Sales reps can then follow up on the transaction to make sure the customer's expectations have been met with the goal to keep them returning for more business in the future.ġ3 tips for successful pipeline management Negotiation: This step might look like a traditional negotiation in which both sides work toward a price, quantity, timeline, and value that makes the transaction worthwhile for them, or it could simply be expectation-setting to ensure all parties are in agreement on all of the above.Ĭonversion: When the stars have all sufficiently aligned for the buyer and seller, the sale goes through, and the lead is converted from a prospect to a customer.Ĭustomer follow-up: Ideally, the completion of a transaction isn't the end of the customer journey. Propositions include sales calls, case studies, formal proposals, demonstrations, and other tactics that help prove the value of the offering. Value proposition: Before a lead will want to move on through the pipeline, they need to be confident that the offering gives them enough value to warrant their time and attention. This can be anything from an advertisement to an email follow-up to a cold call. Lead interaction: At this point, the business interacts in some way directly with qualified leads. Lead qualification: Once there are real people paying attention to a business or specific offering, this step weeds out the window shoppers from prospects with actual conversion potential. Lead generation: This amorphous phase is where marketing tactics, brand recognition, advertising, and other sales campaigns come together to bring attention to a business or offering. Generally speaking, a sales pipeline of any level of complexity can be broken down into seven phases: A plumber's sales pipeline, for example, will be much simpler than an international wholesale HVAC equipment supplier's pipeline. The stages of a given sales pipeline will look different for each company depending on their specific product, market, business model, scale, and industry. It can be used to forecast future sales projections. It can be monitored and analyzed to identify inefficiencies and friction points. It can be used to improve collaboration across teams. It can improve overall conversion efficiency. The way that business organizes this pipeline and incorporates it into their broader sales processes like inventory management, branding, marketing, and customer support is called sales pipeline management.Ī sales pipeline is generally overseen by a sales manager in collaboration with Sales and Marketing teams, though other relevant stakeholders can also be involved as their purviews overlap with sales processes.Ī well-oiled (or properly patched, in my former landlord's case) sales pipeline has a few important benefits:
Pipeline inventory definition series#
A sales pipeline is the series of stages a business sets up to acquire, nurture, and ultimately convert leads.
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