In this series of short blog posts, we'll provide a high-level overview of some of the key features within CRM software. Today, we're looking at Sales and Deals Tracking. We'll cover what exactly it is, how it works, what it does, and how it can be used to improve productivity and customer relationships. We'll also show some specific examples of how companies are utilizing it to grow their business.
Let's jump right in...
What is Sales and Deals Tracking within a CRM?
Sales and Deals Tracking is a crucial feature of a CRM that allows you to keep track of all your sales opportunities in one place. It is an automated system that helps sales teams manage their pipeline, prioritize their efforts, and make informed decisions based on real-time data.
Why Sales and Deals Tracking is important to your business
Deals and sales tracking is essential for businesses of all sizes, as it allows them to manage their sales pipeline effectively and optimize their sales efforts. By using this feature, you can identify your most profitable opportunities, focus your efforts on the most promising leads, and close deals faster.
With Sales and Deals Tracking features, you can:
- Track the progress of each sales opportunity in real-time
- Set up automated reminders and notifications for follow-ups
- Assign tasks to team members and track their progress
- Analyze data to identify trends and improve your sales process
- Forecast future sales revenue based on historical data
How to use Sales and Deals Tracking in your CRM
Any good CRM in 2023 will come with Sales and Deals Tracking features. If you're looking at a CRM that doesn't include them, we strongly advise you not to use it! Using this feature usually involves navigating to your settings and creating your pipeline stages. These can be customized according to your specific sales process, and you can add as many or as few stages as you need.
Common sales and deals tracking data formats:
- Deal size: The total value of the deal
- Lead source: The channel through which the lead was generated
- Deal status: The current stage of the deal in the pipeline
- Closing date: The expected date of the deal's closure
- Probability: The likelihood of the deal closing based on historical data
- Deal Owner: The salesperson responsible for closing the deal
8 specific ways to utilize Sales and Deals Tracking in your sales process
Sales and Deals Tracking can be extremely useful in helping you to close more deals, faster. See some examples below:
- Manage your sales pipeline - You can use a CRM to track deals as they move through each stage of the sales process. For instance, an eCommerce company could create a customized sales pipeline with stages such as "contact made," "proposal sent," "negotiation," and "closed-won." This helps to ensure that deals are progressing through the pipeline smoothly and no deals are lost.
- Increase the efficiency of managing your team - Assigning deals to team members based on their strengths and workload can be a game-changer for sales teams. For example, an eCommerce company could use a CRM to assign deals based on product expertise or the workload of individual sales reps. This ensures that each sales rep is maximizing their strengths and not getting overwhelmed with too many deals.
- Forecast your companies growth - eCommerce companies can use historical data to forecast future sales revenue. By analyzing past sales data, an eCommerce company can predict future sales, identify trends and patterns, and adjust their sales strategy accordingly. This helps to ensure that the company is prepared for growth and has the resources needed to meet demand.
- Optimize your sales funnel - Analyzing data to identify bottlenecks and optimize the sales process is crucial for eCommerce companies. For example, an eCommerce company could use a CRM to analyze the conversion rate at each stage of their sales funnel. This information can help identify areas of the sales process that need improvement, such as a high drop-off rate at the "checkout" stage. By optimizing the sales funnel, eCommerce companies can increase revenue and improve the customer experience.
- Track the status of your leads and opportunities - Keeping track of deals in real-time and monitoring progress is a must for eCommerce companies. A CRM can help with this by providing real-time updates on deals, as well as the ability to add notes and collaborate with team members. This helps to ensure that deals are progressing smoothly and any issues can be addressed quickly.
- Tailor and personalise communication with customers - Using data to tailor communications and offer personalized recommendations can help eCommerce companies build stronger relationships with their customers. For example, an eCommerce company could use a CRM to personalize email campaigns based on customer preferences and purchase history. This helps to ensure that customers feel valued and are more likely to become repeat customers.
- Understand the source of your best leads - Measuring the effectiveness of each lead source and optimizing your marketing efforts accordingly is crucial for eCommerce companies. For example, an eCommerce company could use a CRM to track which marketing channels are bringing in the most leads, such as social media or email campaigns. This helps to ensure that marketing efforts are focused on the channels that are driving the most conversions.
- Deal analysis - Analyzing historical data to identify trends and patterns can help eCommerce companies improve their sales process. For example, an eCommerce company could use a CRM to analyze the average deal size or the time it takes to close a deal. This information can help identify areas for improvement and optimize the sales process for maximum efficiency.
So there you have it - hopefully that gives you an idea of how powerful Sales and Deals Tracking features will be for your business.
Investing in a good CRM system that includes these features is a no-brainer for businesses of all sizes. So, if you haven't already, it's time to suit up and join the CRM league of superheroes! Thank you for reading, and we hope this post has been super informative and useful.
Meet the author
Sam Cassman is a seasoned growth marketer with over 10 years of experience as growth marketer for startups and small businesses. He is the founder of Toksta, a research technology company that helps businesses find and purchase the best software and SaaS. Sam has also run his own growth marketing consultancy Honest Growth, where he helped numerous clients to grow their businesses, including Eventcube, Baluu, Obby, and NBM Group.
