The following is a summary of Jason Jordan‘s excellent Dreamforce 2016 presentation on sales pipeline management. While some takeaways may seem obvious, isn’t it always the obvious things that have the greatest performance impact?
- The ideal pipeline per period = (Quota per period) / (win rate per period)
- Larger pipelines can be as ineffective as smaller ones
- Hours per month spent forecasting have little to no impact on the % of reps at quota
- More hours spent coaching on account/deal strategy & planning does have a significant impact on the % or reps at quota.
- Target at least 3 hrs/month/rep, especially during in early deal stages (partly because that helps with disqualification).
- Spend at least 10 minutes at a time per deal.
- Companies with formal sales processes (stages & actions) that mirror the buying process deliver stronger growth.
- CRM is an enabler of such processes (not an end unto itself)
- Common buyer stages: identify needs –> establish buying criteria –> assess solutions –> mitigate risk –> decide.
- Companies with sales managers who are well trained have stronger revenue growth than those who do not.
You can obtain the original presentation here.