Sales

A sales process is the cycle of recurring steps your business uses to obtain leads and make a sale. Your company’s unique sales process should align with your sales pipeline and funnel, providing a roadmap for your sales team to follow. To create an effective sales process, review your sales pipeline, convert pipeline stage activities into sales process steps, visualize your sales process, and create a system to measure each step. Free Template for Building Your Sales Process We’ve created a free template on how to create a sales process you can customize to fit your internal business practices. Download this sales process creation template and use it as you follow the four easy steps below to create various sales cycle stages that work best for your business needs. While building a sales workflow could be a daunting task in the initial phases, doing so will streamline your sales activities in the long run and will reflect your sales performance. Follow our four steps to creating a selling process for your small business: 1. Review the Stages of the Sales Pipeline Before determining what your company’s sales process stages look like, consider the customer’s journey and the nine stages of the sales pipeline. Then consider how each stage relates to your business model. Alternatively, or in addition, use your sales funnel to help you identify the larger groupings of tasks your team will need to complete to nurture a lead through their customer journey. Understanding how various tasks help move customers through your sales pipeline helps to standardize the sales process for both new and existing sales team members. Having a standard selling process also helps your agents familiarize themselves with the process, consequently improving the quality of their work and increasing the odds of closing deals. 2. Create a List of Internal Activities for Each Stage The next step involves creating a process to define how each stage relates to your business objectives and identify the sales activities you will take during each stage. Some sales stages may have many activities, while others have only one depending on what’s needed to close a deal. It’s also worth noting that some stages might not have any internal activities if your business chooses to outsource activities in a stage. While every organization has its own sales workflow, there are steps in the sales pipeline that are applicable to most businesses, particularly generating leads, introducing products and services, and closing a sale. Most customer relationship management (CRM) software, such as , have premade sales pipeline stages that companies can use monitor deals and shortcut this step. However, if your CRM does not come with premade pipeline stages, or if you simply want to create a truly custom sales process workflow, here are questions you should ask yourself for each pipeline stage to develop the list of activities your business will use as part of its sales workflow. You can also expand each pipeline stage for tips and activity suggestions: 3. Visualize Your Selling Process Once you have created your master list of activities, check to see which activities can be completed right away, and which are dependent on a prior task. One way to do this is by visualizing the process using flowcharts differentiated with shapes and colors that guide the viewer down the path from start to finish. This will also make it easier to train new agents on your sales process as your team scales. Below is an example of a sales process flow chart: 4. Make Your Sales Process Measurable & Adjust as Needed Once every stage in the pipeline and their required activities have been defined, the last step in creating a winning sales process is to find ways to measure the success of each step. Multiple types of metrics like total values, conversion rates, and averages can all be used to quantify your selling process. Below are common examples of sales performance metrics that can be used for each step of your sales workflow: Tracking metrics like these enables you to measure progress and identify areas for selling process improvement. Adjustments could entail tweaking sales process steps for efficiency, adding new tactics or removing ineffective activities, or coaching sales reps on techniques to improve their sales numbers in different aspects of the sales process. Using Metrics for Sales Process Adjustments Example Imagine a sales team is finding they are not hitting sales goals because there aren’t enough MQLs in the pipeline at a given time. When looking at the sales process metrics, they discover that inside sales reps only have time to do enough online research to create 15 marketing-qualified leads per day, much less than is needed to hit their sales targets. The team’s sales manager decides to remove the online research step of the sales workflow and generate MQLs by purchasing 300 targeted leads from an online database every week. She then has the inside sales reps, who now have more time, handle the introduction of services by cold calling new leads to set up sales presentations for outside sales reps. Using Metrics for Sales Coaching Example Another example of how metrics can be used to improve sales operations can be seen in individual performance coaching. The sales manager determines that Charlie, a new sales development representative, has the lowest conversion rates of calls to qualified leads of anyone on the team. The manager gives Charlie one-on-one coaching for an hour per day to go over sales methodologies and tips to improve conversion rates. Charlie begins implementing the new techniques, like dialing cold calls during peak call times, using emotional selling language, and asking questions to handle objections from prospects. He and his manager begin to see his individual performance improve over time. Developing your sales operation by continuously using training and strategy adjustments is a huge part of a sales manager’s job. With our ultimate guide to sales management, you learn everything you need to know about onboarding sales reps, motivating sales teams, and managing your company’s sales performance. Benefits of Having a Proper Sales