The sales process within the financial services industry can take many financial advisors years to refine. There are many different factors at play: Who is my ideal client, how do I market to them, what services do I offer that they will want to subscribe to? Once your ideal client has been identified, it is of utmost importance to manage your sales pipeline effectively. With the right tools and practices in place, you can gain a bird’s eye view of your sales process and make informed decisions to drive business growth. In this article, we’ll explore the best practices and tools for sales pipeline management in CRM.
What Is Sales Pipeline Management In CRM?
Sales pipeline management in CRM (customer relationship management) involves using a CRM system to manage your sales process. A CRM system allows you to manage prospects throughout your sales process through various features such as digital pipelines (Opportunities) in conjunction with Workflow/Activity/Task Templates.
Why Is A Sales Pipeline Important?
A sales pipeline is important because it provides a visual representation of your sales process. With a sales pipeline, you can see what opportunities you have, where they are in the process, and what needs to happen to move them forward. A well-managed sales pipeline can help you identify areas where you need to focus your efforts, prioritize your activities, and drive business growth.
How To Build An Effective Sales Pipeline
To build an effective sales pipeline, start by defining your sales process. What are the steps that you typically take to close a sale?
Example:
- Prospecting: The initial stage involves identifying and reaching out to potential clients through various methods such as referrals, networking, marketing campaigns, or online platforms.
- Qualification: In this stage, the financial advisor assesses the suitability and compatibility of potential clients.
- Discovery and Needs Analysis: This stage involves gathering information about their income, assets, liabilities, investment knowledge, and time horizon.
- Proposal: This proposal typically includes details such as risk assessment, projected returns, and fee structure.
- Presentation and Review: This stage involves addressing any questions or concerns the prospect may have and ensuring they have a clear understanding of the proposed approach.
- Implementation: If the prospect agrees with the proposed plan, it’s time to complete the necessary paperwork, open investment accounts, and initiate the transfer of assets.
Once you have defined your process, create stages in your CRM system that align with those steps. These stages should include any necessary actions or milestones that need to be completed to move a prospect from one stage to the next.
Next, identify the metrics that you will use to measure progress through the pipeline. These might include the number of leads in each stage, the conversion rate from one stage to the next, and the average time it takes to move from one stage to the next.
Finally, make sure that everyone on your sales team understands the process and how to use the CRM system to manage their pipeline. This includes training on how to enter and update information in the system, as well as how to use the system to identify opportunities and prioritize activities. Stephanie Dannebaum Consulting is here to help you!
Sales Pipeline Management In The Opportunity Section Of Your CRM
The opportunity section of your CRM system is where you will manage your sales pipeline. Here, you can add new opportunities, update existing ones, and track their progress through the pipeline. It’s important to mark each opportunity as either “closed won” or “closed lost” so that you can hold yourself accountable for what business is being won and what business is being lost.
Sales Pipeline Management In CRM: Best Practices And Tools
Tools for managing your sales pipeline in CRM include the opportunity section of your CRM system, which allows you to add new opportunities, update existing ones, and track their progress through the pipeline. You can also add notes, documents, and workflows to each opportunity to keep everything organized and easily accessible. Additionally, you can use the probability field to prioritize opportunities based on their likelihood of closing. When creating an opportunity, you can also create a contact record in the CRM system to manage the relationship.
Are You Ready To Manage Your Sales Pipeline?
Discover how you can increase your sales pipeline with the opportunities section of your CRM.
Managing your sales pipeline in CRM is a valuable and helpful way to drive business growth. By utilizing your CRM system for your sales process, you can get a bird’s eye view of your pipeline, prioritize your activities, and hold yourself accountable for your results. So, if you’re ready to take your sales game to the next level, it’s time to start managing your sales pipeline in CRM.
