Sales processes drive the growth of organizations in addition to defining the customer experience and shaping business strategies. So, it is essential to keep sales pipelines clear of any clutter.
If you audit and review your sales pipeline from time to time, you can avoid inefficiencies. You can identify if any factors are increasing your bounce rates or delaying your sales and improve the sales processes accordingly. It would help if you aimed to gain more clarity and monitor every stage in your sales pipeline. So, how can you establish a systematic and standard approach for each of your sales pipelines? For starters, implementing competent CRM is an effective solution. It not only lets you track your sales metrics as per your needs ? be it on a monthly, yearly, or quarterly basis – but it also enables you to improve your processes within no time.
Here are some ways you can organize your sales pipeline with CRM:
1. Organize your sales pipeline by determining a timescale
Considering that time is always going to be a critical resource for your organization, you need to distinguish between the prospects that need your immediate focus and the opportunities that you could follow up later on. While it is vital that you store contact information and keep in touch with all your leads, you need to prioritize to create a more transparent way of forecasting sales. Here?s how:
You could start by setting a deadline to resolve every sales case. It would be best if you determined a timescale for an average sales cycle. You could then categorize leads based on the urgency of their needs.
For example, a prospect may show interest in your product but may not want to buy it immediately, so, you can follow up with such a lead at a later but a fixed date. You can set up reminders in CRM for such actions. You may have to set reminders for several prospects in a similar manner, so it is better to automate such reminders in CRM.
For customers who want to buy your product or service immediately, you can get them moving in your sales pipeline and resolve the case efficiently. CRM systems that have intelligible and visual sales pipelines help make such decisions swiftly. It also helps to keep your sales pipelines in order.
However, some lengthy cases may need more straightforward mechanisms such as sequential pipeline management tool. Let?s take a detailed look at it through the next point.
2. Organize your sales pipeline by splitting it into a logical sequence of steps
If you use a CRM with a sequential pipeline management tool like Solastis, you can split an elaborate case into subsequent tasks and allocate a timeline for every task in the case. You can set mini goals for every stage and align them to the overall objective of the case. As mentioned already; you can visualize the timeframes so you can track every case closely and effortlessly.
You can identify bottlenecks and take the steps required ? it could be anything from talking to your customers to intervening and helping your sales team. It will ensure that you keep a case moving ahead through a sales pipeline and complete more tasks in less time. Also, when you establish a structure where everyone knows what steps to take next, you minimize the occurrence of inefficiencies. Such an approach can also serve as a motivational factor for your team members because they can see when a lead is moving towards closing a deal.
Organizing your sales pipeline can ensure a consistent flow for your cases. It is especially helpful to set and achieve realistic sales quotas.
3. Organize your sales pipeline by using a checklist for every stage
At times, sales pipelines include redundant information and steps because no one has had the time to streamline and update it. So, now and then, you should ensure that every task in a sales pipeline leads to more productivity. How can you use CRM to achieve this?
You can create a checklist for your salesforce at the end of every task, so each sales member knows that he or she has taken the necessary steps at every stage of a sales pipeline. For example, after every task, a sales member can get a prompt with a list of questions like ? Did I communicate all the price plans with the customer? Did I set up reminders for the next call with the customer? Did I update the database with the new information I just received? With such a checklist, you can have a granular yet automated system of monitoring pipelines closely. At the same time, it will help your sales force to achieve the overall goals without being micromanaged because they will always be aware of the steps that they need to take to close a deal.
4. Align your sales pipeline strategy with the customer experience
Some CRMs enable users to add notes about the customers through custom fields in the sales pipelines. If you use CRM like Solastis, you can add such tips for an ongoing sales case; you can note the personal preferences of the customer at the end of every task in a sales pipeline and share it with your team so that it is aware of the efforts it can take to close a deal. In short, CRM like Solastis can enable you to organize personalized information in a sales pipeline and improve relationships.
After all, customers want solutions that specifically cater to their specific problems. If you interact with them in a personalized manner, it will help you gain an edge over your competitors and keep your sales cycles moving.
5. Lastly, establish best practices to keep your sales pipelines strategies lean
You should take conscious efforts to help your sales representatives to understand how they can organize and manage sales pipelines efficiently. When you implement CRM, it would be a good idea to spend some time training them on how to make the most of such a multifaceted tool and get more productive. Let them know that through a central centralized platform like CRM, it is easier for them to collaborate and be more accountable for their work. Once your sales team understands that CRM also saves their time and efforts as well as automates menial tasks, their motivation to boost sales will increase.
As must be evident by now, if you organize your sales pipeline, you will reap enormous benefits. Moreover, choosing and implementing the right CRM for your organization could only improve your chances of converting more sales prospects into regular customers.