Process A sales workflow or process standardizes your sales activities and helps your agents perform their sales workflow tasks more effectively—especially once they master the various sales stages. Below, we outline some benefits of having a proper selling process: Improves efficiency: Since agents are familiar with the various steps of the sales workflow, there’s an increased possibility of deals moving along the various sales stages faster. Once they are familiar with the steps, moving deals along stages goes on autopilot for them. Increases revenues: Increased efficiency means agents are quicker in performing their work and are able to do more—generate more leads, negotiate higher-cost deals, and close more sales. All of these ultimately contribute to higher revenue. Eliminates guesswork: A fixed formula leaves little room for guesswork as agents know what is expected of them. This decreases instances of oversight since they are familiar with everything they need to do to close a deal or make a sale. Best Practices to Improve Your Sales Process Once you’ve established your organization’s sales workflow, remember that it’s just the beginning of a sales cycle. A sales workflow should be flexible and open to adjustments if needed—this ensures you keep the process efficient and foolproof. Below are a few best practices to improve your selling process. Identify sales trends: Determine your business’ peak and off-peak seasons so you can adjust your selling process accordingly. For example, you may need to be more aggressive in your lead nurturing tasks during off-peak seasons as customers are not as willing to purchase your products and services at that time compared to the peak season. Regularly address sales process bottlenecks: Figure out the average time a deal spends in a certain sales pipeline stage and see if there are delays or bottlenecks causing it. For example, deals may be idling in the stage of sending a proposal due to your lengthy internal approval process. Constantly review your business performance: A good benchmark to evaluate the effectiveness of your sales stages is its direct impact on your profits. Assess your business performance on a monthly basis to see if there are improvements you can make. For example, your sales workflow may be missing a stage for lead nurturing, which could have a direct impact on the number of sales that you are able to close. Choose a CRM system that fits your business needs: A CRM system is an effective way to manage your sales workflow and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. A robust CRM provides analytics tools that help you spot trends and automate sales workflows. Bottom Line In order to identify the steps of your selling process, review which sales pipeline stages are relevant to your business, and incorporate the tactics you want to use. Once your sales workflow is created, you’ll have a recurring set of activities to complete in order to move a sales opportunity from a new lead to a closed deal. Setting up a sales process can be further beneficial as an observable sales system with performance metrics at every step. These metrics can be used to make adjustments in the selling process and to coach individual members of sales teams.

A referral is an act of recommending a business, product, or service to new prospects. Leads generated through referrals are more likely to convert because they are already qualified. Small businesses also benefit from referrals by cutting the time they spend on cold calling, thereby reducing their sales expenses and sales cycle. Maximize your ability to get quality leads via referrals by following the steps and best practices described in this article. 1. Ask for Referrals From Existing & Past Customers One of the simplest ways to get new leads is to have your revenue operations team request referrals from both existing and past customers. It could be as easy as thanking them for supporting your business and then asking them to pass along your information to their friends and family. Top-performing sales reps routinely ask their customers for referrals. However, only 18.6% of sales reps do this. We recommend using the Net Promoter Score (NPS) method to correctly identify the right customers to ask for referrals. Depending on how satisfied the customer is with your business, they may fall into any of these three NPS categories: Promoter: Customer is likely to recommend, especially when given the opportunity to do so Passive: Customer is not likely to recommend but also not likely to give a poor review Detractor: Customer is likely to share a negative review Customers who rate their satisfaction with your business with 9 or 10 out of 10 are the best ones to ask for referrals. They fall under “Promoter” since they are highly satisfied with your product or service. 2. Join Leadshare Groups Leadshare groups are networking associations that meet weekly or monthly for networking, professional development, and lead-sharing activities. One of their advantages is that there is usually only one vertical (e.g., information technology, sales management, etc.) per group. This helps ensure referrals made from other group members come to you. In the same way, you also help grow the business of other members in your leadshare group by referring clients their way. Members also earn points for certain activities like referring customers, inviting new members, and attending one-on-one meetings with other members. This point system also helps maintain accountability. Business Network International (BNI) is one of the largest leadshare groups in the world, with chapters worldwide. If you prefer regional groups, consider a group like NeXco, specifically for the Virginia, D.C., and Maryland area. Local Chambers of Commerce throughout the country may also have leadshare chapters within their organizations. 