

- Salesforce where are critical updates listed how to#
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Use opportunity stages that represent a series of customer interactions over time. Consequently, action-oriented opportunity stages are better than milestone-based stages. During this time, the salesperson does many things to move the opportunity along. That period might be weeks or even months. In other words, each stage should reflect the status of a deal over time. Those words give a better sense of the meetings, phone calls, and email exchanges taking place over time. It’s much better to use Discovery or Investigation. However, the deal is only in that state for the hour it takes to conduct the call. Likewise, I sometimes see a stage like First Meeting. (We’ll talk about whether Qualifying is a stage you should include later. However, it doesn’t tell you anything about what is happening right now. In contrast, Qualified is a milestone that means you probably proceed to the next stage. That’s because Qualifying describes the status of the deal over time. Instead, I recommend you use verbs.įor example, Qualifying is better than Qualified. It’s a mistake to use milestones as opportunity stages. Use other fields if you need extra information or want to record post-sale progress. Stick to four or five pipeline stages for clarity on the sales funnel. Using the stage picklist to track post-sales progress makes reporting on won deals or win rates more challenging.ĭon’t overdo things. Likewise, use other fields to capture post-sales progress. If you have a very long sales cycle or want more detail on where each deal is in the sales process, I recommend tracking sub-stages in a separate field. You use the opportunity stage field to track post-sales activities such as delivery or fulfillment.You are not using record types to separate different sales processes.The business is trying to get too granular in measuring the pipeline.Unfortunately, pipeline visibility deteriorates rather than improves if you have too many stages. In other words, you cannot see the wood for the trees. If you have too many opportunity stages, this is what happens: Use opportunity record types if you have more than one sales process in your business. Modify the standard opportunity stages in Salesforce to align with your sales process tightly. In other words, only include those stages relevant to each record type. Then modify the opportunity stage picklist for each record type. It means you create different record types for each sales process. I recommend you use Opportunity Record Types to handle this. And another, shorter one for renewals or upgrades. What if I have more than one sales process?įor example, in many companies, there’s a defined sales process for new customers. Later in this blog post, I’ll explain the five opportunity stages that many B2B companies already use.
Salesforce where are critical updates listed how to#
(The video at the end of this blog post explains how to customize the opportunity stages in Salesforce). The standard opportunity stages that come out of the box with Salesforce are unlikely to mirror your sales process. I explain each stage and give examples of exit criteria.
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We even have a free special offer for you at the end of this article.īy the way, I also created a video to accompany this blog post: Six Recommended Opportunity Stages. Not only that, but I also point you to other helpful resources that help you get the best out of Salesforce. Best practices tips and advice you can use today.



Nevertheless, getting the opportunity stages to reflect your sales process accurately is essential. The answer is often a fudge, and the outcome, sometimes, is far too many stages. I’ve seen this provoke many heated discussions. However, if the pre-defined stages are not what you need, the question is, what should the Salesforce opportunity stages be in your business? (If you’re unsure how to do this, I explain the steps thoroughly in the video at the end of this post). That’s likely to be especially true if you’re still using the standard opportunity stages-those out-of-the-box stages in Salesforce. However, the chances are, you think they don’t. The Opportunity Stages in Salesforce should match your sales process.
