Hi, I’m Riley, and I’ve been helping companies like yours for over 12 years. My expertise lies in implementing companies onto various CRM and marketing automation platforms to help them streamline their processes, improve sales and marketing alignment, and ultimately drive business success.
I thought it would be fun to share a recent working session I had with a client. I’m always fascinated by the processes we help improve, and I wanted to give you a glimpse into what we do to optimize sales and marketing strategies. In today’s post, the client we are working with is a leading digital financial services provider known for offering banking, auto loans, and investment services online and specifically with a smaller business division that is brand new to CRM and sales automation.
They came to us with the goal of enhancing how they track sales, manage client touchpoints, and report on deal velocity. We discussed their existing pipelines, how to optimize their deal stages, and explored the best ways to automate workflows. It’s always rewarding to see how even small adjustments can have a huge impact on a company’s sales process.
Key Topics of Our Meeting
The client’s main focus was on enhancing their sales pipeline management. Their goal was to ensure that their team could track and report on deals accurately, while also improving the clarity of customer touchpoints. Here's a look at some of the solutions we implemented during our one-hour session.
Consolidating Sales Pipelines for Clearer Reporting
The client had set up multiple pipelines to manage different deal types, but it was creating confusion and complicating their reporting. As we discussed the current setup, I guided them toward simplifying this by consolidating everything into a single pipeline. This made it easier for the team to track deals and generate reports.
Here’s a quote from the meeting:"
We have three pipelines right now, but I think we can streamline everything into one. It'll make tracking so much simpler, and the team can focus on the stages that really matter."
The client was excited about the prospect of reducing complexity while still getting the insights they needed to drive sales.
Tracking Lead Touchpoints for Smarter Follow-Ups
Another issue we tackled was how to track customer touchpoints and avoid redundant outreach. The team wanted to ensure that sales reps didn’t follow up with clients who had already been contacted by a colleague. We worked on customizing the “Lead Status” and discussed integrating this into their daily workflows.
As the client mentioned during the meeting:
"We need to know when someone’s already reached out to a client, so we're not stepping on each other's toes."
We set up custom views and filters in HubSpot, so the sales team could see when and by whom the last contact was made, helping them avoid unnecessary follow-ups and keeping the team aligned.
Automating Repetitive Tasks to Save Time
We also spent part of the meeting discussing how to automate certain repetitive tasks. One of the key takeaways was identifying opportunities to set up workflows that would automatically update lead statuses and track customer interactions. This allowed the team to spend more time building relationships and less time managing administrative tasks.
"We need to automate as much as we can so the team can focus on selling rather than updating fields."
Takeaways: Boosting Efficiency with Custom Sales Pipelines
This meeting, like many others I conduct, was centered on finding solutions that improve efficiency and help the sales team focus on what matters: building relationships and closing deals. Whether it’s consolidating sales pipelines, better tracking customer interactions, or automating workflows, the goal is always to create a more streamlined process that drives results.
Key Takeaways for Setting Up an Effective Sales Pipeline Process
Start with One Pipeline – When designing your sales process, it’s best to begin with a single pipeline. Multiple pipelines are ideal for tracking distinct sales processes with completely different deal stages, such as when you're managing two vastly different products or services. However, you should avoid using multiple pipelines just to segment different deal types, such as new business vs. existing business, product types, or geographic regions. Instead, leverage custom properties or product catalogs in your CRM to filter and track deals. This approach keeps your reporting centralized and simplifies the process for your sales team.
Qualify Before Entering Deal Stages - The first stage of your deal pipeline should always indicate that the record has been qualified. This means the lead is ready to begin the formal deal process. A clearly defined qualification step prevents unqualified leads from cluttering the pipeline, ensuring your team focuses on prospects that are ready to buy.
Internal Consistency on Deal Stages - It’s crucial that your sales team is aligned on the definition of each deal stage. Everyone should be able to describe these stages identically to ensure the entire team is on the same page. Clear, shared definitions prevent misunderstandings and allow for a more predictable sales process.
Monitor Deal Velocity - Reports should be created to track how quickly deals move through each stage. Monitoring the velocity of deals helps identify bottlenecks and areas where leads are stalling. By understanding where deals slow down, you can optimize your process and improve your chances of closing more deals efficiently.
These are just some of the foundational principles that every company should consider when building out their sales pipeline process to ensure consistency, accuracy, and performance.
Need Help Optimizing Your Sales Pipelines?
If you’re looking to transform the way your sales and marketing teams work together, reach out to me for a consultation. Let’s work on building a solution that will help you connect with more customers and close more deals!
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