Sales Process Alignment

Have you ever been in a 1:1 where the pipeline is a hot mess? Been on a call and you don’t understand why you are on it? We all have. For me I wanted to make sure that everyone knew the expectations on where the pipeline should be based on the action taken. This does a few things for the seller, team and org:

1. Every Resource is Used at the Proper Moment

2. Forecast Clarity for rollups and weight based forecasting

3. A repeatable process that is easy to follow

There is always the AE that wants to bring the cavalry on the first call. Sales Engineer, Executive Sponsor, Professional Services, their Dentist, 7th grade teacher, Seal Team 6, etc. The thing is that this frustrates the resources. Why am I spending time on the call with an IT MGR for a project that is not budget approved? It can also be overkill for the prospect.

You laugh but I’ve been on a fair share of these calls. It would be easy to jump down the rep’s throat and make them feel 1 inch tall. For me, this was an indicator that as a leader I haven’t set the rep up for success. If they don’t understand what to do on the first call then I need to provide the bumper rails.

So I am going to outline my process. I’m going to start at the MQL level. See here:

This is a simple step of a MQL lead coming in, BDR jumps on it and a meeting is set with the AE. The handshake between marketing and sales has begun for top of funnel conversion. It’s not accepted into the pipeline yet but we are starting to thin out our sales qualified leads.

Now for the BDR I would recommend a simple BANT process to check the boxes. Sometimes AEs get senioritis so this creates a simple agreement of what a valid Stage 1 opp is. From here I want my AEs working through their discovery criteria for the next step:

This is really important operationally for a few reasons.

1. What pipeline am I accepting as real Sales Accepted Pipeline

2. I will measure closure rates at Stage 2 which is a key KPI I will report to my Board on

3. My leadership effectives will be measured on closure rates

4. Revenue will increase with higher conversion rates of quality pipeline

It also allows me to see how a BDR is performing. If they are setting up bad Stage 1 opps that are dieing out then it will surface here. If AEs are under piped and they are spitting on too many deals it will also show up here.

Additionally, I’m letting my marketing department know how their programs are performing. If MQLs are high but opp conversion is low then maybe we have the wrong contacts/companies in our database. We’ll need to look at our Demand Gen programs together.

Stage 1 and 2 opps are also classified in the “pipeline” forecast category. This is a necessary classification for weight based forecasts and I like to take 25% of the total revenue. 2 schools of thought here…

1. Use 2 stages per forecast category

2. Weigh revenue based on stages but classify them in groups

I prefer the former rather than the latter but that is just me. You can’t go wrong if you have a 4 model system for forecasting (rep rollup, leadership rollup, weight based forecast & stage based forecast). I like a 3 model system but that’s just me.

From there I am moving the deal along and starting to bring in resources. Namely my Sales Engineer to assist in a demo and trial setup. See here:

In my pipeline I am engaging my technical resources to start building momentum on the solution. My AE should be quarterbacking the meetings in these stages but I am leaning on my Sales Engineer to drive value.

I’m also moving it into a new forecast category called “Best Case.” From a percentage standpoint I’m assuming 50% of this revenue will come in. As a leader this is the category that I start to look at on which deals I need to be involved in. Bonus points if you put a field in for Exec Sponsor on your opportunity layout once it hits stage 3.

The next stages are the most important…. COMMIT. See here:

This is a blood oath to the team and company that this deal is coming in. We are weighing this at 100%, meaning I’m going to get it. If I don’t then I need to figure it out with another deal. This is a hard statement but it stresses the importance to the rep that we don’t move ops into this category unless we 100% know we are going to get it.

I’ve gotten a verbal from my champion and I am sending over necessary documents needed for the procurement process.

Another benefit of the 2 stage per forecast category is that it gives me an “Lower” and “Upper” likelihood. I can have a bottom weighted Best Case or a top heaving Pipeline category. It just creates more understanding of you deals.

By documenting this process you can also define what resources are used at what stage:

Again clarity is paramount here. Knowing which chess piece to bring in at what stage keeps the deals flowing efficiently. Getting out of order just screws up the whole process. I also run a pipeline that always moves forward. No downgrading stages. Ever. Period. No exceptions.

Establishing an easy stage process aligns your whole team. Everyone knows what to do at each stage. The analogy I love to give is that if the rep is hit by a bus then someone else can step in and immediately know where the deal is. More importantly you provide clarity for all your resources on what is needed and what to expect.