What do you think the most important thing is for any company or business? Is it marketing or managing the sales? Well, for many, till now, the main focus is marketing. But, in our opinion, the amalgamation of both can produce effective results. Managing the sales pipeline along with mapping where the marketing qualified lead falls in the sale funnel and which sales qualified lead is expected to convert is the key to closing the deals faster and better.
In this quest, only systematic marketing with intuitive sales pipeline management can benefit.
Hold on! you won’t have to create and manage the sales pipeline process manually because Zoho CRM, especially Zoho Bigin, can do exactly that for you in a more efficient manner.
Zoho Bigin is a sales pipeline management suite that aims to assist small businesses in growing their business with systematic leads and deals management.
If you think Zoho Bigin is not for you then Zoho CRM has all the answers you need. Moreover, Zoho Sales IQ Integrations with Zoho CRM can help you with sales automation which automatically labels the MQL (Marketing Qualified Leads) into stages and thus save ‘Sales Executives’ time in manual lead scoring or labelling. For Zoho CRM customization, you can reach out to Zoho Consultants and Zoho CRM Management Consultants at Techloyce.
Here in this article, you will find a detailed account of the significant difference between the sale pipeline and sale funnel, along with how it is different from the marketing pipeline and some benefits.
Lastly, the article highlights the key feature of Zoho Bigin and Zoho CRM for sales pipeline management.
Also read: 5 Awesome Ways to Increase Sales
Difference Between Sale Pipeline and Sale Funnel
The first thing that you need to understand is sale pipeline is the process of presenting leads into the stages within the sales continuum. In contrast, the sales funnel helps the sales executive to get an abstract idea of how leads go through different stages to get matured and convert and how these leads turn into closed deals.
Additionally, through the sales pipeline, the sales executives can map their plan of action throughout the stages of lead maturity e.g. calls made, emails or proposals sent, and negotiation details, across all platforms that navigated prospects and closed deals.
In contrast, the sale funnel is about the whole customer journey from awareness to conversion and retention. And, it also flashes light over the steps that are needed to improve the sale and marketing processes.
How Sales Pipeline Differ from Marketing Pipeline
A marketing funnel consists of 3 stages that consist of attracting visitors via social media, blogs, videos, etc., and lead traffic to the conversion stage in which they actively evaluate their decision and transverse to the third stage that is decision making. So, at the last stage, if a visitor decides to buy then he becomes the marketing qualified lead (MQL). This way the complete cycle of the marking funnel comes to end and the lead is sent to the sales executive for conversion.
Here the question arises what sale executive needs to do to convert MQL to Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)? Well, from this point on the sales funnel begins. Its cycle includes tracking, conversion, and close. But, tracking leads throughout the stages within a sales funnel is not enough. Here, an automated and systematic sales pipeline comes into action. It is the systematic process that navigates and nurtures deals. Furthermore, it includes graphical representation of lead to deals and details of contextual support they need to convert.
In a nutshell, the marketing pipeline consists of consist of attracting a lead, while the sales pipeline consists of converting that lead to a closed deal.
Also Read: Finding the Best CRM for Sales Management
Sales Pipeline Management
From the destination we just made, one thing is for sure, that you need a system in place to track, map, and manage the deals. For instance, you have 12 leads, in your sales pipeline, those leads are actually 12 deals that sales executives have to close. This requires a lot of effort from influencing leads to following up with clients, negotiating terms and conditions, and closing the deal. Hence, with the systematic process in place, the sales team can identify exact steps that are needed along with prospect deal identification from risky deals. This helps sales executives to invest effort in a deal that has a higher lead score.
Benefits of Sales Pipeline Management
Some of the essential benefits a systematic sales pipeline management offer are as follow:
- It allows sale executive to differentiate between potential and unpromising deals with the help of labels and lead scoring.
- The closed deals and sales funnel data allow the sales manager to measure the financial health and forecast sales.
- With CRM, the sales executive can leverage the data given by the marketing department to nurture leads effectively.
- Lastly, the detailed reports make everything scaleable. Thus, the Sales executive can create or modify sales strategy with real-time data.
How Zoho CRM Assists in Sales Pipeline Management
Zoho CRM has created a suite that is known as Zoho Bigin. It contains everything that a sales department needs to close the deals. Yet, the best thing about this is it allows sales executives to create multiple deal pipelines to keeps track of every lead that goes through them.
Moreover, the scheduling and automation provide a complete overview of what the sales executive has for the day, including calls to make, email to send, client to meet, deal to close, etc. This is how the sales executive will stay on top of everything without missing anything out. Lastly, it allows the sales executive to remain in contact with the lead on social platforms.
However, customizing CRM to match the organization’s need require exceptional technical skill. If you think that you don’t have enough resources then there is no need to worry. Techloyce is here for your assistance. We have been providing Zoho CRM Consulting service for many years. If you feel lost or don’t know what your sales pipeline lacks then our Zoho CRM Management Consultants will help you navigate by creating a smooth sales pipeline management flow.
