Is That Your Sales Pipeline or Your Pipedream?

Articles, CRM, Selling, Sign Sales

I could also add … “What the hell have you been smokin’?!” If you have been in sales for as long as I have, you have likely come to the conclusion that not all pipelines are created equal. While a few may be accurate, it seems that the vast majority are based on … wishful thinking.  Some sales pipelines are nothing more than pipedreams.

Why this happens

First off, I don’t think that anyone manipulates their pipeline in an effort to be deceitful. Mind you, I have seen this. More commonly …

  • You get busy, lazy, or complacent –  Pick your poison. Maintaining your pipeline is not a priority. It is drudgery.
  • You see this as management keeping their foot on your neck – This is a big one! Salespeople are notoriously independent. Many see any request from management as an effort to exert control over their activity. The simple fact is, even when I was the only person in the room, with or without a CRM, I maintained a pipeline on my own because I wanted to know how much money I was likely going to make that month!
  • Skipping stages –  A pipeline, if constructed correctly, represents a proven process. Sure, it is not so rigid that stages are never skipped. However, more often than not they are there for a good reason and skipping steps is a sign of complacency.
  • Not updating deals with current correct information –  A pipeline is used to create a variety of sales reports including forecasts. Opportunity details change during the sales process. The most critical of these are: deal value, projected closing date, and percentage chance of closing. The last of these is used to determine a weighted deal value. Nobody closes 100% of their sales. Therefore, a $10,000 deal with a 50% chance of closing has a weighted value of $5,000.
  • Not reviewing each deal and your overall pipeline daily – This is the only way I know to maintain pipeline health and to stay on top of your important opportunities.

Why this is a problem

  • False sense of security – If your pipeline is loaded with deals that either have closed, or were lost, or will never close due to a variety of reasons … what you are looking at is totally worthless.
  • You have no idea of what is going on – See above.

Red alert indicators

  • Deals are stuck – If they are not moving, there is a reason. It may be valid but, if so, the reason should be visible. Often, the projected closing date is no longer accurate.
  • Deal data is incomplete – Whatever data you consider to be important to any deal, if that data is not there, that is a problem. For example, I like to make sure that a salesperson has identified the correct decision maker(s). If I don’t see that …
  • No visible activity – A deal record goes into a pipeline and that record had better show activity and that activity needs to be recent!

Why deals don’t close

Not qualified – Boy, I’ll tell you what. Without a doubt, this is the single biggest reason for deals not closing. It is so huge and all encompassing, I don’t even need to use bullet points. It is so huge that I can tie this one factor back to literally any reason for a deal not closing.

Do this instead

  • Always ask – What is my next step? How can I move this forward?
  • Set tasks for follow-up – Don’t rely on your memory. It will always let you down!
  • Edit – Dollar value, close dates, probabilities, and any other data that you may track. Keep things clean and up to date!
  • Take good notes – See memory. Seriously, I can’t keep track of anything that I don’t write down. Furthermore, if you keep good notes, you can refresh your memory prior to your next engagement with this opportunity.
  • Qualify, qualify, qualify – I don’t care what alphabet methodology strikes your fancy … follow it!

Used correctly and rigorously maintained, a pipeline can be a salesperson’s, and a manager’s best friend. Not only does it depict financial health (yours and the company’s), it is also an excellent tool for rep development. It can quickly pinpoint those areas where coaching is most in need!

If you would like to explore whether or not Nimble CRM, my sales training, or Sales Coach Pro might be right for you, please book a free 30-minute Zoom consultation with me by going to my calendar. 

To learn more about our Nimble training and implementation services, please visit our Nimble CRM training services page. 

I would also be happy to connect you to a marketing professional who I know and trust or to an automated yet personalized and human-to-human LinkedIn prospecting system. Please reach out to me at craig@adaptive-business.com for an introduction!

Craig M. Jamieson

Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services
Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!
 
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