Sales Pipeline Management Tips

There is a rule known as the 80/20 which refers to a saying among those in sales and those who manage salespeople. 20% of your salespeople make 80% of the sales your company sees. When you recognize that and are ready to do something about it you need to change how you manage the pipeline. The best way to achieve that is with a sales pipeline management tool. Here are some management tips to help bring up the efficiency of your employees, improve customer relations and boost sales.

Filling the sales pipeline with any data you have is not the best move

It is not necessary to crowd it with every phone number or name you have. Tighten up the information you enter into your sales pipeline so that what you do put in there, and what you can achieve with any sales activity is more effective. Have an easy and fast way to tag each lead there is so that sales leads are easy to flow in and through and then out of the sales pipeline. This then means that every contact has more chance of conversion into an actual sale.

Avoid spending too much time on prospects that do not pan out

Using a sales CRM you can better avoid spending a lot of time on prospects that are weak. Those that are hard to reach, people who will do a lot of talking but do not turn into an actual sale and so on. When you have them out of the main sales pipeline and flowing elsewhere it keeps your main pipeline more efficient. They could go into the pipeline where you have leads that you are nurturing for example. Just treat them in a different way and keep them out of the primary sales, of course until they turn into something more solid.

Do not throw away any lead

Even when contacts are not open to talking, do not completely throw them away. Even the toughest contact could turn into a sale one day. Consider it just not the right time, or you perhaps do not yet have the right product to entice them. Nurture those leads in a different pipeline so send the occasional email, call or leaflet. One day they could surprise you with a yes rather than a no, and then that infrequent contact has paid off.

Always end the sales call with a referral request

With a good sales pipeline management tool there should always be referrals, they are a powerful means of expansion. Every time a salesperson closes, they should offer a referral request. It does not have to be long or complicated, but put it out there.

Take advantage of the reports and data coming in

Using sales CRM you get accurate reports, you can track everything and you have a lot of data to keep you ahead. You will know when more staff are needed, what products are in demand, you can tighten up your customer service and even your marketing team will benefit.