12 Tips for Building and Managing a Bigger Sales Pipeline

Matt Heinz

President, Heinz Marketing Inc

matt@heinzmarketing.com

@heinzmarketing

Why do you need this?

Needs/QualificationGoal: Secure Presentation

PresentationGoal: Establish decision

date, send proposal

ProposalGoal: BUY

ApproachGoal: Accelerate urgency, timeline to purchase

Open/AttemptedGoal: Get prospect on the phone

Actively WorkingGoal: Qualify prospect as 30-60 day opportunityLEADS

OPPORTUNITIES

Lead becomes Active Opportunity

Why do you need a pipeline?

• Most leads aren’t sales ready

• You can’t focus on everything

• The right message at the right time

• Maximum sales, minimum work

How to approach your pipeline

• It’s a pipeline (but your prospects shouldn’t know that)

• Differentiate from your competitors

• DO NOT SELL

• Automate as much as you can

Keys to effective pipeline execution

• Use a lead management system

• Clearly define lead & opportunity stages

• Focus on great content

• Make it easy for prospects to self-select and move forward

Prospect Engagement Funnel

Active Sales CycleChannels: CRM, 1:1

Goal: Sell

New Customer

Drip MarketingChannels: Email Newsletters, CRM System

Goal: Drive Active Prospects

Network / Open CommunityChannels: Twitter, Facebook, Blog, LinkedIn

Goal: Drive Registration

Network-exclusive access to contentValue-added special offersDiscovery eventsWhite papers, top ten tips, etc.

Testimonials, Success StoriesProfile-Specific MessagesNew product/service offers

Referral & Tell-a-Friend OffersNetwork / Community Invites

New Opportunity Alerts1:1 with Existing CustomerIn-Market Events

Next Step Accelerator Ideas

Customer Targets (based on persona profiles)

Differentiating “sales ready” leads

• Ask the right questions

• Look for buying signals

• Identify pain points and needs

• Quantify problems

Leads & Opportunities

Calculating what you need

AssumptionsProduct A ASP $ 15,000 Product B ASP $ 50,000 Opp/Close % 33.0%Lead/Opp % 10.0%Product A CPL $ 15 Product B CPL $ 35

Q1 2010 Q2 2010 Q3 2010 Q4 2010 TOTALSProduct A Sales # 50 56 63 69 238Product B Sales # 8 9 10 11 38Total Sales # 58 65 73 80 276

Product A Sales $ $ 742,500 $ 841,500 $ 940,500 $1,039,500 $ 3,564,000 Product B Sales $ $ 412,500 $ 453,750 $ 495,000 $ 536,250 $ 1,897,500 Total Sales $ $1,155,000 $1,295,250 $1,435,500 $1,575,750 $ 5,461,500

Product A Pipeline # 150 170 190 210Product B Pipeline # 25 28 30 33Total Pipeline # 175 198 220 243

Product A Pipeline $ $2,250,000 $2,550,000 $2,850,000 $3,150,000 Product B Pipeline $ $1,250,000 $1,375,000 $1,500,000 $1,625,000 Total Pipeline $ $3,500,000 $3,925,000 $4,350,000 $4,775,000

Product A Leads 1500 1700 1900 2100Product B Leads 250 275 300 325Total Leads 1750 1975 2200 2425 8350

Product A Lead Budget $ 22,500 $ 25,500 $ 28,500 $ 31,500 Product B Lead Budget $ 8,750 $ 9,625 $ 10,500 $ 11,375 Total Lead Budget $ 31,250 $ 35,125 $ 39,000 $ 42,875 $ 148,250

9 alternatives to cold calling

1. Referrals (who, when, how)

2. Check back with past customers

3. Watch the social Web for buying signals

4. Participate in customer communities

5. Work with referral partners

6. Upsell current customers

7. Hire an appointment setter

8. Answer questions

9. Join the comment conversations on blogs

When prospects go dark…

1. Try a different channel

2. Try a different contact

3. Share something unrelated

4. Try a different angle

5. Engage their influencers

6. Move on

Choosing a CRM system

• Choose your system LAST

• Start with:– Prospect definition– Process– Lead/opportunity stages– Owners & responsibilities

Questions?