I am a long time propagator of the “Mental CRM”; a champion for sticky notes and note pads. I have drawers full of yellow and white legal pads full of notes, important action items, lists, and follow ups. I’ve resisted using a more formal process for organizing my pipeline for a long time but have finally been converted by HubSpot.
I often lied to myself and said that doing it this way ensured a more personal touch to my interactions with clients, but in reality, all that was happening was creating a system designed to allow people and tasks to slip through the cracks. I left money on the table because I didn’t have enough automation.
If you’re a sticky note hero, spreadsheet guru, or email inbox champion. You should strongly consider looking into HubSpot. HubSpots sales pipeline isn’t just a CRM, it creates clarity and opportunity for revenue generation.
What is a sales pipeline?
At its core, it’s a visual representation of where your deals are in your process. It doesn’t matter if your sales force is a one man show or a large team, having a sales pipeline that is accessible and visible is integral for growth.
A pipeline isn’t just for tracking deals though, it can be used for diagnosing stalled deals or sticky points in your sales process. It can also be used for forecasting and optimizing revenue growth.
Why does tracking leads and deals matter?
Businesses often put their focus on existing customers or those that are ready to purchase, which is great, but in doing so they often ignore the importance of keeping your funnel full. One of the key levers for growing revenue is successful management of your prospective customers. Maintaining visibility and engagement with where these prospects are in your funnel matters for 3 key reasons:
- Reducing and eliminating missed follow ups. If prospects are falling through the cracks you lose momentum and losing momentum is costly for growth.
- Forecasting your sales. It’s impossible to scale your business without knowing how much revenue you can expect to generate over a given time period. If forecasting is short of your goals then you can make business decisions on how to make up that difference and design new strategies.
- Identify bottlenecks. Seeing where deals are getting stuck and which sales reps might need additional training or support.
HubSpot Removes The Friction From Sales Tracking
HubSpot’s sales pipeline tools are designed for clarity and usability. It enables reps to stay focused on customers and prospects as opposed to managing data. Here are a few key points that make HubSpot standout:
- Customizable Deal Stages
- Tailor fit each stage of the pipeline to match YOUR sales process. Whether your process is short and sweet with just a few stages or longer with lots of steps, Hubspot lets you create a flow unique to you.
- Automated Reminders & Workflows
- This is the big one for me. Set tasks and automated workflow items to not miss a follow up again. Reminders, tasks, and even email sequences can all be created to ensure deals are engaged with at the right time with the right content.
- Drag and Drop Simplicity
- The pipeline is easy to manage and move deals through different stages in your process. Spend time selling and closing, not clicking buttons in a system.
- Reporting
- Access real time reports for close rates, average deal size, performance and more without having to ever open a spreadsheet
The Cost Of The “Mental CRM”
No matter how good I thought I was keeping track of clients and writing everything down, I inevitably let orders slip through the cracks, or prospects go cold. I’d focus too much time on a given lead or customer, letting others get forgotten and move on to a new company.
A mentor of mine used to always say “momentum is a funny thing, when you’ve got it you can’t be stopped, but when you lose it it’s almost impossible to get it back.” My “Mental CRM” often hurt momentum as opposed to building it.
Time To Get Serious
If you’re serious about scaling business and growing revenue, then having a tool like HubSpot’s sales pipeline isn’t a luxury, it is a REQUIREMENT. It gives you visibility, and provides your team with the tools needed follow up faster, sell smarter, and close more consistently.
Whether you’re managing a few, dozens, or hundreds of deals, having a system that shows you the full picture of your pipeline is necessary for growth.
Want to learn more about how you can use HubSpot to grow your business? As HubSpot implementation partners, our team at Big Red Jelly would love to help you out.
