How High Achievers Approach Sales Pipeline Management

Sales Pipeline

TechsPlace | Sales pipeline is a visual interpretation of the Company’s sales leads and prospects stacked up together. The better a company manages it’s sales pipeline, by moving the sales process smoothly from one step to the next the more they can initiate new sales processes. Therefore good sales pipeline management leads to better sales figures.

Generally high achievers are result oriented people, driven by their desire to succeed and excel at every field.  They approach each adverse situation as a problem to be solved instead of like a burden to be carried.  Also achievement in most companies is related directly to the sales figures you generate.

Studies reveal that 44% of the executives feel that their companies are ineffective in managing sales pipeline. A well managed sales pipe line allows you to map your customer journey with accuracy and provide the needed sales support at each stage. It also builds focus across departments to improve performance and also it will help in the prediction and forecast future sales revenues without ambiguity.  Here are some tips that will hopefully make you manage your sales pipelines better.

Follow the Process: Sales is all about team work. In order to optimize each team member’s productivity each company follows a definite framework and a definite set of rules with designated roles for each member of the team. Stick to these roles, rules and framework. This is not the place to shine in individual capacity. Studies reveal that companies with structured and formal sales process tend to generate higher sales.  So adherence to the tried and tested rules generally means success for you and your company, as far as the sales figures are concerned. However do not follow them blindly, understand the rules and then follow them through. In case you are having difficulty in understanding a step or guidelines always ask for clarifications.

Transparency and Honesty: Defending a low sales generation figure is not fun at all, however tampering with the truth to save your skin does not really pay well in the long run. Your boss or team leader may be initially impressed by the picture of an overflowing pipeline you paint for him or her. But when nothing transpires after months, people will grow suspicious and start delving deeper and consequently you would have to explain much more than the sales figures.

A foundation of honesty and transparency will not only save you the hard work of having to maintain appearance but also enable you to reach out for help in the steps that you need it. For example if you have a lot of leads in your pipeline at the first stage then you might need help in background research and development to move them to the next level.

So resist the temptation of showing your pipeline to be fuller than it actually is. If you do it may earn you some initial praises but later on there will be more to pay.

Regular Review Meetings: It is crucial to regularly review and analyze your sales pipeline. In an ideal situation there should be two different set of meetings to properly analyze the sales pipelines. One is a review meeting in which sales pipeline is analyzed and progress of each lead noted. These meetings are also good opportunities to identify the slow moving leads and go for root cause analysis. When a deal is nearing completion it is the time for the second type of meeting which are the sales forecast meetings. Here the final reviews and all important check of the fine prints are conducted.

Co-Ordinate with the Marketing: A marketing team weaves a brand story, it creates a human face fr the company while regularly devising tactics and promotions to increase the sales figures. It is a good idea for the sales team to work closely with the marketing team. This helps them use the content narrative used by the marketing team to push a sale further or add value to one to one interactions.

Evaluate: It is very important for a sales executive to identify if a lead is going to mature into actual sales figures. Keep yourself open and observe for minute buying signals at every step of the process. If you sense that there will be no sales happening with a particular lead, in spite all the brilliant schemes and original sales pitches walk away from it. It is better to cut your losses and focus your energy and strategy on a lead which might actually translate to sales figures.

Identify Valuable Leads: It is impossible to give every lead the same amount of concentration and attention. Focus on the ones which have a higher chance of completion. It is important to ascertain the value of a lead and allowing high probability one in your pipeline. Then there will be a smaller gap between what is in the pipeline and the ones which are actually closing.

CRM: Sales CRM is a software which helps you to gather complete information about the customer’s journey with you and helps you to manage your leads , send e mails, schedule meetings and follow ups. Keeping in touch and developing leads is the most important parts of successful sales in which best CRM is an integral process.