How your sales pipeline improves business finances

If you are struggling to meet your business goals, then it could be that you need to work on your sales pipeline.

Your sales pipeline can help improve your finances because you have a better idea of what deals could be around the corner. Being prepared is essential to ensure you don’t overlook future cash flow issues.

Simply waiting to look at your weekly or monthly bank balance isn’t the most productive way of running a business. Studying your cash flow and management accounts are essential to grow your business.

But your pipeline is just as important!

And this is particularly significant as the UK faces growing economic weakness. It’s better to look ahead and understand what is in your pipeline now, than try to react later when you realise you sales are drying up.

What is a sales pipeline?

Every business has a sales process. Not every business has the same approach, so to understand yours you need to picture your process as a roadmap.

The map outlines each step your sales team needs to take to secure sales deals. Once this has been drawn, you will have your sales pipeline. It sounds simple, but many businesses fail to produce a sales pipeline. Without this visual representation of the sales process, you might miss roadblocks or overlook possible delays.

The pipeline isn’t a sales funnel. Although similar, the pipeline helps your sales team focus on where deals might hit delays. By focusing on those areas, you can work on them to ensure deals are closed and sales completed. This helps your business increase sales and income. And that means you and your business can reach the goals you’ve set.

A typical sales pipeline

Sales pipelines are usually segmented stages. These are usually:

Lead generation or prospecting. This identifies potential clients as well as sources of business.
Lead qualification. This helps you assess whether the lead is a good fit for your company’s service or goods.
Nurturing and contacting. Once you identify needs you need to engage with them, including building good working relationships.
Create a proposal. As leads become more interested in your business, you enter the proposal stage. This includes presenting a formal proposal.
Negotiation. In the negotiation stage, your leads may seek discounts or may ask you to customise your offering.
Close your sale. At this stage, your prospect can become a customer once they accept your proposal.
Follow up. Your sales process shouldn’t simply end when a prospect buys your goods or services. Focusing on customer satisfaction and building loyalty can lead to repeat business and referrals.

Cleaning up your sales pipeline

If your pipeline is inaccurate, you could be spending time and money in areas that are not successful. Without a clear sales pipeline, you cannot build a simple picture of what potential sales are likely in future. As a result, you cannot organise your business finances or make plans for growth.

There are steps will help clean up your sales pipeline.

1. Update lead information. Have you got the correct contact details for your leads? Having dated information means you could be wasting time trying to contact someone who has moved on.

2. Remove unqualified and inactive leads. Some leads may never buy from you, despite how good your relationship is. If that’s the case, then it’s best not to spend too much time on those who will never buy from you.

3. Review your pipelines regularly. Managing your pipeline is all about being proactive. Evaluating your pipelines and removing bottlenecks means your pipeline will flow better.

Implementing these practices helps maintain a healthy sales pipeline that supports your team and helps achieve your revenue goals.