Sales funnel optimisation: key drivers of sales growth

Business growth requires not only products and services that meet customer needs , but also effective sales. Very few solutions sell themselves, especially in a B2B context.

It’s not enough to have a clear value proposition and a commercialised product: the sales pipeline must be actively managed, and marketing and sales need to work seamlessly together.

In the current operating environment, customer decisions are delayed as uncertainty increases. Systematic ways of working create value and growth in the long run.

How to lead the sales funnel towards targets?

Companies that master three principles in sales pipeline management have 28 % better chances of success.

• The sales process is clearly defined and has measurable targets.
• At least three hours per month are dedicated to managing the funnel.
• Sales leadership understands how to manage the funnel and how to utilise different tools, such as CRM, effectively.

In addition, sales and marketing need to collaborate closely, which can increase bottom-line results by up to 20 %. This is also reflected in the growing number of Chief Growth Officer rolesthat combine both sales and marketing leadership.

Sales funnel optimisation

Achieving sales targets requires systematic sales funnel management: clear processes, target setting and follow-up, aligned leadership of sales and marketing, and transparency across the pipeline.

It’s essential to understand how many leads need to move through the funnel to reach sales targets:

• Miten eri kohderyhmiin kuuluvat prospektit konvertoituvat vaiheesta toiseen?
• Which actions increase the likelihood of a customer moving to the next stage of the funnel?
• At which stages can digital tools, AI and automation accelerate sales progress?
• How can marketing nurture prospects across different funnel stages and customer relationships?
• In which customer touchpoints does personal selling create the most value?

An agile start to sales funnel optimisation

Sales funnel optimisation requires an understanding of both the current and target state of slaes, as well as systematic actions. We help build operating models and tools that support collaboration between sales and marketing and enable effective management.

The agile Sales funnel optimisation progresses through five phases towards concrete results, a transparent pipeline and sales growth.

1. We conduct a SWOT analysis of sales and marketing.
2. We clarify sales and marketing targets and metrics.
3. We create a gap analysis based on the current and target state.
4. We build an action plan and operating model.
5. We pilot the approach in a selected area, such as new customer acquisition.