
Do you know companies that managed sales pipelines better witnessed 28% higher growth? Don’t you want to visit this replicate that success? It is possible when you build a pipeline that represents your sales funnel.
Now, what if you don’t bother about this statistic and continue with your current unstructured process? Well, it would be a daunting task to visualize your sales process, leading to missing out on deals. That would lead to a lower sales revenue which you would never want, right? Therefore, you must focus on building a sales pipeline that is the most well-suited for your organization.
Let’s find out more about the sales pipeline, its different stages, how you can build one for your business and manage it well.
What Is A Sales Pipeline & Why It Is Important?
A sales pipeline is a systematic, visual way of tracking potential customers as they move through the various stages of the buying process.
In other words, a pipeline involves a series of steps that begin with an initial interaction with a prospect and ends with converting the prospect into a customer. It enables you to visualize the whole sales process.
A sales pipeline has different stages that help in breaking down the entire sales process into manageable tasks. This way, you can achieve sales goals easily.
With the help of the a pipeline, you can find out the number of deals in different stages of the sales process and their value. As a salesperson, you would know which deals you have to focus on and your future revenue.
- Finding issues is easier
You get a visual idea of the company’s sales process from the pipeline. It makes it possible to spot an issue at any stage of the process and find a way to fix it. - Helps measure team performance
A pipeline allows you to look at how sales reps are performing at an individual level. It is also easy to see how close the sales reps are close to meeting the sales targets. - Increases productivity
Sales reps can know which step will come next with a sales pipeline, making it easier for them to handle their tasks. It would increase the productivity of sales reps. - Provides information
Sales teams would get all the information and financial metrics they need from sales pipelines to predict the revenue and plan for future B2B sales strategies to facilitate the growth of the business.
Sales Pipeline vs Sales Funnel
Sales pipeline and sales funnel are both terms used to describe the stages of the sales process, but there is a difference between the two.
Sales Pipeline
A sales pipeline refers to the steps a salesperson or sales team takes to convert a lead into a customer.
The pipeline is typically divided into stages:
Prospecting
Qualification
Presentation
Closing
The pipeline helps the sales team track each opportunity’s progress and ensure that they follow up with each lead effectively.
Sales Funnel
A sales funnel, on the other hand, refers to the broader process of attracting and converting leads into customers.
The funnel is typically divided into stages corresponding to the buyer’s journey, such as awareness, consideration, and decision.
The funnel helps visualize the overall sales process and identify areas where potential customers may drop out.