Even Flow

Structure sets you free.

If you have a process, the discipline is in consistently exercising it. In the absence of structure, each time you go to coach or manage, you will spend time thinking about the “how” and the “what.” With structure, the “how” is set and ready for you to insert the “what.”

Sales management disciplines are about quality and quantity. They add value to your salespeople and they create productivity in your organization. And perhaps one of the most important ones is accurately analyzing and monitoring your producers’ sales pipelines.

Types of Pipelines

A healthy funnel has lots of opportunities with a healthy undiscounted dollar volume, and consistently delivers sales each month (or each period that is realistic to deliver sales).

A false hope pipeline has lots of prospects and lots of opportunities, and yet does not deliver closes—everything seems strong, but each month seems to end with excuses instead of deals. Often, opportunities should be removed because they are no longer active or realistic to close.

A thin pipeline has a few prospects, a few opportunities and infrequent closes. The good news is that the salesperson can move a suspect to prospect to an opportunity and then to close. The bad news is that the volume in all stages of the pipeline is not nearly substantial enough.

A congested pipeline has lots and lots of prospects, but few turn into opportunities—thus, the producer has very few closes. The top of the pipeline is healthy, but the rest is congested.

Breaking Down the Pipeline Review

Using technology to help your team members manage their pipelines can be effective, but you and the salesperson must recognize the shape of their funnel first. Then, reviewing the pipeline can be quick and authentic. Do it often and be strategic in your approach.

1) Big Picture

Ask salespeople what type of pipeline they currently have—healthy, false hope, thin or congested. If you disagree, question them. You may need to skip ahead to step two—pipeline summary—to help them change their diagnosis. When you are both in agreement, note the type.

Ask “Has this changed since last review?” If yes and the diagnosis has moved to healthy, congratulate them—the accomplishment should be celebrated. If they have moved out of false hope to thin or congested, congratulate them on cleaning up their funnel.

Ask about short-term pipeline health. Is it poor, okay or great? Recognize up front if you need immediate action to change the pipeline. If you agree with the salesperson’s assessment, note it. If you disagree, help them through questioning to adjust their point of view. Short-term pipeline health is the most important metric to determine short-term performance by the salesperson.

Ask about long-term pipeline health. Is it poor, okay or great? This question is helpful when someone has a healthy funnel, because sometimes it is healthy for the short term, but they are not building the long term. Those with false hope, thin or congested funnels will most likely have poor long-term health, so focus them on prospecting to build the funnel.

2) Pipeline Summary

Create a short, simple set of numbers to summarize the quantity on the pipeline—number of pipeline situations, gross dollar value on the pipeline, net or discounted pipeline value and dollars closed this month. For a pipeline review, create two columns: one for this week and one for last week. This quantitative chart shows at a glance how salespeople are progressing (or not). Where you have clear numbers for a healthy pipeline, always discuss how the actuals compare to ideal. Note any action items. The summary section allows a simple view of whether life is moving or you are experiencing Groundhog Day.

3) New Sales Opportunities

What has been added to the pipeline since you last met? Celebrate each success. At times, this section might be blank. That is fine this week, but if it is a common occurrence, not enough work is happening at the suspect and prospect level to keep the funnel healthy.

4) Stalled Sales Opportunities

What seems to be sitting on the pipeline and not moving? Decide if it should stay on the pipeline. Let the salesperson control what is on and what needs to come off, but influence them to remove an entry when it is time so they do not end up with false hope. Look at your previous pipeline reviews to see what has been in this category. Use this data to help remove those opportunities that have been discussed on a few occasions as being stalled.

5) Missing Sales Opportunities

Here is where you look for opportunities that the salesperson has not put on the pipeline. These could be new opportunities that they have not yet had time to add (you may have already covered these in step 3) or opportunities they are not sure are real, where they may need help from you to decide whether to add them or not. Note the situation so you have a record of entries that do not reach the pipeline.

6) Closing Sales Opportunities

You may ask why the deals that are likely to close are item number 6 on the pipeline review. Your energy and the energy of the salesperson will be greatest in this section—and that is exactly why you wait. If you discuss these up front, they have potential to consume you and consume your time. You have been strategic on pipeline management for the first five to seven minutes in steps 1 through 5—now you can get tactical on what you need to do to close the opportunities that are most ready. Take your time here. Help the salesperson in any way you can to maximize the sales that need the final push to success.

7) Key Action Items

Build this list throughout the discussion. Finalize it at this point in the conversation. Be sure to assign a due-date responsibility. Ask the producer to repeat the action plan to ensure they have bought in and are willing to execute in a timely fashion.

8) Help Required

What commitments have you made? Be careful to ask yourself, “Do I need to do this or could they?” If the salesperson can do it, it should be an action item for him or her, not you.

9) Anything Else?

Recap the pipeline review and congratulate any success since you last met. Re-confirm action plans.

Keep It Consistent

This nine-step process should only take about 15 minutes. It may take a little longer if you need to

discuss a long list of closing situations. One meeting can seem very tactical and may give you the impression that the salesperson could mail in the answers—it is the discipline of regular meetings that reveal the pattern.

Picture four meetings held every two weeks over an eight-week period. In all four, you have a false hope pipeline that appears to have enough opportunities, but none are closing. By the fourth meeting, you will be able to show that a number of situations need to come off the pipeline, and your salesperson will now progress to thin or congested. During these same four meetings, you have hopefully helped him or her see that long-term pipeline health is poor—reinvigorating prospecting so when you move some deadwood off the pipeline, the wheels are already in motion for adding new prospects.

This process will move all the pipelines into a healthy state in short order and keep them healthy longer. And healthy pipelines deliver excellent sales results.

Kevin Higgins is the CEO of Fusion Learning Inc., recognized by Selling Power as one of the top 20 sales training companies in North America. He is the author of “Engage Me: Strategies From The Sales Effectiveness Source,” available on amazon.com.