{"id":4207,"date":"2016-04-25T16:52:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T16:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=4207"},"modified":"2023-11-14T21:40:18","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T21:40:18","slug":"segment-your-sales-funnel-and-close-more-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/ca\/blog\/segment-your-sales-funnel-and-close-more-opportunities\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Segment Your Sales Funnel And Close More Opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s common to talk about moving a prospect through the sales funnel. Yet organizations place incredible pressure on teams to improve their average close rates and shorten the sales cycle. But to do this effectively, sales leaders must ensure enough resources are provided to optimize every step of the sales process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a company, do you know how to segment prospects and customers so you can more effectively use the funnel?<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of batching pipeline contacts into one broad category, mature sales organizations use a variety of filters to segment their leads and close more opportunities. In this article, we explain what the main segments in a traditional sales funnel are and how to use them to your advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rajiv Sharma\u2019s 6 Stages of a Standard Sales Funnel<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Sales Accepted Leads (SALs)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Opportunities in Value Proposition phase<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Opportunities in Demonstration phase<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Opportunities in Negotiation phase<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Opportunity won <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"\/\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The six traditional stages of enterprise sales<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    According to sales expert Rajiv Sharma, there are six main stages<\/a> of a standard sales funnel.<\/u><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    This is where your typical sales funnel starts, with an indiscriminate list of prospects who must be vetted prior to having your sales team make initial contact. To grow this portion of the sales funnel, Aaron Orendorff recommends<\/a> using six tools to compel prospects to opt into the sales process. Those include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Calls to action<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Images<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Coupons and incentives<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Onsite banner ads<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. Custom pricing<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    6. Segmented emails<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Also, to ensure more MQLs become sales accepted leads (SALs), companies can commission their marketing team to generate more leads from sources that historically deliver ready-to-buy prospects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      2. Sales Accepted Leads (SALs)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      To get to the second stage of the sales process, salespeople sift through the list of MQLs to develop a more targeted list of SALs. These SALs meet criteria that sales teams have for the type of prospect they believe may convert into a sale. This is often a quick screening process that includes light research about the prospect online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Since the subsequent steps are labor intensive, it is imperative that sales reps carefully filter their list of MQLs to identify leads that are most likely to have the budget, authority, need, and timing to purchase their solutions. At this point, sales teams reach out to SALs to better qualify each lead and potentially convert them into sales opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      3. Opportunities in Value Proposition phase<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Once a lead is converted into an opportunity, salespeople must conduct further needs discovery to see if there is proper alignment between the value their product offers and the expressed and latent needs of the customer. At this stage of the sales funnel, reps may engage with leads through email, phone, social media, or video chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      4. Opportunities in Demonstration phase<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Here, salespeople demonstrate the benefits and potential of their product or service to fully qualified leads. This often calls for a formal product demo, which may include a screenshare or video conferencing session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      To successfully move onto the next stage of the sales funnel, sales reps must focus their energy on highlighting ways their particular product or service addresses the customer\u2019s biggest pain points. Avoid confusing prospects and wasting their time by trying to sell solutions that may not interest them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      5. Opportunities in Negotiation phase<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      In the negotiation phase, proposals<\/a> and counter proposals are exchanged in an effort to finalize purchase and service agreement terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Whenever possible, seek to upsell your customer to increase your average deal size. If your contact has reservations about price, do not react by offering a discount. Instead, add extra features or deliverables to help them justify the cost. If, on the other hand, your prospect is indeed limited by his or her budget, create a new proposal with fewer deliverables. That way you provide them with a package that suits their budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      6. Opportunity won<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Finally, the sale is closed and sales reps can revisit this opportunity at the end of each contract to see there are ways to renew or update the engagement. To ensure a long and fruitful relationship, invest in thorough onboarding, monitor their progress throughout the engagement, provide resources to maximize ROI, measure their success, and propose new ways they may reinvest their earnings with your products or services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Invest in Your Relationship After You Win the Opportunity<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n