and ensure accurate data capture
• Automate lead scoring and follow-up reminders
• Use analytics dashboards to measure performance and identify bottlenecks.

That said, you need to choose the right CRM. Generally, most CRM software follows one of two sales processes:

• Linear – divided into stages, common in most CRMs
• Non-linear – combining actions and stages like Livespace. 

Linear CRMs offer fewer customization options. In contrast, non-linear CRMs, such as Livespace, provide:

• Full customization of sales stages and steps
• The ability to manage multiple sales processes
• Customization across all pricing plans
• Advanced analytics for data-driven decision-making.

Livespace allows you to add custom, detailed stages, and steps, offering more control and visibility into your sales team’s performance.

5. Define clear metrics 

Now that you have your CRM set up, you can measure success and spot areas for improvement. Here’s what I recommend doing: 

• Ask yourself how each decision – for example, implementing MEDDICC – impacts your sales. Does it shorten the average sales cycle duration?
• Implementing regular sales performance reviews based on data insights
• Encouraging accountability by tying KPIs to incentives and coaching.
  

6. Monitor, optimize, and iterate

Remember, your sales process isn’t set in stone. What worked a year ago, won’t necessarily work next year. That’s why you need to continuously refine your sales process based on real-world data and feedback. Here are a few tips: 

• Track deal progression and identify drop-off points to refine tactics 
• Gather feedback from sales reps and customers to improve effectiveness
• Regularly update the sales process to adapt to market changes and business needs.

Tracking how your sales process performs is key – regardless of the methodology you use

The choice of methodologies is wide – whether your sales process is long and features plenty of steps or short and simple, you’ll find the right fit. That said, whichever methodology you choose to run with, make sure that your sales reps can genuinely work in alignment with it. It’s crucial to keep track of whether the actions that happen in the sales process improve conversions, have no impact on them, or have a detrimental impact and require refinement.