Precision forecasting and pipeline management

Additional Services

Forecasting & pipeline management

Improving pipeline management and forecasting is a key outcome of sales enablement.

By having a high performing team, effective CRM and sales systems, you'll be in a much better position to get your sales forecasting right. 

In this dynamic business environment, being innovative in how you leverage data and technology is not just an advantage; it's a necessity.

My approach is built around supporting your business in unlocking the full potential of your sales data, ensuring that you're not just reacting to market trends, but anticipating them. Trust me to guide you towards a future where every decision is informed, every strategy is data-driven, and every forecast is a step closer to your business goals.

Once you master the art of accurate forecasting, you'll begin to discern patterns that were previously obscured by the fog of uncertainty. Identifying which deals or opportunities are genuine and align with your business focus isn't just beneficial; it's transformative. This isn't about randomly chasing every lead; it's about strategically pursuing the ones that fit seamlessly into the broader vision of your business.

You'll not only predict future sales with greater accuracy, but also shape the future of your business with each strategic move you make.

Remember, the journey towards improving pipeline management and forecasting is continuous and evolving. Together, we'll ensure that your sales enablement efforts lead to sustained growth and success for your business.

Perfecting buyer personas

By having realistic buyer personas, your sales team will be much more successful - they'll know exactly who to qualify and who to unqualify.

I'm here to empower your Marketing and Sales teams in creating these pivotal sales personas collaboratively

It never ceases to astonish me how many adept sales professionals exhaust their energies on leads that, ultimately, will not culminate in conversion, but by having an accurate buyer persona(s your salespeople will know who is worth their time and who isn’t.

Moreover, these personas should lay the groundwork for all marketing endeavours, ensuring a single message between sales and marketing materials.

I’m always amazed how easily sales communications can stray off-course, and how marketing's vision can sometimes veer from the reality on the ground. Well-crafted personas are the key to bridging these gaps, ensuring a unified and effective strategy.

Product training & alignment

Today's buyers are more informed than anyone before - this means that 'winging it' just won't cut the mustard anymore..

Your sales team must be well-versed in:

  • The intricacies of your products
  • The dynamics of your industry
  • Your competitors' strategies and offerings
  • The unique benefits that set you apart from the competition
  • The ways in which your products address the specific challenges identified with your clients

Moreover, it's crucial that they're adept at thinking on their toes during presentations, ensuring that they're not just sharing information, but directly responding to the needs and concerns of your clients. Demonstrations should be customized to highlight how your solutions align with the client's unique challenges.

Achieving this level of preparedness and adaptability is no small feat.

Transforming your product team's catalogue of features into compelling selling points that resonate with your customer base is a crucial step in this journey.

Allow me to guide your Sales and Marketing teams through a tailored, dynamic learning process—ensuring they're not just acquainted with your products, but are champions of your brand, ready to effectively engage and convert.

Marketing & Sales alignment

Aligning your Sales and Marketing teams into a cohesive unit presents a formidable challenge, yet it is a crucial step towards achieving unparalleled success in your business endeavors.

Consider this: Marketing and Sales are akin to two sides of the same coin, each with distinct goals. Marketing endeavors to attract 'leads' into the pipeline, while Sales focuses on transforming these qualified leads into concrete sales. The disparity in their objectives often leads to a common scenario where the Marketing team is confident in the quantity of leads generated, and yet, the Sales team finds the quality lacking. Or, when Sales feels a campaign has fallen short, despite Marketing's reports of high engagement.

This misalignment stems from a lack of synergy between the two teams, leaving each unaware of the other's strategies and accomplishments.

I'm here to guide you on a transformative journey where both Sales and Marketing not only align, but thrive together, learning from each other and operating as a singular, well-oiled machine.

Through developing a shared understanding and utilizing targeted buyer personas, Marketing will deliver precisely the right leads into the sales funnel. Simultaneously, Sales will expertly qualify these leads, employing mutually crafted campaign materials for more focussed (and therefore more successful) pitches.

This collaboration not only enhances efficiency but also opens avenues for refining marketing strategies, ensuring a steady flow of increasingly qualified leads ready to buy. 

Case Studies

Phil's previous projects

Phils Projects - Case studies of projects I've undertaken in the past - Maximizing Salesforce: Tailoring Your CRM for Optimal Performance

Maximizing Salesforce: Tailoring Your CRM for Optimal Performance

Introduction of new enrolment process to aid MI returns and audit in Q2 2002.
Background:

As part of a large contract, Avado is required to report on learner MI and provide records for audit. However, we had no formal way of tracking the learners enrolled using the contract and so could not report the data adequately or accurately potentially breaching our contractual obligations

Solution:
  • A new ‘contract’ record was created to hold the contract and subsequent orders
  • A new Salesforce process was set up where learners are tagged as they are onboarded using information from the Contract record
  • Salesforce data was linked to learner tracking data
Results:
  • Seamless MI reporting – we are now no longer in breach of our contractual obligations
  • All learners tracked with minimal additional process work
  • Contractual audits have become much easier
  • Identify what levy funds are required to be paid over.
Phils Projects - Case studies of projects I've undertaken in the past - Sales and marketing alignment: Outbound marketing

Sales and marketing alignment: Outbound marketing

In 2022, I lead the development of a sales marketing cadence for the B2C sales team which integrated their contact sequence into the marketing nurture comms in a much more organised way:
  • The marketing nurture flow was refreshed for new leads,
  • A new marketing nurture flow was created for leads and sales opportunities that were closed down directing customers to our eCommerce platform,
  • ‘Contact Us’ form on the website and the associated HubSpot flow was re-developed to include nurture flow for B2B contacts
  • A new schedule of in-month marketing sends was developed and reported on
Results:
  • Increased contact rate with customers with leads being qualified earlier and a reduction in opportunities ‘losing momentum’ – improving sales win rate.
  • Increased contact with B2B clients improving outreach.
  • Improved sales on eCommerce platform.