Does CRM opportunity management support predictable sales forecasts?

All too often, opportunity management in CRM does not allow Sales Leaders to objectively see how well sales are progressing or pipeline quality. These are serious shortfalls leading to false forecasting and inexact sales processes. The cost to organisations is high.

Customers tell us they invest in CRMs and sales training to address the challenges of poor forecasting and win rates, but they fail to deliver a ROI. They are not addressing the root causes:

• Sales productivity is often less than desired
• Sales probabilities are frequently inaccurate
• Leaders measure what the salesperson is doing, not the customer
• Companies lack a common sales language

Research shows the power shift from seller to buyer and selling cycles getting shorter. Qualification and pipeline management skills are now more critical for success.

Let me share a story with you.

An MD called us. They had invested in a CRM and sales training but still had problems. The concerns they shared were:

• Opportunities were slipping month to month
• “Dead cert” deals were lost
• Sales people were optimistic and didn’t seem skilled enough
• Valuable time was lost chasing bad deals

They were frustrated and wrestling with the challenge of accurate forecasting and sales productivity. They were feeling under pressure from the Board and wanted to understand what they could do to change this. Having heard about SCOTSMAN® through their Chairman they contacted us to ask for our help.

They needed to address their sales process and the behaviours of their people.

We highlighted limitations of the current sales process in their CRM – opportunity management requires more than measuring stages of sale and probabilities. There were also gaps in the sales team’s skills. Qualification was not used throughout the sale to drive the sales process.

After a demo of our SCOTSMAN® Commitment Manager, they quickly understood why this was the missing link to predictable forecasting. They were pleased that the solution could be simply added to their current process and were confident about the quick results it could bring.

We then ran a pilot of our 1-day Qualification and Pipeline Management programme. This wasn’t just about training, but about combining processes and behaviours. By really understanding how to qualify and get customer commitments to progress sales they could improve productivity and win rates. They were finally addressing the root causes.

Their results in their words:

“In Board meetings I now feel less stressed as I understand opportunities in detail with KPIs to back me up.”

“The team can now see much earlier on which are bad deals. Imagine the time and resources saved by deciding not to bid!”

“We find we are not coming second as often. We are winning more deals as are focused on those where we have a chance of winning.”

Advance has developed the SCOTSMAN® Commitment Manager for CRMs that is the missing link to predictable sales forecasts.

Read our white paper to learn how it:
• Gives a forensic understanding of the pipeline
• Tackles root causes so all product/sector/skills training achieves a better ROI
• Is easy to implement, irrespective of current sales processes or existing investments in sales training.

Alternatively, contact us to have a demo of the app and organise a 1-day programme.

See for yourself the massive improvements it can make to your opportunity management and how our enablement solutions deliver transformational results for companies.