How does a startup become successful?
Following the COAR process is important, but there’s something at the heart of every business that can make or break its success.
A robust sales pipeline is essential for running a successful business. But despite its importance, many businesses struggle with proper sales pipeline management.
Managing a robust sales pipeline isn’t easy. It takes a combination of different techniques to help bring things together.
When you put together the right combination of tactics and techniques, you’ll be amazed by how efficient your pipeline becomes.
If you’re ready to take on sales pipeline management the right way, make sure you follow these important tips.
This may seem like a strange question. After all, everyone in sales knows how important leads are to their job. But knowing the importance of leads isn’t the same as knowing what leads are.
Leads can mean a variety of things to people.
Some people may consider anyone that sends an email or makes an inquiry about a product or service is a lead. Others may only qualify people as leads if they ask specific questions about products or services.
Not knowing how to define a lead can cause a lot of confusion. People may be missing out on following up with promising leads, and others may spend too much time investing in someone that was never a serious buyer.
Take some time with your sales team to determine what you think a viable lead is. Learn how much it costs to snag a lead, and the best ways to bring in more leads.
You may not consider yourself a “numbers person”, but if you want to measure the effectiveness of your leads you need to get used to working with data and statistics.
When used correctly, data and statistics can be the backbone of your sales pipeline management strategy.
Sales workers are living in a golden age of information. Thanks to modern marketing tech, it’s easy to find out nearly everything you’d want to know about your leads.
There are a lot of metrics you could track. But if you’re starting to make data a part of your sales pipeline management strategy for the first time, start off by diving into these important numbers:
This may seem like an obvious thing to track, but you can do this in a variety of helpful ways.
Check to see how many leads you create each week, month, quarter, and year.
Looking into the timing along with the number of leads you get ould give you valuable insight into possible target audiences and tell you the right time to sell certain products and services.
Getting a lot of leads is great, but leads that don’t “lead” anywhere won’t do much for your business.
Don’t just focus on the number of leads you’re getting. Think about how many of those leads help you set up meetings and make connections.
The best leads are the kind that eventually ends in signed contracts, deals, and sales transactions.
Just like with leads and opportunities, opportunities that don’t lead to deals aren’t very helpful.
If you find that your promising opportunities never pan out, it may be time to re-evaluate your sales process. Think about where you seem to lose potential deals, and how your team can improve.
It’s important to remember that every deal isn’t necessarily a good one.
Some “deals” may end up not being profitable for your company in the end. Others may require an amount of work and attention from your team that barely makes it worth it.
Take time to evaluate how profitable and manageable your last deals were. Take cost, employee time, and potential future business opportunities into account.
How long do you think it takes someone on your team to make a sale? The answer could tell you a lot about how effective your current sales techniques are.
Some sales cycles are naturally going to take some time. Some businesses may find that they can close a sale in a matter of days, for others it could take months.
Knowing how long it can take to make a sale can help financial forecasting for the future easier and more accurate.
How long does it take your sales team to follow up with a potential lead? The faster you reach out to a lead, the better chance you have of turning that lead into a signed deal.
You may not have sales support on hand 24/7, but you can start outreach as soon as you get a lead.
Sending a simple email that lets people know that you’ve received their inquiry and will reach out in the future can do wonders. It lets customers know that you’re on their mind and helps establish a relationship.
If the only thing you know about your lead is the potential product or service they’re interested in, you’re missing out on important info.
Adding in a few extra boxes to check off or a blank information field for comments on lead generation forms can help drastically improve your sales process.
Take time to really get to know the leads coming in. Ask them important questions about what lead them to contact you.
Do you know how people found you? Always be sure to ask if someone is a referral, if they found you on their own, or if an ad lead them to your business.
Learn if they’ve used your product or service before, or if they’ve used a competitor.
This can give you valuable insight into your customers and could help you improve current sales techniques.
Reading up on how to maintain a sales pipeline is only one part of the challenge. Applying what you’ve learned can take more time, and require more experienced help.
If you need a reliable consultant to point you and your business in the right direction, you’ve found one.
Be sure to check out my page for tips and tricks about marketing and business.
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