THE SALES PIPELINE REVEALED

Agenda

1. Pipeline definition and sales objectives 2. Basic phases of the sales process 3. Sales flow management 4. Tips for Accelerating your Pipeline

DEFINITIONThe Sales Pipeline is a visualization of the sales process based on the progression of its opportunities within the transactional sales cycle.

The Pipeline is one of the most important reports for a sales leader, it helps the team understand the true potential of its prospects and customers as well as improve the effectiveness of the sales process.

The Sales Pipeline should include all qualified opportunities to ensure a higher closing effectiveness rate.

OBJECTIVES

• Improve Sales Management Effectiveness

• Improve Opportunities closing rate

• Close More Opportunities of Higher Value

• Project a More Reliable Forecast

• Improve Sales Best Practices

A research conducted by Vantage Point Performance and the Sales Management Association revealed that 44% of executives think their organization is ineffective at managing their sales Pipeline. The survey included 62 B2B companies, 39% of which have revenue greater than $1 billion and 37% of which have revenue greater than $250 million.

Companies with a Formal Sales

Process Generate More Revenue

Phase 1: Prospecting

It is the stage in which we identify and classify prospects (hunters) and / or develop opportunities (farmers).

CRM: At this stage we measure the amounts of calls, visits, development of opportunities, etc. If there are no prospects, there will be no pipeline!

BASIC PHASES OF THE SALES PROCESS

Phase 2: Qualification

It is the stage in which we validate that the customer has a real purchase potential.

• Budget • Authority • Need • Timeline

This process serves as a filter to identify the potential customer and their priority focus.

CRM: In this phase we monitor the adherence to the qualification process and we "Rank" prospects to identify those with the greatest potential. It is also important to measure the conversion rate of prospects into opportunities.

BASIC PHASES OF THE SALES PROCESS

Phase 3: Identifying Needs

At this stage, the goal is to learn more about the real needs of the customer. Our mission is to find the right product or service for the potential customer, but the process only begins there.

Do not limit your efforts to basic needs, but also invest time to meet personal goals, preferences, desires and dreams of the customer. Get enough information to know him better and become an indispensable ally in value.

CRM: In this phase we monitor adherence to the process of capturing personal, business and product related needs.

BASIC PHASES OF THE SALES PROCESS

BASIC PHASES OF THE SALES PROCESS

Phase 4: Value Proposition

At this stage we strive to offer the right product or service with benefits and value that exceeds customer expectations.

Our goal is to show the customer a better future with our company as their indispensable ally in value.

CRM : At th is s tage we monitor the implementation of best practices in the proposal (Best-Fit, ROI, TCV, etc.) and validate a clear identification of the decision maker and the decision process (B2B).

Stage 5 : Negotiation

When the customer wants to change the terms or conditions of the proposal, the critical negotiation process starts.

The key to this process is to apply the basic principles of pro- active listening, handling objections assimilation and always applying a Strategy: Win-Win

CRM: At this stage we monitor the adherence to negotiation techniques and coach our teams in objection handling when applicable.

BASIC PHASES OF THE SALES PROCESS

BASIC PHASES OF THE SALES PROCESS

Phase 6: Closing

This is the final stage of the sales pipeline and is met when the customer accepts the order, purchase or service. Congratulations!

CRM: At this stage we measure closing time, duration of stages won, sales rate and adherence to the process to validate that best practices have been used, collected, shared and automated as applicable.

When you notice the pipeline slowing down, Ask yourself:

• What is slowing the process? • Are your salespeople wasting valuable time and

energy on prospects that aren’t going to pan out?

• Are there too many decision makers in your company, thus creating unnecessary steps?

• Is the business failing to follow up with potential customers?

• Are prospects making it almost all of the way to the end and then inexplicably dragging their feet?

IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM

SALES PIPELINE MANAGEMENT

SALES PIPELINE MANAGEMENT

Sales Pipeline

Opportunity Contact Name Sales Stage Duration Forecast Amount Probability Weighted

Forecast

Expected Close Date

Aging Sales Rep Next Steps Closing Plan Competitors

Q2 Deals $377,000 $316,950

Company A Sally Jones Negotiation 10 $128,000 90% $115,200 02/23/17 15 Craig Meeting with Decision Maker

Review ROIPresent Success StoriesUse John Smith as ref

Competitor 1 y Competitor 3

Company B Horace Shackley Negotiation 1 $100,000 90% $90,000 01/30/17 2 Larry Review Solution Design

Build trust Competitor 1, Competitor 9

Company C John Smith Proposal 280 $84,000 75% $63,000 05/27/17 425 Sandra Review Proposal with Customer to reconfirm concessions and payment terms

Invite our CEO to a round of Golf with Company C´s CEO. we need a stronger relationship.

Unknown RFP

Company D Jane Doe Proposal 5 $65,000 75% $48,750 06/30/11 10 Craig Work with Pre Sales Team to complete proposal

Offer good price Competitor 1

Q3 Deals $248,000 $124,000

Company E Ralph Finley Needs Assessment

1 $75,000 50% $37,500 06/15/11 5 Craig Set up 2nd Discovery Call

TBD Unknown

Company F Jennifer Mosely Qualification 2 $125,000 50% $62,500 06/03/11 7 Sandra Review Decision Making Process

TBD Competitor 1 y Competitor 4

Company G Grace Chu Needs Assessment

6 $48,000 50% $24,000 06/10/11 8 Larry Coordinate Proposal Presentation

TBD Competitor 1

SALES PIPELINE MANAGEMENT

TIPS FOR ACCELERATING YOUR PIPELINE

Standardize Your Best Practices:

The most effective sales team invest time in identifying best practices, sharing them and making them part of their process. They use sales processes (Methodologies) with clearly defined steps and activities that are universally understood by all salespeople.

• Train your sales team in the "Cause" of its processes • Automate their practices with notifications, flows and

automated tasks • Use rules to ensure compliance approvals processes

(ex: discount approvals) • Validate that the minimum requirements are met

(validations) • Generate notifications involving stakeholders in a

timely manner

• Clearly define the sales process and why

• Review Pipeline at least once per week

• Train sales leaders on pipeline management

TIPS FOR ACCELERATING YOUR PIPELINE

Measure Efforts, Adherence Processes & Results:

The most successful sales leaders measure all aspects of your sales process to make better decisions and act in a pro- active way rather than re- actively way.

• Sales Pipeline * • Top 10 Opportunities * • Wins vs. Objectives * • Number and Types of Prospects • Opportunit ies Conversion rate (% Prospects= >

Opportunities ) • Adherence to Best Practices (Key Processes / Methodology) • Closing rate (% Wins Opportunities ) • Accuracy of Forecasts • Lost Sales Analysis (why are lost ?) • Even measure " tactical activities " ... push new products, up-

selling , cross -selling, etc.

5 KEY METRICS THAT YOU CAN MEASURE AND IMPROVE TO BOOST YOUR SALES PIPELINE VELOCITY:

1. Activities 2. Conversion Rates 3. Win Rates 4. Deal Size / # of

Transactions 5. Sales Cycle Length

Identify all aspects of the process and the results you can improve and promote

through collaboration & the collective IQ of the

commercial team.

• Use collaborative methods of sales. Example: Real-time collaboration with internal, external (partners, channels , contractors ) and client computers (Chatter and Communities)

• Use a portal of ideas to promote internal and external innovation (Ideas) • Involve related areas (Marketing, Management and Customer Orders) to develop joint initiatives

(campaigns , Acceleration Time to Cash , Process Improvement , etc.) • Measure the qualitative performance of the sales teams (Work.com) • Promote the professional development of teams with recognition, training opportunities,

certification & incentives (Work.com)

Create an Organizational D y n a m i c O r i e n t e d t o Continuous Improvement:

Best practices are born from organizational experience. Unlock the potential of your organization!

Q&A

THANK YOU

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Doble Group, LLC

Doble Group, LLC is a boutique consulting firm that focuses on improving commercial business results through CRM solutions and the alignment of the organization, its processes and teams for success. We deliver our services through highly customized consulting, training and coaching programs and the world’s #1 CRM technologies.