So, autumn approaches and your sales force and many of your clients have enjoyed their well-deserved holidays soaking up the sunshine, tearing up the golf courses, broiling on the beaches and delivering record-breaking deals. So now, as you’re spending your weekends checking your boilers, lagging the pipes, clearing the gutters and stocking up on winter fuel you’re probably spending at least part of the working week thinking…
“What’s going to keep the sun shining on us? The market’s out there, the
orders are being won, we’re closing the year now, what’s the next
looking like, what’s in our pipeline, is my business fit for a hard
driving, hard working, order-winning winter?”
As ‘the sales pipeline engineers’ you’d expect us to have a view on the value of a seasonal check of those critical functions, so, how many ticks can you genuinely give yourself against a quick checklist?
- Is your sales pipeline delivering quality wins, if not, do you know where the leaks are?
- How many of last year's sales appeared very close to the end of the pipeline, how many hung about for ever in the “just about to close” zone?
- Do your contacts feel cared for and important, how do you know, have you asked them?
- Do your marketing messages and sales process compliment and support each other?
- Are you generating enough leads, and are they the right leads?
- Are you getting the information that you want, or are you getting surprises, nobody likes surprises?
- Are your sales team closing deals or letting them slip?
There’s some logic to taking time out for an honest and objective view of the three P’s, your pipeline, your process and your people
We’d recommend some simple steps,
- An assessment of the sales pipeline, a check of the numbers and a rigorous review of the validity and desirability of the deals in hand.
- Your team, do the 90% understand why the top 10% are so successful? Is there a process for helping them get there? Do the bottom 10% add value, can they?
- A review of the customer propositions, the way that they are articulated and promoted.
- A short sharp review of all your sales and marketing activity in relation to both tactical needs and strategic objectives.
It’s easy to identify what needs doing, but it’s hard to find the time, and objectivity to do it properly, however, like servicing the boiler and lagging the pipes, a little preparation can make a lot of difference when the pressure is on…
If any of this sounds relevant, we should be talking, a complimentary getting to know you, ‘first impressions’ review could deliver real improvements in days…
