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Explanation of the steps required in business transactions to succeed in business. Also refer to process, product, service, money, sell, prospect, customer, demonstration, marketing, hiring, buy, purchase, negotiate, exchange, deliver, pay, Ron Kurtus, School for Champions. Copyright © Restrictions

Business Process Steps

by Ron Kurtus (revised 11 July 2004)

Business is the activity of making money through selling a product or service. There are specific steps to be taken in this process. There are similar steps taken in spending money to buy a product or service. In essence, they are both an exchange.

Questions you may have are:

• What steps are followed to make money?
• What steps are followed to spend money?
• How to they fit together in a business enterprise?

This lesson will answer those questions. There is a mini-quiz near the end of the lesson.

Making money

Making money is essentially a selling process. The steps involved are:

1. Get a product or service to sell
2. Find prospects
3. Get together for a demonstration
4. Negotiate price
5. Make exchange

Get a product or service to sell

A business may manufacture products, assemble products from purchased parts or resell someone else's product.

People within the company may provide a service or they may contract out for such people.

Find prospects

Marketing is making others aware of the product, service and business, plus letting them know where to buy the goods. It also includes calling on prospective customers.

Just finding where the prospects are and how to reach them is a major business task.

Get together for a demonstration

Although some sales are made over the telephone, though mail or via the Internet, most are still made in person. The individuals who are planning on buying a product or service want to get a demonstration of what the business has to offer them.

Negotiate price

Assuming the product or service has the desired feature, the sale can then be made if the price it right.

Make exchange

The business delivers the product or service and the customer pays to complete the exchange.

Spending money

The process of buying a product or hiring a service is similar to selling. Note that in a business, getting a product or service often involves purchasing goods or hiring people to do some work.

The steps in this process are:

1. Get some money to spend
2. Find prospective sellers
3. Get together for a demonstration
4. Negotiate price
5. Make exchange

Application

In a business enterprise, buying and selling work together:

1. Get a product or service to sell
   1. Have some money to spend
   2. Find prospective sellers
   3. Get together for a demonstration
   4. Negotiate price
   5. Make exchange
2. Find prospects
3. Get together for a demonstration
4. Negotiate price
5. Make exchange

Get product to sell

The steps in buying are needed to get the product.

Have money

In order to get a product to sell, you must have some money to purchase supplies and hire workers.

Find prospects

You find workers by putting out a want ad.

Suppliers or hardware may contact you, or you may have to do research on where to find what you need for your business.

Demonstration

A potential worker will come in for an interview.

You may meet with a salesman to see what his company has to offer.

Find prospects

This step in the process involves marketing and advertising. Note that you also may need to purchase these services.

Get together for demonstration

Once potential buyers are aware of your product or service and know where to buy it, they will either go to the store or call to get information. Once the prospect and your sales representative get together, the product or service can be demonstrated and its features and benefits explained.

Negotiation

The final sales process of getting a commitment to turn the prospect into a customer is a form of negotiation.

Make exchange

After the sale is made, the customer pays and your business delivers the goods. Certainly there are many variations on how and when this exchange is made.

Summary

There are specific business steps to be taken in order to make money. Part of these steps include another similar series of steps in where money must be spent to purchase goods or services needed for your business.

Answers to Readers' Questions

The first step to success is the longest.

Resources

The following are resources on this subject.

Websites

Business Process Trends - Magazine site

Business Process Management Ontology - Integrated information model

ISO 9000

Total Quality Management (TQM)

eCommerce

Business Resources

Books

Top-rated books on Business

Miscellaneous

Mini-quiz to check your understanding

1. What is the first thing you need to obtain goods to sell?

2. Why is marketing important?

3. When should a salesman try to negotiate for the sale?

If you got all three correct, you are on your way to becoming a Champion in Business. If you had problems, you had better look over the material again.

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