Every business has prospects, goals and the number of sales to be achieved after a certain period. The goal structure, that is, the amount of business you are looking to close at the end of the week is referred to as a sales pipeline. A sales pipeline allows you to keep track of prospects, make revenue projections, and have a sense of organization.
Similarly, the plan tells you if you are hitting your quota or if the business is making a positive progress.
The key to sales success comes through the efficient planning of the sales pipeline and its management.
A well-managed sales pipeline is bound to increase your business’s revenue far from enabling you to troubleshoot problems at any stage. But how do you know that you are steering your sales pipeline the right way? Here are the signs:
1. You aren’t sure of the number of open sales
If you have lost track or have no clue about the number of open sales, you have lost control of your sales pipeline. This contributes to the misplaced priorities, which leads to lots of missed opportunities and potential clients.
Give your prospects a priority. Deal with the already confirmed customers before progressing to the leads. This comes in handy in managing sales and ensuring a consistent flow that meets your goals.
2. Long Sales Cycles
Long sales cycles often act as bottlenecks to effective sales. The condition is a clear indication of a gap somewhere in the sales pipeline. Managing your pipeline will allow you to keep track of how long it takes to get customers or to move a potential one higher up the chain. Consequently, handling your sales appropriately gives room for the shortening of the cycles.
3. Relying on Your Instincts for the Win Ratio
You are not in control of your sales pipeline if you can’t see the big picture. If you can’t tell why some deals push through and others fail or if there is an absence of the relevant data showing how sales progress, then you are not tracking your sales pipeline appropriately. It is important to determine your strengths and weaknesses as it aids is better sales speculations and forecasts. Nonetheless, better decisions and planning will be easily achieved.
4. Slow Movement of Deals from One Stage to Another
The sales pipeline management is a full-time process. The slow movement of deals is a tell-tale sign that you have strayed or isn’t doing enough. In a perfect sales pipeline, every prospect should be managed, planned, and nurtured as it moves from being a lead to a confirmed customer. Always have a plan for the next customer as well.
Other signs include treating all customers the same, you consider sales pipeline a waste of time and resources, you have no clue what you are doing and continuous sales data loss.
As a solution, invest a significant amount of time to come up with an inclusive process that makes sales pipeline management flawless. You can also use sales tools to keep track of the sales as well as everything that is happening in your sales pipeline.
