Companies want to know how their products are making money. They don’t just want an objective view of where their cash is going, but they also want a way to increase their production efficiency and stay competitive in the marketplace.
Let's discover what the term “pipeline management” really means, the importance of tracking the flow of your product throughout its lifecycle, and best practices for keeping it moving forward.
The terms “pipeline management” and “sales pipeline” are often used interchangeably. But do they mean exactly the same thing? Technically, yes.
A pipeline is a large collection of products waiting to be sold. The goal is to move the products through the various stages in order to determine if they are a good fit for a prospective customer.
But, it’s important to know that the sales process – the process of transitioning your product through the sales pipeline, from potential customer or qualified lead to deal to closing – is a continuous activity, with activities common to all products, including determining who the markets are, what features to highlight, what price point to advertise toward, discovering what solutions it can benefit and how, and how to address objections. It never stops, even while the pipeline itself does.
Selling more doesn’t mean selling better. And it doesn’t matter how many times or how well you sell something, if the part that goes into the sales process is taking too long, the customers won’t buy, and your company won’t advance. You need to focus on the pipeline, not necessarily just selling fast.
You’re investing your company’s time and people. Much of your time is spent supporting your customers, shipping, fixing, and performing activities that are separate from the business.
Maybe some of your sales deals are moving through the pipeline pretty quickly, but a lot of them will need ongoing support in the post-sales period.
Does your product track its pipeline state? Do you know what a deal is? When potential customers reach the buyer stage in their buying cycle, they seek answers to the questions, like:
What steps you take to answer those four questions and handle objections is what determines the type of state a deal is in.
Inventory is the number of goods that you have in stock at any given moment. In the case of a company’s products, that inventory is the numbers that make up the company’s “cash flow” - revenue, expenses, and inventories.
Companies need a good understanding of their cash flow to inform their business strategy and make informed decisions about how best to grow their business. Sales pipeline management is the process of identifying and managing all the moving parts — from manufacturing to sales - within a company.
The best-performing companies learn how to identify where their cash is flowing and then direct that money where it’s most productive. This is called “pipeline management.”
Let’s face it establishing a sales pipeline is a scary proposition for small businesses. Especially startup ventures with no history or experience in the sector.
What if the last piece of the puzzle doesn’t fall into place? What if things don’t go as planned? No time, no money — what will you do?
Starting your own business is no easy feat, but with the right strategies and support, it is doable. Here are some common reasons why many businesses turn to pipelines in order to make sure their final destination is a smooth and successful process.
Mailchimp CRM is designed to help sales teams close more deals and accelerate growth by delivering the most personalized and relevant marketing experiences to customers across all devices.
It includes a full marketing stack with email marketing, lead management, campaign management, social listening, lead nurturing and more – all integrated on a single platform. It is the only cloud marketing platform that combines marketing automation, sales enablement and customer experience for the modern sales rep.
The CRM market has changed dramatically over the last decade. It is now much more than just about customer relationship management (CRM); it is an integral part of business intelligence (BI).
Companies need to be able to collect and analyze data in order to make sound business decisions; they need to be able to share data internally so they can make informed decisions about strategy; they need to be able to provide data for use by their partners in order to provide a better service; and they need data for compliance reasons.
Inventory is the number of goods that you have in stock at any given moment. In the case of a company’s products, that inventory is the numbers that make up the company’s “cash flow” — revenue, expenses, and inventories.
Companies need a good understanding of their cash flow to inform their business strategy and make informed decisions about how best to grow their business.
Pipeline management is the process of identifying and managing all the moving parts — from manufacturing to your sales team— within a supply chain. The best-performing companies learn how to identify where their cash is flowing and then direct that money where it’s most productive. This is called “pipeline management.”
For a company that has grown from an exploration and production company to become a global market leader, it’s no wonder that sales has played an important role in the success of the team.
The world is moving at a fast pace, and with it comes the need for companies to have strategies in place to take care of business when there’s a need for resolution. Without a solid sales strategy in place, companies can find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place: They can’t support their expensive suppliers, but they also don’t want to be held responsible if they make bad investments.
Wrangling your way out of this juncture requires you to keep tabs on your supply chain strategically and plan ahead for the long term.
Should you continue being reactive, you will end up being reactive again—and that means more purchase costs, more delays, and more friction with your suppliers. That’s where managing a sales pipeline comes into play.
A sales pipeline is something like a conveyance system that connects one part of your organization with another part of your organization. It provides access to resources throughout your supply chain so that everyone can go about their business smoothly.
However, unlike the term implies, it isn’t just about connecting two parties but also about managing the flow of goods from one point to another so that no one gets left behind. Good sales pipeline management best practices maintain a steady client flow so that both parties get what they need.
An example of the type of inventory that companies need to track will help bring this discussion together.
Consider a software company that manufactures software, software components, and software accessories. The company creates software that is used by government and commercial clients.
During the initial product development phase, the company has no inventory because there is no product. Once the software is standardized, the company starts to track the inventory used in order to learn where the most inventory is needed.
The company also needs to know the frequency with which it should replenish its inventory. For example, if the company anticipates needing more inventory for the next month, it should have that inventory available for purchase in the next two days.
Pipeline management is a process by which companies identify where their cash is flowing and then direct that money where it’s most productive. This is called “pipeline management.”
There are many ways to go about this. The most basic way to do it is to track the movement of cash in and out of your business. This will give you an overview of how much cash is coming in and going out of your business each day.
Beyond that, you can also employ other techniques that involve collecting data, analyzing that data, and making decisions based on the information you’ve collected. For detailed information related to this, you can browse our sales outreach guide.
You may be wondering why a CRM software for your pipeline management is important. It's important for a few reasons.
Your CRM solution should help you track the progress and success of each individual project so you don’t end up with an unmanageable pile of incomplete projects.
You should be able to track each step of the sales funnel, and see exactly when each prospect was identified, what stage they are in, and what action steps need to be taken at that point to close out the deal.
This will also allow you to identify opportunities for cross-selling and upselling. If you can do this well, you’ll be able to keep your customer relationships top-of-mind at all times, which will help you make better decisions as you go through the formal sales process.
Whether you’re a sales manager of a sales team with a deep understanding of the landscape, managing a client pipeline as a freelancer, or just an amateur at this game, it’s important to understand the meaning of “pipeline” and how it fits into your company’s strategy.
Not all sales and marketing transactions are created equal, and not all pipelines are created equally for large and small businesses.
There are many factors that contribute to a company’s decision to make an acquisition, build a service, or build an entirely new business sector. Using our sales pipeline management integration means that your company will be able to take advantage of strategic partnerships with the appropriate partners at the right time.
Moving in the wrong direction also means that your company does not have a strong execution plan for its new business sector because there aren’t any ready-made pipelines for it yet. A company that doesn’t have a pipeline means there will be many unanswered questions later - questions that can't properly be addressed.