What is a sales pipeline and why is it crucial?
Ah, the commercial pipeline! You’re probably wondering what it is exactly, and why everyone’s talking about it. Well, it’s quite simple. The sales pipeline is a tool used by sales teams to visualize and organize their sales opportunities, from the first contact with a prospect through to closing the sale. It therefore represents all the stages in a potential customer’s buying cycle.
- Definition of a sales pipeline: imagine a pipe. On one side, you have a multitude of leads or prospects. These enter the pipe, and as they progress, many of them convert into customers. The tool in question, the pipeline, helps you track these opportunities and guide them through the process.
- The importance of the pipeline in the sales process: a well-managed pipeline provides a clear vision of upcoming sales opportunities. This provides the team with a better understanding of sales forecasts, facilitates the implementation of strategies and helps to achieve set objectives. It is therefore crucial to the growth and success of any commercial activity.
How does the “pipeline” concept fit into the business world?
The term “pipeline” is not limited to the business world. In the business world, the concept of pipeline refers to the flow of information or actions from one point to another.
- General definition of pipeline in business (pipeline business meaning): in business, a pipeline is a series of stages or phases through which an idea, product, service or even information passes before reaching its final function. It could be the way an idea becomes a concrete offer on the market, or how a lead becomes a loyal customer.
How does the sales pipeline differ from the marketing pipeline?
The sales pipeline and the marketing pipeline may seem similar at first glance, but they have distinct roles and functions within a company.
Comparison of marketing and sales pipelines :
- The marketing pipeline focuses on attracting and converting leads. It takes care of all the steps from the first contact with a potential customer to their conversion into a sales-qualified prospect.
- The sales pipeline, meanwhile, takes over afterwards. It's the process by which sales reps turn these qualified prospects into actual customers. This pipeline therefore looks at sales opportunities, the tools used for conversion, and how opportunities are managed through to conclusion.
How each pipeline influences company growth:
- The marketing pipeline implements strategies to attract the right leads and convert them into prospects.
- The sales pipeline ensures that these prospects are properly handled, followed up and ultimately converted into customers, generating revenue for the company.
How do you implement a sales pipeline focused on sustainable growth?
Creating an effective sales pipeline isn’t just about sales. It’s also about aligning your sales opportunities with your prospects’ needs and anticipating market trends.
Key steps to building an effective pipeline :
- Prospect identification: it all starts with identifying your leads and turning them into qualified prospects.
- Buying cycle analysis: understand your customers' buying cycle and adjust your approach accordingly.
- Implement sales processes: establish clear steps and a fluid process to guide your sales people from first contact to closing the sale.
- Tracking and forecasting: use tools to track your opportunities, make forecasts and adapt your strategy accordingly.
Why a good sales pipeline means better conversions
- A structured pipeline enables the team to stay focused on objectives, identify opportunities quickly and follow up regularly, guaranteeing higher conversions and sustainable growth.
Do you have a concrete example of a sales pipeline?
Of course, let’s talk concrete! When you hear sales pipeline, you can imagine a structured path through which a lead passes at various stages before becoming a customer.
An example of a commercial pipeline:
- Discovery phase: identification and qualification of leads. Offer presentation: detailed presentation of the sales offer to interested prospects.
- Presentation of the offer: detailed presentation of the sales offer to interested prospects.
- Negotiation: discussion of terms and possible adjustments.
- Conclusion: finalizing the sale and turning the prospect into a customer.
How this example can be adapted to suit your company’s needs:
- Every business has its own particularities. Some may require additional or different phases. The important thing is to adjust the pipeline to the realities of your business and the needs of your customers.
How can you manage and monitor your pipeline to ensure continuous growth?
Managing your sales pipeline is the key to sustainable growth. And for this, tools are your best allies.
Introduction to tracking tools, including Excel (excel sales pipeline) :
- Excel is a powerful tool for tracking your opportunities. With its tables and graphs, it provides a clear visualization of your prospects, the phases they're going through, and sales forecasts.
Tips and tricks for optimizing and adjusting your pipeline according to the results obtained:
- Review your pipeline regularly: make sure it reflects the reality of your opportunities, and adjust it based on feedback from your sales team.
