Managing customers and prospects.
WHAT THEY HOLD
Contacts and organisations Interaction history Opportunities and their status Activities and follow-ups Service requests
WHAT THEY PROVIDE
One place where customer information lives Visibility of what is in progress Continuity when people change Analysis of what converts
WHY CONTINUITY MATTERS MOST
Customer knowledge held by an individual leaves with them.
WHAT THE CORE PROBLEM THEY SOLVE IS
Information scattered across inboxes, phones and memories.
WHAT THEY DO NOT DO
Generate sales Replace relationships Make poor salespeople effective
WHY THAT MATTERS
Expectations of transformation produce disappointment and abandonment.
WHAT A PIPELINE IS
Opportunities grouped by stage, showing what may close.
WHAT STAGES SHOULD REPRESENT
Observable progress, not feelings.
WHAT MAKES A STAGE OBSERVABLE
A defined event: a meeting held, a proposal sent, terms agreed.
WHY THAT MATTERS
Stages based on optimism produce forecasts that are wrong.
WHAT TO CONFIGURE
Stages matching how you actually sell.
WHAT TO AVOID
A default pipeline nobody follows.
WHAT DETERMINES WHETHER A SYSTEM WORKS
Whether salespeople enter data, which depends on whether it helps them.
