The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

In this Quick Take episode, we're exploring one of the most crucial aspects of success as a business: the ability to keep your sales pipeline full. 
 
By the end of this short episode, you'll have 10 effective tactics at your disposal to ensure that your sales pipeline is never empty. 

1. Never Stop Prospecting 

I can't say it enough, but the very best salespeople out there just never stop prospecting. They're always looking and they set a time to do it. They're intentional about their prospecting. 

2. Know Who Your Customers Are 

Have a good handle on the business categories or the job titles of people. Know who your customers are.

The very best salespeople have a keen sense of their best customers and who they should be paying attention to, not just for prospecting but also for their current customer base. 

3. Ask for Referrals 

There's all sorts of data out there that would suggest that people would love to give referrals, and there's also data out there that shows, and we know this to be true at CSS, that salespeople are reluctant to ask for referrals.

So, do you want to increase your pipeline, or do you want to build a stronger sales pipeline? Ask for referrals.

4. & 5.Master Upselling & Cross-Selling

Always be looking for additional opportunities to help or to provide solutions for your current customers, whether that means services that your company already has or cross-selling to services that maybe another part of your company offers.

So, upselling and cross-selling are two great ways to really increase that sales pipeline. 

6. Know What Your Triggers Are 

You need to be keenly aware of your triggers. What are the triggers for your prospects and customers? What works, and what doesn't?

The very best salespeople absolutely know what triggers they can use to spark action. 

7. Automate As Much As Possible 

There's a lot of technology available. There are many tools that can help you speed up your process or increase the volume of your activity.

Now, I'm not suggesting that you automate everything or that you remove the human from the sales process, but I am saying let's take advantage of the technology that is available and automate what should be automated. 

8. Drop Your Dead Leads 

Stop calling on leads that are wasting your time. If you've been calling on something for a really long time and there's been no significant movement forward, challenge yourself and say what do I think is going to happen that's going to make this still be a good client or a good prospect? 

9. Analyze Your Pipeline Often 

Take a look at your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to your pipeline.

• Do you have a lot of really good prospects?
• Are you able to get appointments with them?
• Have you done discovery meetings?
• Are you presenting proposals?
• Are you negotiating those proposals?
• Are you closing and winning those proposals, and where are your bottlenecks?
• Where do you need to spend a little bit more time? 

10. Always Keep Learning 

Finally, always be learning. Always listen and ask questions. None of us knows everything, and I think it would serve us all well to adopt that ‘always be learning’ attitude. 

Besides keeping your sales pipeline full, there are plenty of ways to improve sales and grow the success of your business. Here are a few additional resources to help your sales pipeline:

• Cleaning Up Your Sales Pipeline
• Where Most Sales Pipeline Problems Spring a Leak
• Are Long Sales Cycles Messing with Your Pipeline? (Part 1)
• Are Long Sales Cycles Messing with Your Pipeline? (Part 2)
• Friction Between Buyers and Sellers Persists
• The Sales Pipeline is More Important Than Sales Activity