I spend a lot of my business life speaking with the owners and sales directors of SMEs and am still astounded by how many do not have a formal sales pipeline in place. Many may feel that it is sufficient to keep all this type of information in their own head or that it is a waste of their precious time putting together a formalised sales pipeline.
There can be no doubt it is a time consuming exercise, but one that I believe is very worthwhile and if utilised correctly can form the backbone of a company’s growth. At this point you are probably thinking: “you would say that given the industry that you work in”. So in a bid to change your mind, here are my top five reasons why your business needs a robust sales pipeline:
There can be no doubt it is a time consuming exercise, but one that I believe is very worthwhile and if utilised correctly can form the backbone of a company’s growth. At this point you are probably thinking: “you would say that given the industry that you work in”. So in a bid to change your mind, here are my top five reasons why your business needs a robust sales pipeline:
1. Most importantly a solid sales pipeline protects against peaks and troughs in sales revenue. By providing an overview of all potential sales and opportunities it gives a clear picture of quiet and busy periods. Done far enough in advance you can put in place strategies to combat any potential troughs.
2. Which leads nicely into my second point, a sales pipeline also allows for financial planning based on hard facts. If it is kept up to date (and believe me this is no mean feat in itself) you will have data on the amount and value of potential opportunities in your marketplace, so you can plan your business’ finances accordingly.
3. On the subject of planning, a sales pipeline can provide focus for your marketing activity. For instance, is there a particular market within your pipeline where there are lots of opportunities that could be the focus of your next marketing campaign? Or are there potential quiet periods that you can put together a marketing plan to combat? You get my point.
4. It also allows you to effectively plan your resources. Staffing levels can be difficult to get right in a small business, so knowing when potential orders could land and their value will help with this.
5. Finally, as I mentioned earlier a sales pipeline can help you achieve a business growth strategy and potentially even ensure that you meet growth targets.
Hopefully that has given you some food for thought. I would be interested to hear from people who are still not convinced and their reasons why, so please leave your comments below or tweet me @leehackett1
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