Aggressive marketing does not guarantee sales. Today, customers approach brands at their own pace, through one or more devices, and across multiple channels. Thus, businesses need to devise effective ways to engage them, no matter where they are. And sales teams need ways to track all opportunities across their sales pipeline and convert them into revenue.
What if there was a tool that could help them make the most of these opportunities, connect with the right people at the right time, and tie it all up with critical user information?
CRM is the answer.
Why CRM For B2B Pipeline Management?
CRM (customer relationship management) software helps businesses engage existing and potential customers based on data analysis and eliminate guesswork. This explains the staggering rise of CRM adoption, which went from 56% to 74% in 2022. According to the same report, 91% of businesses with more than 10 employees now use CRM.
With CRM, businesses can access a 360-degree overview of each person who interacts with them, and pipeline management becomes easier. CRM provides reliable customer data, and companies can decide their next-best action based on that data.
Any B2B sales teams looking to build solid customer relationships need to invest in a CRM. CRM tools help you plan and manage your opportunities and understand the context your sales reps need to convert these precious opportunities into revenue.
Let us look at four ways you can use CRM to energize your sales pipeline.
4 Ways To Use CRM To Improve Sales Pipeline Management
#1 Get A Bird’s Eye- View of All Your Opportunities
Once you qualify a prospect, you have an opportunity at hand. Every opportunity is precious, and mismanagement can be very expensive for a sales team! But, with CRM software, you can rest assured of staying on top of every sales opportunity – from the time you discover them to the time you close a deal.
With a centralized dashboard, you can see all the necessary information at a glance. You can track how close you are to your expected revenue, which accounts need immediate attention, and more. Plus, you can use filters to narrow down opportunities based on specific criteria, and then decide how you can push them through your sales pipeline.
#2 Use CRM Recommendations to Prioritize Your Opportunities
Sales teams often juggle too many opportunities at any given time. While a large number of opportunities is an excellent position to be in, sometimes the volume can be overwhelming. You may find it hard to focus on the ones that need your immediate attention or struggle to decide which opportunity has the best chance of generating revenue. So, why not let the CRM do the heavy lifting?
CRM tools use AI algorithms to identify the best opportunities in your sales pipeline. With the CRM’s recommendations, you can prioritize which accounts to approach first.
#3 Collaborate More Effectively
A sales team cannot succeed in the absence of effective collaboration among the team members. CRM platforms have built-in collaboration tools through which you can connect with your peers, coordinate your sales activities, share your progress, and exchange ideas.
#4 Access Reports and Analytics Data
There is no room for ‘intelligent guesses’ and ‘gut feelings in a modern sales team. The sales process needs to be analytics-driven and data-backed. Once you’ve gathered leads in your pipeline, the next step is the crucial task of moving them through the sales cycle. At this stage, even minor slip-ups can result in missed opportunities, dormant deals, and lost revenue.
CRM software is equipped with the intelligence to process data from different sources. CRM algorithms mine the data to discover hidden insights and summarize valuable findings into succinct reports to guide sales teams toward success.
CRM And Pipeline Management: Final Thoughts
By deploying a CRM, you get a holistic view of your opportunities. You can visualize the journey of each participant in your sales pipeline, assess where they stand, and how close they are to sealing the deal.
If you run a growing business, a CRM is an indispensable sales tool in your tech stack. As your company expands, your leads, opportunities, and prospects will increase. By investing in a robust CRM system, you will quickly be able to support and manage the vast volume of sales data in your pipeline. By deploying a CRM early on, you set yourself up for success.
