09/09/2026
Sometimes people think of a “sales process” and a “sales system” interchangeably.
To me, they’re different.
I see the sales process as the conversation a prospect is guided through when they are evaluating a business, product or service.
Have you ever walked through IKEA? It’s kind of like that. You follow a defined path from room to room, but what you pause to look at depends on what you actually need.
A sales system is a framework put in place that creates the experience a prospect has with the business. It’s centered on trust, value, and timing, the main reasons people will buy or not.
The sales system creates the environment the sales process operates in.
I was talking to a small business owner who said she hates doing sales because of the pushy salespeople she has dealt with in the past.
I told her that if she had a sales system based on who she is, her values, and how she wants to do business, sales would be fun. That was a new concept for her.
When a sales system is built around trust, value and timing, the sales conversation is a realistic evaluation of whether or not what you’re offering is the right fit for the customer in front of you.
It’s okay if they’re not.
Thinking you’re supposed to sell everyone your product or service sets an unrealistic expectation that doesn’t work well for anyone.
A sales system built on clear principles gives genuine human beings a predictable, repeatable structure while still allowing them to have real conversations.
At the heart of it all, a sales system becomes your bridge between strategic business infrastructure and real human conversation.
If you think you hate sales, chances are you actually don’t. My guess is you just don’t like being treated like a transaction and wouldn’t treat your customers like that.
Do you need help writing a sales system for your business?
For more information and a link to get my workbook, “Sales Without Being Pushy: Write a Simple Sales System You Will Actually Use”, go to https://www.416sales.com/sales-without-being-pushy.
