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Big ones, little ones, sharp ones, and stubborn ones. I was pulling weeds from the garden when it became crystal clear to me.
The various weeds were like the many types of opportunities in most sales pipelines. Big ones, little ones, those that hurt (we’re behind the competition) and those who are stubborn (they aren’t sharing important information). The flowers in the garden are allowed to remain and are nurtured with sun, water and plant food. Similarly, we must leave and nurture the opportunities that will grow and produce sales, and weed out the undesirable opportunities that distract us from what is most important.
Maintaining a Full Pipeline
Flower gardens can be large, colorful, impressive and calming to look at. Unfortunately, most sales pipelines are full of weeds, not large enough, and certainly not impressive. From its evaluations and assessments of 1,881,518 salespeople, Objective Management Group (OMG) has found that only 46 percent of all salespeople maintain a full pipeline. It breaks down as follows:
- Elite (the top 5%) 76%
- Strong 65%
- Serviceable 57%
- Weak (the bottom 50%) 41%
And when it comes to full pipelines, we must ask, full of what? Generally undesirable opportunities.
Why do those undesirable opportunities remain in the pipeline? They provide salespeople with a sense of security. Unfortunately, what they perceive as a safety net is really denial of the reality of their pipeline.
Transforming the Pipeline
Step one
Transform your sales pipeline by performing a thorough weeding, which leaves you with a smaller pipeline, but with the same number of quality opportunities. This is where a well-built, predictive scorecard will help.
Step two
Determine how many opportunities must be in your pipeline at all times. To find the answer to that question you must know the size of your average sale or account, your closing percentage, and monthly sales goal. Let’s assume the following three metrics:
- Monthly sales goal of $100,000
- 25% closing percentage
- $20,000 average sale or account
With those numbers, you must have 20 opportunities worth $400,000 in your pipeline at all times in order to close five of them each month. Complete the same exercise using your own historical numbers.
Step three
Determine the gap between what you need and what you have. Using the example above, let’s say you actually have four good opportunities worth a total of $80,000. Your gap is 16 opportunities worth $320,000 — just for this month!
Step four
Add 16 new opportunities. How? Referrals, introductions, inbound leads, cold calls, whatever it takes. But do it! Today! Now! Referring back to OMG’s findings again, only 40 percent of all salespeople are strong at hunting. That breaks down as:
- Elite (the top 5%): 88%
- Strong: 77%
- Serviceable: 58%
- Weak (the bottom 50%): 26%
When it comes to generating referrals and introductions, only 35 percent of all salespeople are strong. It breaks down as:
- Elite (the top 5%): 48%
- Strong: 42%
- Serviceable: 39%
- Weak (the bottom 50%): 32%
And as for making cold calls, only 33 percent of all salespeople prospect consistently. It breaks down as:
- Elite (the top 5%): 70%
- Strong: 54%
- Serviceable: 43%
- Weak (the bottom 50%): 25%
If from among the bottom half of all salespeople, 50 percent of them won’t make cold calls, 64 percent won’t generate referrals and introductions, and 82 percent won’t fill their pipelines, then nearly half of your salespeople may not do much of what was laid out in this article.
But there is hope for the serviceable, strong and elite salespeople — the other half. Many of them will be able to do most of this but the key is holding them accountable. Their sales managers must set expectations, designate this as non-optional work, impose a deadline, and enforce penalties for non-compliance.
These four steps are not a one-time fix; they are requirements for continued success in sales that continue into perpetuity.
MANA welcomes your comments on this article. Write to us at [email protected].
