Develop Pipeline

Develop Pipeline

When developing a Pipeline, you should consider several elements: Assessment of Pipeline Requirements to meet the revenue plan Assessment of the pipeline needs in each territory Dynamic analysis of lead cost and conversion rates at each stage A system for managing leads from raw to sales accepted A definition of a qualified lead (accept able for passing to sales) that is mutually agreed between Sales & Marketing Metrics to measure progress against lead generation goals

Develop Pipeline

Most sales reps believe that they do not have enough qualified leads. When the Marketing department is not providing sufficient qualified leads to meet the revenue plan, sales management typically demands that reps fill the void. This approach results in high cost and is demoralizing to sales reps. The best (high value & low cost) leads typically are provided by the sources in the green area in the chart below.

You should start using a system (such as Marketo or Eloqua) as soon as you can to identify your first suspects, implementing metrics and analytics early so that you can learn what works and what does not. Develop definitions for each stage in your lead pipeline and grade leads to track conversion rates. Record your assumptions and then change them when you have facts. Use cost per lead and conversion rates as the key metrics.

At Growth Process Group, we have developed a proprietary Pipeline Requirements Model to help our clients understand how many leads they need to generate to achieve revenue goals.