Top producers know pipeline management

Posted: March 1, 2012 | Categories: Sales

Ask the most successful salesperson you know about how they manage their pipeline.  They will know what you are talking about and they will give you your money’s worth.

So why talk about pipeline management?  To be consistent in our production and meeting our goal, we need a repeatable process with predictable results.

To start with, let’s talk about software.  Fancy CRM’s (Customer Relationships Management) like ACT or web-based Salesforce.com are nice.  They do require an investment.  Conceivably, you could use a simple Excel sheet for tracking and pipeline management.

Now we begin our sales activity so that we can “feed the system”.  Before going any further, I am assuming you have your business plan and sales strategy in place.  (If not, refer to planning blogs written on 11/28-29 of 2011)

Our strategy typically includes activities such as prospecting, cold calling, networking, public speaking, attending luncheons and special events, golf outings, generating website leads, and social media contacts.

Sales activity leads to conversations.  Conversations lead to face-to-face appointments.  Face-to-face appointments yield a certain percentage of customers.  This is our closing ratio.

While it is nice to have high closing ratios, it is even more important to crisply, honestly, actively, and relentlessly manage our pipeline.

In the pipeline, you will have two categories:  Leaners and long shots.  A leaner has said, “I want to do it”, but has not signed off on it yet.  A long shot has shown interest, but needs time to think about it.  Here are the percentages you need to know:

 

Leaners                    50% chance of closing

Long shots               10% chance of closing

Now we can project:  If I have 10 leaners and 10 long shots on my Excel sheet, that means I can count on 6 new clients.  Now I can forecast my income and be confident I can achieve it.

 

So how can you tell when someone is managing their pipeline well?  There is no fluff, no deception, and every prospect in the pipeline belongs there.  The pipeline is also full.  And what happens when they close?  They are both happy and restless, because they now have a vacancy in their pipeline and they must create a sense of urgency to fill it up.  Summing it up, good pipeline management means:

1.  Building a strategy

2.  Sales activity

3.  Create “Leaners”

4.  Advance long shots

5.  Keep your pipeline clear of “dead wood”

6.  Renew sales activity each time you close

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