A B2B sales funnel is more than just a “set of deal stages The Perfect B2B Sales Funnel: A Step-by-Step Plan .”
It reflects the actual decision-making process within the customer company. The more complex the product and the higher its cost, the longer local marketing email list the transaction cycle.
Yulia Pyankova, head of the CRM and Integrations unit at Completo, told us how to build a sales funnel in CRM so that the system works for results.
How to Build a Sales Funnel That Works
Companies often make mistakes: they copy competitors’ funnels, add too many stages, or, conversely, simplify the process to the point of losing logic.
In this article we will look at building a sales funnel, namely:
- What stages of the sales funnel need to be taken into account;
- How to identify bottlenecks that cause deals to be delayed;
- How to build a simple sales funnel that actually works;
- How to prepare a funnel before transferring it to CRM.
This analysis will be useful both for the russian market has potential those who are creating a sales funnel for the first time, and for experienced specialists who want to review the logic of their processes.
Example of a sales funnel. Image from the author’s archive
Step 1: Analyze the sales business process
A common mistake when implementing CRM is to start with technical settings without understanding the sales logic.
For example, one of our Clients has already chosen a CRM, but faced the question: where to start?
When we asked how they build sales funnels, whether they have a clear plan or a written specification, the head of the sales department answered: “The integrators have already offered us a scheme.”
Implementing a CRM without first analyzing the processes can leave a company with a funnel that does not reflect the actual sales process.
That is why it is important to first understand the stages and logic of work before setting up the system, to understand how transactions actually take place. To do this, it is necessary to collect information from those who are directly involved in sales.
Who is needed:
- Head of Sales – to understand taiwan data strategy and control transactions.
- Sales managers know exactly how to interact with clients.
- Marketer – can provide data on the quality of leads and their conversion.
- The CEO (if the business is small) sees the process at the decision-making level.
It’s worth asking them:
- What happens after the application is received?
- What customer interaction scenarios exist?
- What objections do managers face?
- How does the deferred demand process work?
- At what stage do customers most often get lost?
It is important not only to write down the answers, but also to record the problem areas. For example, if managers say that deals are stuck at the approval stage, you need to understand what exactly is slowing down the process: slow document flow, lack of materials or protracted negotiations.
After the interview, the information should be visualized in the form of a diagram (map) of current business processes.
The more accurately this map is drawn, the easier it will be to create a sales funnel that reflects the realities of the business.