![\"Kanban](\"https:\/\/chartmogul.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/unnamed.gif\")
Using kanban in your sales team<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
As a sales leader, I like to start my day by reviewing the existing sales opportunities, in the negotiation stage<\/a>, closest to becoming customers. <\/strong>I\u2019ll read through the latest activity on each sales opportunity, and ask the sales rep \u201cwhat is needed to get this deal across the line?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I coach my team to ask themselves this question when managing their sales pipeline, starting from right to left. First, reviewing their opportunities in negotiation<\/a>, then evaluation<\/a>, then discovery<\/a>; making sure they\u2019re clear on what is needed to progress each opportunity to the next stage. This sets up their priorities for the week, and shows me where I can help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kanban is a visual project management tool which brings clarity, a motivating sense of progress and makes it easy to spot issues and crunch points. But to get the most from it, your sales pipeline stages need to be clearly defined and understood by the whole team. Knowing when an opportunity is qualified for the next stage of the sales pipeline is crucial, so here\u2019s a rundown of how I do this for my team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note: it\u2019s likely that your sales process is different for new business vs. renewals, and therefore have different stages. For example, at ChartMogul, our renewal pipeline is divided into: negotiation, verbal commit and closed won\/lost. We also have different sales funnel for cross selling. Learn more<\/u><\/a> about how to customize sales opportunity stages and design sales pipelines in ChartMogul CRM. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The first stage of our sales pipeline is all about confirming that the company’s products product is the right fit for the sales prospect. We need clarity that we can help them achieve their goal(s) within a reasonable amount of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Discovery is the sales rep\u2019s chance to ask questions, listen closely and really understand customer needs and what problems they’re trying to solve. It\u2019s also the time to make sure everyone involved in the purchase is on the same page about how our product can help them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over time, sales and marketing teams across the industry have developed sales discovery frameworks that help to guide sales reps through structured conversations with the customer to decide whether they are a qualified prospect. Using one of these frameworks is an easy way to make sure you\u2019re collecting all the critical information needed to decide whether the product is right for the potential customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At ChartMogul, we use NTA-ab with prospective customers, which is similar to BANT, turned on its head. I like this discovery framework because it prioritizes what the customer cares about: can our solution solve their problem in a reasonable time frame, better than alternative solutions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the discovery stage, my focus as sales lead is to ensure discovery is thorough, consistent across all sales reps and sets a strong foundation for the rest of the sales cycle. Sales opportunities in the discovery stage are in their infancy, so I only assign them a 10% win likelihood\u2013\u2013we just don\u2019t have enough information yet to assume higher. Opportunities at this stage are in the Pipeline forecast category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The evaluation stage in SaaS sales is about demonstrating how the product or service fits the customer\u2019s needs, meets their criteria, addresses their pain points and above all, solves their problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s the sales rep\u2019s job to showcase the value of the solution, tailored to the prospective customer\u2019s specific use cases, and estimate the effort needed to get it up and running. Typically this means personalized demos, answering detailed and often technical questions and making sure the customer\u2019s decision-makers understand how the product will make their lives easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At ChartMogul, opportunities at the evaluation stage will almost always have a trial account as they explore and get to know the product. Trials should have specific criteria for success. You want your sales reps to work with the customer to guide them through how they\u2019ll use the product and what they need to see. Always set a deadline for a trial so you can drive urgency and get feedback about whether the customer is going to move forward or not. The goal is to build confidence with the potential customer and make it clear that out of all the alternatives, your product or service is the right choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For sales managers, make sure your reps are staying on top of their opportunities at the evaluation stage and addressing the customer\u2019s key concerns. You can track activity via tasks<\/a>, read through email communication, watch demo recordings and check the latest notes in your own CRM software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the evaluation stage, you have a lot more information about the opportunity. We assign them a 50% win likelihood, and opportunities at this stage are in the Best Case forecast category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The negotiation stage is when pricing and billing terms are finalized, with the focus on getting a final purchase decision and converting them into paying customers, and happy customers.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The sales rep\u2019s goal is to reach an agreement that feels win-win: fair to the customer and aligned with the business. Their focus should be on handling last-minute objections, making sure contracts are understood, and most importantly, that the customer feels confident about signing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s also a good time to start getting ready to move the customer into the onboarding process once the deal is closed. Knowing who will be involved in implementation, booking times for end user training and agreeing on an onboarding timeline will help the customer have confidence and set expectations with your customer success team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For sales managers, the negotiation stage is about making sure the deal aligns with company goals and doesn\u2019t get stuck. Watch for how much time opportunities spend in negotiation; it\u2019s a sticky stage and while the deal is almost across the line, it\u2019s not won yet. You also want to keep an eye on how closely your sales team follows discounting policies and maintain your target average deal size. With a big team, a deal desk is a great solution to help reps get advice on how best to structure the terms of the opportunity, and provides convenient oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In ChartMogul you configure how many stages you have in your sales pipeline, the win likelihood of each stage from 0% – 100%, and the forecast category for each stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Opportunities in the negotiation stage are backed by a verbal commitment by the potential customer that they will be signing once the final details are agreed to. This means that you can have a lot more confidence that these sales opportunities will close and therefore, we assign them with an 80% win likelihood. These opportunities land in the Committed forecast category, expected to close on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ChartMogul offers three main forecast categories for sales opportunities:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn more<\/a> about opportunity forecast categories and how to use the Forecast Category Report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the closed stages, the deal is done! <\/p>\n\n\n\n If it\u2019s closed won<\/em><\/strong>,<\/em> we have executed all necessary documents in order to bill the customer and have what\u2019s required to execute a successful implementation. The sales rep makes sure all paperwork is signed, billing is set up, and everything needed for a smooth handoff to the onboarding and customer relationship management team is in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If it\u2019s closed lost<\/em><\/strong>, <\/em>the deal didn\u2019t go through. It\u2019s important that the rep records why it was lost, to the best of their knowledge. At ChartMogul we use standard closed lost reasons, supplemented by notes from the rep to help us analyze trends and improve for the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep the team in the loop on sales performance by sharing an automatic weekly sales recap<\/u><\/a> to your team\u2019s Slack channel so they can celebrate alongside you, and help motivate your sales team to create more deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\nManaging sales opportunities at ChartMogul<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Our new business sales pipeline at ChartMogul is divided into four stages:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n
Discovery: prescription without diagnosis is malpractice<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Common sales team discovery frameworks:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n
In order to move the sales opportunity to the next stage, the sales rep must have NTA-ab established, proving this is a qualified prospect.<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Evaluation: provide a compelling, actionable and easy-to-understand solution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Do you offer potential customers free trials of your product or service?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"Creating](\"https:\/\/chartmogul.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/b85dfc3f-32b6-4843-a77f-1354a6f737e3.png\")
To move the sales opportunity to the next stage, the prospective customer must confirm they\u2019re ready to figure out the contract and billing, and the sales rep needs to know what the remaining steps are to close the deal.<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Negotiation: “We\u2019re not here to sell. We\u2019re here to negotiate.<\/em>” <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Understanding sales opportunity forecast categories<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/chartmogul.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/92bd33d4-5ef0-49d2-8481-e122e1930262-1024x652.png\")
To move to sales opportunity to the next stage, the potential customer must sign the contract and\/or follow the billing link to kick off their subscription.<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Closed won 🎉 \u2026and lost 😔<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Example sales opportunity closed lost reasons: <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/chartmogul.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/unnamed.jpg\")