Building a sales pipeline through referrals

“Do you help with lead gen?” This is a question that always makes us pause. The outcome of successful lead gen is more sales…but surely it’s a marketing activity isn’t it? Similarly, there’s often questions around whose job it is to gain referrals and introductions. If you read marketing textbooks they’ll tell you marketing is…

Does every business need a sales pipeline?

Part of our Sales Untangled promise is to make business simple. So whenever this question gets asked we’re always willing to listen to why the questioner thinks their business can manage without one. [Note: This is a topic where terminology varies. For the purpose of this article we’re using the terms sales funnel and sales…

How to create meaningful sales measures

We wrote last month about the importance of sales funnel measures. This month we’re focusing more on sales measures and results. How many sales measures should I have? A question you might want to consider is how many sales measures you should have. We’ve seen everything from one to twenty! We’ve yet to see a…

The importance of sales funnel metrics

Sales is all about the numbers, right? If you’re in a sales job and you’re falling short of budget then you’ll have questions to answer. In some organisations if you miss target for three months in a row you’ll be out of the door. It’s a target-driven environment and results count. But this is all…

Sales Suspect vs. Prospect: How do you define your Suspects?

If you enjoy a good TV cop drama you could be well on the way to answering this one. So what are we talking about when it comes to a Sales Suspect vs. Prospect? A Suspect is someone who’s better defined than just a lead. You’ve done enough research into their attributes, challenges and needs…

What’s Customer Lifetime Value and why is it important?

Sometimes, companies will be all over you when you’re making your initial purchase but will disappear as soon as you’ve made your decision to buy. This may be because they don’t understand the importance of customer lifetime value.

Where does marketing stop and sales start?

This is one of the most important handover points to get right in any company. But the boundaries are really fuzzy. How many times have you heard comments like this? “We could improve performance if only Sales followed up on the leads we give them” “We could grow sales if only Marketing gave us decent…

Overcoming sales objections

Sales objections aren’t always what they seem. A lack of immediate agreement to buy does not automatically mean “No”. It might mean “I have another question you’ve not answered yet”. Learning to embrace sales objections rather than fear them can make all the difference to whether you win a sale or let an opportunity slip…

Achieving sales goals

How a focus on skills delivers goals Every WHAT needs a HOW Whether you succeed in achieving your goals. Whether you successfully pivot your business, or whether you struggle to keep things on track – your personal impact upon WHAT your business achieves is defined by HOW you go about it. Are your goals SMART?…

Driving growth with an effective sales funnel

Using the sales funnel to ensure your sales activity delivers your sales growth It’s one thing to have an aspirational target for the turnover of your business. It’s quite another to understand and execute the sales activity required to achieve that. What is your sales funnel? This is where a sales funnel comes in. This…

Am I where I think I am in business?

Business sales review - Sales Untangled team hiking in the moors

During a really important pitch to a new client…and of course within your business. Taking Stock Now’s a great time to be taking stock, reflecting and learning. It’s an opportunity to adjust your plans, refine your activity or leverage something you’ve become really good at. 2020 didn’t go to plan for most people. But there’ll…

Client Case Study: Sales funnel management for technology and SaaS companies.

Are my biggest customers receiving the focus they deserve? The question asked at the very begining of this case study! Clients often come to us with concerns about sales forecasts and sales funnel management. Anybody in charge of a business needs to know their sales funnel is reliable. When you’re in the middle of September…