- 28 June 2022
- by Andrej Fedek
- Blog, Resources & Tips
- 0 Comments
The sales pipeline is a business and marketing tool that you should pay more attention to and not neglect. It’s an organized journey where both customers and leads show up. You can track them down the path they take during the purchase. Thus, not only the number of transactions but also their value is displayed.
It is important to know that there is a difference between the sales pipeline and the sales funnel. These two are far from the same. while the former focuses on transactions, the latter on customers. In addition, the sales pipeline displays every step of the selling process, from the beginning to the closing of the transaction. And of course, the efficiency of the channel also requires conversion rate optimization.
Why Do You Need It?
Reason # 1: You can anticipate potential revenue and cash flow. Areas that are already close to reaching your goal will be visible, but also those that are performing poorly. Based on your current status, you can decide whether your financial objectives are close. If you fall short of expectations, you can still change your selling strategy.
Reason # 2: Do you think you have the best team? You can use the distribution channel to check if you are right. You can follow the status of your business reps. You can see who is close to reaching your goals. You can filter out who handles the most sales and who lags behind. This can also help increase performance and conversion rate. You can give less successful salespeople training and help to be effective for the company as well.
Reason # 3: Do you have challenging leads, but do you have great sellers? In the selling process, you can see both your best-performing salesperson and your most challenging customer. You can easily assign them to each other, so a salesperson with better skills might win over a difficult customer. And it could help to increase the conversion rate.
Reason # 4: Find potential customers and filter out those who are just stagnant. The distribution channel helps you find customers who bring revenue to your company. This can also be used to filter out who the salespeople pay unnecessary attention to. Aim for as little time as possible. You can operate efficiently and profitably if your company focuses only on potential customers! To win these leads means the key to a better conversion rate.
5+1 Main Stages – What You Have to Know About Them
First:
Search and find your potential target audience! Of course, you need customers who are relevant to your company’s product or service. Identify the characteristics and motivations that your leads consider important. Based on these, launch your paid and unpaid campaigns to gain potential leads and boost conversion rates!
Second:
Stage about lead qualifications. This is the crucial point in the sales phase where the contact takes place. It provides the basis for a potential future meeting. This can happen through multiple communication channels such as your CCaaS system, email, or other methods you use, even via email, phone, or social media. At this stage in the process, it’s worth offering something to the customer to see if they’re really interested.
Third:
Meet your leads! The purpose of this section is to provide the customer with as much valuable and relevant information as possible. The type of encounter depends on the client and the company. It can be done in person, but even over the phone. It is important for prospective customers to understand why your product or service is beneficial to them. This is how the bid is made. Build trust and boost your conversion rate.
Fourth:
Negotiate and win! Questions, excuses, bargaining and much more can come in the form of a deal. You need to respect the opinion of the customer and always put him first. This will make him feel comfortable and you can gain his trust as well. If you successfully lead the trial, it will lead to a negotiation of the contract. But you have to make sure the deal is good for both parties. Don’t just pay attention to your own interests!
Fifth:
Close the deal! The transaction depends on the outcome. You can close as a winner or a loser. If you have agreed with a potential customer and the transaction has been finalized, you can close it as a winner. However, there is more than just a positive or negative outcome. The customer may also be interested but not yet ready to purchase. If you urge the client, your conversion rate will not increase. You should give time, and you will mark the deal, which you can return to later.
Sixth:
The company should always care about the post-purchase processes. The deal may have been made, but satisfaction or dissatisfaction should also be tracked. On the one hand, you can retain your customers and get new ones. Not only will they make a new purchase from you, but they can also make recommendations. The better relationship you have with your customers after your purchase, the more trust, success, and conversion rate you can gain.
Build an Efficient One
Step # 1: All you have to do is involve leads in the sales phase. Their arrangement at the stage depends on which stage of the purchase journey they are in. For example, if the price is already being negotiated with the customer, it can be linked to the negotiation stage. Based on this, you can easily segment your customers and assign them to the right section.
Step # 2: Assign relevant roles to the sales stages. These include activities that contribute to the success of the phase. At each stage, the goal is to identify activities that will help you move on to the next stage and increase your conversion rate.
Step # 3: You will also need to determine the length of the sales cycle. It may also depend on the ability of your seller, but there are 3 main things that really affect it. On the one hand, how complex the product or service is. On the other hand, are we talking about a customizable product? After all, this can be changed by the customer all the time. Finally, the source of leads is whether we are talking about an outgoing or incoming call.
Step # 4: Define your goals. The transactions must be assigned to this. It’s worth looking at salespeople to see how successful your sales are. After all, in order to achieve the goals such as increasing conversion rate, it is necessary to carry out a certain number of transactions. Thus, it is advisable to entrust more deals to team members with better abilities to make sure the company achieves its goals.
Step # 5: No more stagnation! If a customer has not made a purchase decision for a long time, it is better to give it up. The time spent on these types of customers is all wasted. Instead, the focus could be on other potential customers who are more likely to be profitable for the company.
Step # 6: Of course, you will also need sales pipeline metrics if you want to measure successes or losses. As selling activities are constantly changing, there will also be a change in sales pipeline metrics. To achieve these goals, these metrics need to be constantly monitored. Such can be e.g. the number of active transactions, the average transaction value, or e.g. the conversion rate.
How Can You Maximize Stage’s Conversion Rate?
If you want to maximize your conversion rate at each stage, you need to pay attention to several things. On the one hand, leads need to decide whether they are potential customers or just curious visitors. Whoever doesn’t make a secure income isn’t worth spending that much time on. However, who can be profitable should be assigned to the appropriate section.
As described above, it is important to use metrics. It can help raise your conversion rate. These indicators point to areas for improvement in each section. In addition, if they are already indicators, it is advisable to specify a maximum number of deadlocked transactions. This is how we can decide to close it, thus saving time and energy for successful transactions.
Conversions within stages can also be affected by how you treat a new or returning customer. You can apply a rating system for this, and if someone is returning for a long time, you need to devote time and energy to it. This will also increase their satisfaction, so they will recommend your company. As a result, your conversion rate will be raised.
In addition to conversions within stages, it’s important to pay attention to the conversion rate between stages. If the value is lower, there may be a problem with one of the sections. If you continue to study these conversions, the obstacles you encounter can be easily remedied.
Conclusion
Nowadays, almost everything is done digitally, so the sales pipeline stages can be considered essential. They help you access important information more efficiently and significantly faster. Because you have easy access to this data, you can see the increase and decrease in selling and in your conversion rate immediately. This allows for quick problem resolution and efficient development.
The distribution channel not only facilitates the operation of the company but also provides a competitive advantage. Those who do not have such a channel are slower to progress. A possible problem will be detected later, so the solution will take time. So you can see that the distribution channel can be very effective for a business on the road to success.
Andrej Fedek is a digital marketer. He recently started his own blog about digital marketing called InterCool Studio. His passion is to help startups grow and thrive in a competitive environment.
