What is Pipeline Management?

If you asked two sales managers to define ‘Pipeline Management’ you’d get three definitions.   ‘Pipeline Management’ is one of the many sales terms that has a ‘loose’ definition.

The Pay-Off:

• Time: In a matter of seconds the sales manager can identify which deals are in trouble and require intervention and no longer has to schedule time with the sales rep and go through a detailed Q&A session trying dig out critical information about the deal.  It’s all in the analysis.
• Pipeline Quality:  In very short order the sales manager can weed out low quality deals from the pipeline and ensure that the sales reps are focusing on deals they can win (and will close by the stated Close Date).  Resulting in increased Win Rates.
• Coaching:  The sales manager now has specific details about weak and troubled deals and can provide more effective coaching to the reps.  See Coaching for more details

 We define Pipeline Management as:

“The ability of the sales manager to control and manage the deals in the team’s pipeline.”

For sales managers to effectively manage the team’s pipeline they must have in-depth knowledge about the deals in the pipeline and be able to quickly identify those deals (and sales reps) that are in trouble and require intervention (meaning they are at risk of being lost or slipping past the close Date) and those deals that do not.

Occulus provides sales managers with the critical information about the deals in the pipeline so that they can quickly identify which deals (and sales reps) are in trouble, and, the levers to exert greater control over the sales process (without hijacking it).

The Occulus Analysis Produces Four Critical Measures of Each Deal in the Pipeline.

• Degree of Qualification (DoQ) –  measured as a percent;  this is a measure of how well the deal is qualified
• Probability of Winning –  measured as a percent;  this is the probability that the deal will be won
• Confidence Factor – measured as a percent; this is the probability that the deal will be won if the prospect made a decision today.
• Deal Timing – measured as a percent;  this is the probability that the deal will close by the stated Close Date.

Each of these measures is colour coded to reflect the current status of the deal for easy identification for the sales manager.

 What Information Does Occulus Provide?

• How well the deal is qualified –  poorly qualified deals are in ORANGE / RED
• Probability of Winning –  if the deal is in trouble, these number are in ORANGE / RED
• Probability of Closing by the Close Date –  if the deal is going to slip, these numbers are in ORANGE / RED

SWOT Analysis:

• Identifies where the problem is and the severity of it

Action Items:

• A list of recommendations to fix Items 1, 2 & 3.

 

Pipeline Chart

• Solid Deals                   = Dark Green                  No intervention required
• Weak Deals                  = Light Green                  Intervention required
• Troubled Deals          = ORANGE or RED       Immediate intervention required

Once a sales manager has identified the deals that require immediate intervention they need only click on the deal name to review the Detailed Analysis to identify where the problem(s) exist and the severity of the problem(s).

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