What Difference Can an Effective Sales Playbook Make?
Think about sales “teams” you’ve been around in the past that have not adhered to an established sales playbook. Each salesperson uses their own methodologies and processes and every time they lose a deal to the competition or a no-decision, everyone points fingers at each other instead of identifying the root cause. Without this process, there is no sharing of information that will allow the rest of the team to avoid repeat mistakes. Continue reading “How To Establish an Effective Sales Playbook”
The sales pipeline or funnel is a systematic approach to selling a product or service. It is also a good way to keep track of progress. It can show a “snapshot” of your sales operation at any point in time.
Each step in the pipeline or funnel has clearly defined criteria that need to be addressed before the opportunity can move further along. In other words, leads become more and more qualified as they work their way through the funnel. The funnel also provides a great way to track and forecast sales as well as gauge marketing activities.
By reviewing a Sales Funnel Report, the sales rep can easily see how many leads are at each step, if there are any “bottlenecks”, or if there are an insufficient number of leads at any stage. Armed with that knowledge, the sales rep may then decide to shift his focus. He can then also work closely with the sales and marketing managers to determine whether they are generating enough leads to hit sales goals, whether the leads are of high enough quality, or what further actions need to be taken to help him reach his territory objectives.
Use a sales pipeline checklist to help organize your sales process and close more business.
New Opportunity
Initial Communication
¨ Initial contact made
¨ Opportunity reviewed with sales manager
¨ Business problem and need to take action is identified
¨ It appears that my company can satisfy the need
Fact Finding and Qualification
¨ Qualifying checklist completed
¨ Decision-making process is identified
¨ Business problem and need to take action is confirmed with prospect
¨ Problem owner agrees to be advocate for my company
¨ Ultimate decision maker (UDM) identified
Develop Solution
¨ UDM commits to obtain funding for solution
¨ Competition is identified
¨ UDM confirms decision within 90 days
¨ My company’s solution and implementation is identified
¨ Prospect’s funding is approved and committed
Propose Solution
¨ My company agrees on solution and implementation strategy
¨ Proposal submitted to prospect
Solution Evaluation
¨ Decision making process is reconfirmed with UDM
¨ Prospect commits to make a decision within 30 days
