Progress as a Predictor

A sales process consists of a series of definitive steps that can easily be measured.

Think of the activities associated with receiving an order from a customer as a series of valves that must be open to let a proposal flow through and become a sale.  It doesn’t matter which valves are open at what time, so long as all of them eventually open.  Monitoring or working on opening the valves in any order and tracking the progress can significantly increase the confidence of receiving an order or identifying issues that will prevent it from happening.