Learn a straightforward pipeline management technique that focuses on progressing leads through defined stages, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
Introduction
Managing leads effectively is essential to closing more deals and growing your business. Without a clear process, it's easy to lose track of prospects, miss follow-ups, or waste time on unproductive tasks.
One simple yet effective approach is to define the stages of your sales process and focus on moving each lead from one stage to the next. This can be as straightforward as keeping a list of every lead and calling through it once a day. By visualizing your sales stages in your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, you can stay organized and ensure that you're always taking the next appropriate action with each prospect.
Why Having a Process Matters
Consistency: A defined process ensures you consistently engage with leads, improving your chances of conversion.
Efficiency: Streamlines your workflow, saving time and reducing stress.
Clarity: Knowing exactly where each lead is in the sales cycle helps you prioritize actions.
Progression: Focuses on moving leads forward, preventing stagnation.
Defining Your Sales Stages
Your sales process may vary depending on your business, but it's important to define clear stages that represent the journey from lead to customer. Here's an example of a simple sales process:
New Lead: A fresh lead that has just come into your system.
Contacted: You've reached out to the lead via call or email.
Documents Collected: You've gathered necessary documents from the lead to prepare a quote.
Quoted: You've provided a quote to the lead.
Shopping: The lead is considering your quote, possibly comparing with other offers.
Note: Stages like "Won" or "Lost" are outcomes, not steps in the process. Similarly, "Meetings" are tools to facilitate movement between stages, but they are not stages themselves.
Implementing the Process
1. Lay Out Your Sales Stages in Your CRM
Use your CRM's Kanban view (or any visual layout) to represent each stage from left to right. This visual representation helps you see at a glance where each lead is in the process.
Example:
New Lead | Contacted | Documents Collected | Quoted | Shopping |
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2. Move Leads Through the Stages
Your primary goal is to move each lead from one stage to the next. For example:
A lead in the "New Lead" stage needs to be contacted. Once contacted, they move to the "Contacted" stage.
After collecting documents, they move to "Documents Collected".
Once you've sent a quote, they advance to "Quoted".
While they're considering your offer, they're in the "Shopping" stage.
3. Focus on the Next Action
For every lead, the next action is to either:
Move Them to the Next Stage: Take the necessary action to progress them.
Set a Follow-Up: If immediate progression isn't possible, schedule the next interaction.
Important: Meetings themselves are not stages because they are means to an end, not the end itself. The purpose of a meeting is to accomplish something, like collecting documents or presenting a quote, which corresponds to moving the lead to the next stage.
4. Daily Review and Action
Go through your list once a day. For any leads that don't have a scheduled next action, reach out to them. The idea is to keep the momentum going and avoid letting leads stagnate.
Benefits of This Approach
Simplicity: Easy to implement without relying on complex CRM features.
Focus: Concentrates on actions that move leads forward.
Flexibility: Can be adapted to any CRM or even a manual system.
Visibility: Provides a clear picture of your sales pipeline at any given time.
Tips for Success
Avoid Overcomplicating the Process
Stick to Essential Stages: Use only the stages that reflect your actual sales process.
Keep It Action-Oriented: Focus on what needs to be done to move each lead forward.
Stay Disciplined with Daily Actions
Regular Review: Make it a habit to review your leads daily.
Consistent Follow-Up: Reach out to leads without a scheduled next action.
Use Meetings Wisely
Purposeful Meetings: Schedule meetings when they serve to move the lead to the next stage.
Not a Stage: Remember that meetings are tools, not stages in your process.
Monitor Progress and Adjust Accordingly
Track Movement: Keep an eye on leads that are stuck in a stage.
Address Stagnation: If a lead isn't progressing, identify the reason and take action.
Understanding Why Meetings Aren't Stages
Meetings are actions you take to move a lead from one stage to another, but they are not stages themselves. Here's why:
Rescheduling Happens: Meetings can be postponed, so relying on them as a stage can create confusion.
Purposeful Interaction: The key is what you accomplish during the meeting (e.g., collecting documents, presenting a quote), which corresponds to moving to the next stage.
Action-Oriented: Focus on the outcome of the interaction, not just the interaction itself.
Real-World Example
Scenario:
Lead Name: Jane Doe
Current Stage: Contacted
Next Action: Collect necessary documents to prepare a quote.
Process:
Daily Review: Jane is in the "Contacted" stage with no scheduled next action.
Action: Call or email Jane to request the necessary documents.
Outcome: Jane provides the documents.
Update CRM: Move Jane to the "Documents Collected" stage.
Next Step: Prepare and send a quote, aiming to move her to the "Quoted" stage.
Handling Backward Movement
While the goal is always to move leads forward, sometimes leads may move backward, particularly from "Quoted" or "Shopping" if they reject an offer.
Approach:
Identify Objections: Find out why the lead is moving backward.
Address Concerns: See if you can adjust your offer or provide additional information.
Decide Next Steps: If the lead is lost, you may move them to a "Lost" status, but consider setting a reminder to check back in the future.
Conclusion
Having a clear, simple process to work your leads can greatly improve your efficiency and effectiveness in sales. By defining stages that reflect your actual sales process and focusing on moving leads through these stages, you ensure that you're always taking the right action at the right time.
Remember, the key is to keep it simple and action-oriented. Focus on what needs to be done to move each lead to the next stage, and make it a daily habit to review and act on your leads.
Finally, don't forget to take thorough notes in your CRM. In fact, this is so important that I went ahead and put together an entire article about how to make the most use of notes in your CRM to drastically increase your long term success.
Next Steps
Set Up Your Sales Stages: Define the stages that make sense for your process, such as "New Lead," "Contacted," "Documents Collected," "Quoted," and "Shopping."
Organize Your CRM: Lay out these stages in your CRM using the Kanban view or equivalent.
Implement Daily Review: Commit to reviewing your leads daily and taking necessary actions.
Focus on Progression: Always aim to move leads to the next stage or schedule the next action.
By implementing this process, you'll have a clear roadmap for working your leads, stay organized, and increase your chances of closing deals.
Remember, simplicity and consistency are your allies in managing leads effectively. Start today by setting up your stages and committing to daily action, and watch how it transforms your sales process.