- Train your team: a well-trained team is essential to ensure the success of your pipeline.
- Use performance indicators: track key KPIs to assess the function of your pipeline and make adjustments as necessary to ensure consistent growth.
How can you stand out from the crowd when designing your sales pipeline?
In a world where every company seeks to maximize its sales opportunities, the key to success often lies in the ability to differentiate yourself. Your sales pipeline must not only be effective, it must also reflect your unique identity.
The importance of innovation and differentiation :
- Innovation: by staying on top of trends and adopting innovative methods, you give your sales people the tools they need to succeed. Think modern techniques like Inbound Marketing or Account Based Marketing.
- Differentiation: don't just go with the flow. Ask yourself what makes your offers and sales processes special.
The role of technology and automation in a single pipeline :
- Technology: using the right technology tools can propel your pipeline to another level. From CRMs to analytics tools, technology can provide crucial information about your customers and prospects.
- Automation: automating certain phases of the pipeline can not only improve efficiency, but also guarantee a consistent, high-quality customer experience. This plays a major role in converting leads into customers.
- Use performance indicators: track key KPIs to assess the function of your pipeline and make adjustments as necessary to ensure consistent growth.
Our recommendations for a pipeline that sets you apart from the competition:
- Listen to your team: your sales people are out in the field. They know customers' challenges, opportunities and needs. Use their feedback to refine your process.
- Continuously adapt: the business world evolves rapidly. Don't stand still. Review your pipeline regularly and adjust it according to market trends and customer feedback.
- Training and upskilling: make sure your team is always up to date with the latest techniques and tools. A well-trained team is the key to achieving your business objectives.
- Measure and optimize: track your KPIs, analyze your conversion rates, and identify areas for improvement.
The example of a commercial pipe with Furious Squad
The beginning of the year is always intense (as are the end of the year!), and good management of your sales pipeline is crucial. You don’t want to miss a single lead, and you need to keep a close eye on what needs to be done, while staying organized.
It’s not easy juggling the form contacts on your supersite.com, the biz opportunities from Michel the boss’s buddy, the 48 business cards (real or virtual) picked up at the last Grand Prix/Salon/PetitDej’ (delete as appropriate) by Chloé the indefatigable bizdev and the incoming calls…
Not to mention the hardcore prospecting carried out in parallel by your death hunters. Lots of contacts, lots of media and probably several crosstabs…
Add to this the rain of incoming briefs (don’t be modest… if not, be optimistic!) and you’re quickly drowning… not to mention the difficulty of extracting stats and projections, which are essential if you want to be on the right track in 2021.
In short, you’re wondering how to organize your sales pipeline for better performance and visibility?
Obviously, it’s all down to the proper use of your sales management software.
First of all, we recommend that you differentiate your centers of gravity.
Two phases = two pipes
In fact, in our business, the upstream prospecting phase is quite far removed from the “compet’” phase, and involves neither the same actions nor often the same teams.
This is why we felt it essential to distinguish the 2 pipes in Furious:
- The CRM pipe dedicated to contacts from prospecting: one record=one contact with the advertiser. Sales are weighted according to the level of contact with the prospect.
- The Business pipe, dedicated to business valuation: one card = one quote or one deal in progress. Sales are weighted according to the business stage: brief pending, pre-sales in progress, propale sent (it's up to you to personalize!).
The benefits
A differentiated system like this has several advantages:
- Control pre-sales costs and planning while anticipating resource planning in the event of winning the compet'.
- Clearly assign tasks to sales people, bizdev or customer managers. Each with their own scope and dashboard, but in the same tool
- Keeping a close eye on transformation rates
Furious also includes a module that allows you to historize and analyze the reasons for a loss of competency –> A simple, factual way of identifying your weak points.
Of course, the 2 pipes are fully modular: you choose the name and number of columns, drag & drop the cards from one column to another, create contact/quotation sheets on the fly and sort in 3 ticks.
It’s all connected to your e-mails/agenda/chat and lets you anticipate renderings, reminders and kick-offs without even thinking about it!
In short, forget Jean-Claude Convenant, forget Excel, forget Salesforce – we’re talking about integrated CRM, designed by bizdev agencies and IT services companies over the past 20 years.
And it changes everything!
