A quick overview of setting up a layered pipeline.

By Adam R. Miller with Insight from Kimberly D. Miller and Tim Supranowitz

Building a pipeline, or forecasting, should not be used to calculate your annual commission check instead it should be a guide to dictate activity. It’s is about being prepared, or proactive, and not reactive to unforeseen variables that could drastically change your sales performance. Have you ever seen a Navy Seal prepare for deployment? When they are packing, they are bringing items to cover them in any situation. Long range, short range and hand to hand weaponry along with explosives and masking agents like camouflage and smoke. Developing your pipeline, while way less intense or life-threatening, should take the same approach. Here are five things you should consider when reviewing your pipeline.

Short leads - High closing rate immediate sales and leads that are driven by baseline activity like cold calling.

Referral sources. Weekly activity should include touch on at least two of your best referral sources. If you have not identified what resources are useful for referrals that should be a top priority. (Kimberly) Knowing how to ask for referrals. Ask for specific referrals, a particular need or industry. Example, don't ask for a restaurant suggestion ask for the best Italian place in Chicago.

Make sure you are tracking your leads thoroughly. The noes and maybes of today are a future yes, but only if you know who to follow up with.

Kimberly D. Miller

Existing client base. Every industry is a little different, but all sales executives have a base of past clients. You should touch on them for repeat business (did they open a second location), upsell or a referral.

Industry partners. Developing a list of other vendors or professionals that operate within your same market is always advantageous. Maybe a supplier has the insight into a company expanding or hiring. A catch-up phone call or a cup of coffee will often time offer insight you were not expecting. (Kimberly) Within the industry don’t ask for referrals, ask for introductions. By researching your partners, think LinkedIn connections, you can make a list of potential people you would like to meet. Introductions are far more friendly than asking for leads.

Networking and long leads. Networking events and conferences are not for everyone. They tend to be very B2B heavy, but are about developing relationships and resources. I don't suggest relying on these types of events to drive immediate action but could provide good connections and insight in industry trends and future lead mining.

Bonus tip. Gifts and thank you cards. Do not underestimate sending out holiday cards or a quick gift just to say hello. Often we get so caught up in the next sale we forget to continue to build a brand and personal relationships with past clients. (Kimberly) I would send a scratch-off ticket… "thanks a million." Clients would end up following up to thank me!

Kimberly’s Tips

Make sure you are tracking your leads thoroughly. The noes and maybes of today are a future yes, but only if you know who to follow up with.

A customer's inconveniences of today become a catalyst for change tomorrow. Understanding what those catalysts will help you develop your voice and a list of targets. That might be a change in regulation, healthcare requirements, building code, etc. Know the outside influencers of your industry to be on the watch for the upcoming inconveniences. We saw this in a big way in Paychex with changes to overtime pay and tracking hours. It was a massive opportunity for us to reach out to our clients to make sure they knew the changes and verify they complied.

Tim’s Tips

One thing I tell every person on my team is once you know how to create robust pipeline you need to know how to manage it. What I mean by this is you need to have 100 people you can always call for an appointment. From there, maintaining it by prospective revenue associated with each prospect. And then adding or subtracting as needed but to still have 100 people to call. In your industry, maybe 100 names are too much but decide what’s a fair number of prospects to target.

Also, another area to add to your pipeline is people who looked at your service before but ended up saying no. They showed interest at one point; maybe they would be interested again. Half the time people say no because the timing isn’t right.

Every leader and organization thinks about what will happen when great talent leaves the company. Some chose to do something about it by developing a strong culture to retain people and some have open door policies to encourage people to talk about career goals in order to create specific jobs. These both come back to a basic concern of losing talent and the time, money and energy it takes to replace good talent. Ok, so what does this have to do with a promotion? I am using this as a foundation to understanding the mindset of the organization and talent relationship. How this directly relates to you in a super simple statement...your boss is terrified of losing you and having to replace your skill sets on their team. Now really great leaders know this is a foregone conclusion that the chicks will eventually leave the nest and they need to prepare, but let's face it most bosses are not great leaders. They have come to rely on your performance in some way to make their life and job easier and secretly would love to keep you there forever. Here is the tricky part. Identify the things that you need to improve upon to get a promotion at the same time you are helping someone fill in for the things you would no longer be responsible for completing. The idea is to bridge the transition gap for your replacement so performance for the team/ organization does not suffer in your move. Someone always has to file reports, make coffee, and clean the toilets.

I did leave one minor but very important part out of this process. Really the cornerstone to the philosophy and theory behind a promotion...you need to be good at your job. If you haven't mastered your current position I would highly recommend against doing this as you soon might find that management likes your replacement more than you and the promotion is substituted for a pink slip.

Last important part to this process. This should be an open dialog with both your boss and the person that you are training. All parties should be on board with the process as this should add value to each individual as well as the organization. Set goals and milestones for what each person needs to learn and master to get to that next step in their career. The transparency will be surprisingly refreshing and energizing. Keep other staff members in the loop of the tasks that each individual is adding to their plate so they can adjust accordingly and you can avoid the snarky “I don't do that anymore, ask so and so to do that”.

Just remember, in order to climb the ladder someone must hold the bottom.

Five Tips to Create a Killer Sales Pipeline

The best way to get a promotion, hire your replacement.