- Is the primary function of your sales team to provide pricing?
- Do you hear your sales team complain they are losing deals due to price?
If so, your organization may be on it’s way to becoming a commodity.
Additionally, are you making important decisions based on quotes rather than the “opportunity?” If so, please read on.
While many organizations base a lot of decisions on quoting; developing organizations know that there is a lot that goes on prior to and after a quote
One of the most valuable pieces of information an organization can have is good knowledge of their market. This means knowing your customers, prospects, and what they need from you to run their business better.
Can you answer the following?
- What products and services are truly in demand right now?
- What impedes the close of a sale, process and or skill?
- What slows the process of closing a sale (opportunity)?
If your organization provides multiple prices and various configurations for the same potential sale, it is difficult to answer these questions. You may prepare three quotes for someone that will only purchase one item. Basing decisions on quotes can misrepresent activity and demand in the market. Additionally it does not allow you to accurately see why sales are lost or slowed. You need something to bring the quoting/pricing information together. This is the Opportunity.
Identifying and tracking opportunities not only allows you understand your marketplace, it provides you the necessary information to understand your team. One of the most highly underutilized and valuable aspects of CRM is its’ ability to show where team members need help. If you want to get real value out of a CRM utilize sales opportunities to find where they struggle in the sales process. You might be shocked how early in the process it is and yet how easily it can be fixed.
With all this said, there are opportunities that start with a price. For those scenarios, Handle has a way to streamline this process to get to the quote quickly without losing the ability to track the opportunity. Opportunities can apply to anything you sell (products and services). All of them have conversations that lead up to the sale and activities to fulfill them.
Tip:
Discuss opportunities on a weekly basis. Talk about how to move them forward if possible. If someone on your sales team thinks an opportunity is stuck or dead, the best thing to do is talk to a manager or peer that knows that customer about it. This provides an amazing opportunity to provide new perspectives that can be used to turn opportunities around.
Key Points:
- If the primary function of your sales team is to provide pricing, your organization may be becoming a commodity.
- One of the most valuable pieces of information an organization can have is good knowledge of their market.
- Do not think of opportunities only in terms of the primary products you sell, it can be anything that leads to a sale.
- Discussing opportunities weekly provides an amazing opportunity to provide new perspectives that can be used to turn opportunities around.