Funnel Management

Over the years I have worked for many VP's of Sales. All of them use a somewhat different definition of the funnel. For myself, my team, my sales peers, I like to recommend a standardized funnel definition so we all can learn to understand the business.

LEAD phase
Leads enter the funnel at 10% as they are identified in the market through various means. During this stage no value is assigned to the deals to avoid that a weighted funnels gets valued at a high number of deals at a low probability.

10% Lead has been identified by someone
20% Contact is established (call/e-mail/visit)

OPPORTUNITY phase
Deal is being managed in sales force with some basic information

30% Interest is established and opportunity is categorized
40% Passed first meeting, minutes, NDA, ECO system has been established, etc.
50% Compelling reason to purchase is identified / Timeline is confirmed, DnB report is initiated
60% Budget is confirmed / Decision makers identified / Competition profile being established

QUALIFIED phase
Level of details goes up for all key deals

70% Competitive shoot-out, Trial / Pilot initiated, team selling engaged, value proposal is available / Organizational selling is engaged
80% Closing plan is established, ECO system selling has been engaged
90% Organizational selling is executed, What-if scenario’s are being run

WIN/LOSS phase
100% Deal is won – Deal won program is run – Win analysis doc is submitted
0% Deal is lost – Deal lost program is run - Loss analysis is submitted


FUNNEL MANAGEMENT
The health of the sales funnel can now quickly be determined by the following:

MEASUREMENT] Weigthed funnel / Complete Funnel held against quota
Where a healthy funnel has the following parameters: Complete funnel is approximately 3x quota, and Weighted funnel is a little over quota.

IDENTIFICATION] Are there any single deals larger than 20% of the quota
This is important as these large deals can offset the funnel and create huge gaps in your numbers when they fall-out

What we can now coach our team members on during the weekly funnel session is the following:

i] Coach that the objective of every meeting is to increase to the next % level
ii] Help identify the true stage of the sale, rather than guessing where a deal is at
iii] Recognize that different stages in a sales engage different selling techniques/methodologies
iv] Learn how to read the weakness/strengths within a funnel to allow for early corrective actions
v] Identify back-up deals that can be accellerated the deals at risk, identify channels that can help soften impact etc.

Example of some of the Sales Methodologies I coach my team on during the weekly funnel sessions:

• Value add sales (we must bring value to the customer)


• Consultative selling (we must think about solutions)


• ECO system selling (secures partner roles surrounding the customer)


• Team selling (you are the one in charge of all of the company resources)


• SPIN development (ask the right questions at the right time and listen)


• Account Management (once you have earned the business how can you help it grow)

That's it!

Sales Call Checklist

THE PREPARATION
Formulate a goal(s) of the visit and write it down
Check for practical arrangements, such a dress code
Arrange for an internal briefing to agree on the goals and propose an agenda
Issue the proposed agenda days ahead of the visit
Decide if there is a need for an NDA, carry 2-3 paper blank copies with you
Do research on the company to visit:
+ Check the web on latest press releases
+ Check with colleagues on work with related companies, investors, etc.
+ Call outside relationships to check if anything special is going on (Packeteer, Harris, other service providers, etc.)
+ Check stock price to see what kind of mood they are in
+ If they have products already, know the operator status of the previous day/week
Finally prepare a travel pack with directions, and approximate driving times

THE VISIT
Respect your customer
+ Be on-time, when late call in to let them know how late you will be
+ Make notes while being with the customer, in general ask for permission
Apply SPIN selling tools to acquire information
General information needed is:
+ Opportunity vs. timeline, how to we differentiate
+ Feature and service requirements, where to provide value add?
+ Budget allocations, which department, how much, what kind of spending cycle
+ Organization/Department structure, decision maker, informer, etc.
Summarize the meeting and agree on follow-up action points, focus at your goals/deliverables!
Schedule a follow-up meeting to go over the action points
When you leave the prospect ask yourself "what is his hobby?" You need to know how to make a personal touch at some point and I want you to make that call ahead of time. KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER.

THE FOLLOW-UP
Issue brief minutes on the meeting, not too long but with the essential information:
+ Date/Place of visit, full names/titles of people present, describe opportunity within the account vs. timeline
Actions that lead you to this goal with persons assigned
Write a thank you note to the person you visited within 1-week
+ Par 1, thank you and discussion topic description
+ Par 2, emphasize the key points, our added value followed by a short list of action points.
+ Par 3, start with "Name, I really..." and make a sincere statement where you think the relationship should go.
Follow-up on the agreed action points appropriately AND timely