3. Build Strategic Partnerships Generating referral leads through strategic partnerships is especially useful when businesses are complementary. For instance, if you are a website developer, partner with commercial photographers and videographers to pass leads back and forth since many aspects of a client’s project may overlap. It’s common to see strategic partnerships in real estate, where groups are formed between a real estate agent, mortgage broker, title company, and insurance agent since all of their services are needed to close a real estate transaction. Though it makes sense to form these arrangements in complementary businesses, you can do it with anyone in a less formal way. For example, if you meet another business owner who is well-networked, simply have a phone call with them to go over what each business does and what a good referral looks like. Your businesses don’t necessarily need to have any compatibility—just a solid connection between the owners or sales reps of that business. 4. Launch a Referral Program A referral program is a promotional marketing method where the referrer receives an incentive in return for sending business your way. For example, your customer referral program could offer a 20% discount on their next purchase when they refer a new customer to your business. It could fall under these two types of referral programs: One-sided referral program: The referrer receives the incentive. Two-sided referral program: Both the referrer and the referred are rewarded. When creating a referral program, include the form of the incentives, type of reward, and the frequency of the purchase. You also have to make sure your incentive is relevant to your business. For example, tech companies could give away gadgets as incentives, while online insurance platforms could give discounts and cash rewards. Remember that a referral program requires organizational support, so your sales management team must incorporate it into your overall sales strategy and operations. Best Practices for Generating More Referrals Referral lead generation sources can include word-of-mouth recommendations, existing or past customers, other businesses, peers and colleagues, or your personal acquaintances. You may get spontaneous referrals from customers impressed with your product or service. In addition to leveraging one or more of the referral tactics above, there are other things you can do to optimize the tactics for lead generation or make your business more referable. Here are seven best practices for creating more referral opportunities: Bottom Line Referrals are one of the best sources of new and continuing sales opportunities. Businesses with a solid referral program in place prove to have more loyal and valuable customers. Combining customer referrals with our expert tips and recommended tools helps you fully leverage your network to keep populating your sales pipeline with qualified sales leads and opportunities.

Sales email templates are tailorable message scripts reps use to make sales introductions to leads and prospects or follow-ups through email. By using an effective custom template, sales team members can easily plug in identifiable and contextual information to each message, speeding up the communication process. In this article, we provide seven free sales introduction email templates with examples and explore how to create your own templates. 1. Highlighting Value Differentiator Sales Email One of the simplest sales introductions is diving right into your unique selling proposition and why you’re different from your competitors. Use this sales introduction email template and example when you’re looking to make an introduction and pique the prospect’s interest by explaining how you can add value in ways others cannot. Template Subject Line: [Tease Unique Value You Can Provide to {Lead Name}] Hi [contact name], I saw that [add context of something about the lead that would make them a good fit for your product or service]. [Explain your products or services/what you offer]. [Describe what makes you unique from others in your industry] I’d love to schedule a call and [describe intentions with prospect]. [Initiate Call to Action] Thanks and best regards, [Name], [Title] [Company] [Email] [Phone Number] Example Email Subject Line: Giving ABC Tax Company Peace of Mind With Custom Data Security Solution Hi John, I saw that you provide both tax preparation and bookkeeping services which means you’re managing a lot of sensitive information—making you vulnerable to data security threats. Our comprehensive cybersecurity consulting solutions allow you to rest easy by being a central source for all of your planning, technology, and compliance needs. Our services are fully customizable to fill in your security gaps in terms of what you need and what your IT management firm is not providing. I’d love to schedule a call and learn more about some of the pain points you experience in cybersecurity planning and identify potential gaps within your current cybersecurity program. Are you free in the next few days or so for a 10-minute call? Thank you, Cameron Eck, Account Executive Cybersecurity Corp. cam@cybersecuritycorp.com 123-456-7890 2. Referencing Recent Event Sales Email A recent event email uses trends, news stories, or noteworthy occasions the lead would likely be familiar with as a way to get them interested. The purpose is to use the event to make them think about a particular aspect of their business or life your offerings can help with. This cold email template should be used to highlight a recent event such as an innovation, case study release, or incident relevant to the recipient. Template Subject Line: [Reference the Event] Hi [contact name], [Cite if the contact has seen the recent story or release of new information you’re referencing]. [Discuss the implications/how it can affect this particular lead]. [Explain what promotion you are offering as a result of the event or state your unique selling proposition]. [Initiate Call to Action] Thank you, [Name], [Title] [Company] [Email] [Phone Number] Example Email Subject Line: New Industry Report Reveals Automation Is the Future Hi Madison, You may have recently seen the 2022 Marketing Industry Report that found a majority of businesses, including ones within your industry, are easing into marketing automation as their primary strategy for building customer relationships. Automation lets you target or re-target your ideal audiences, gather their information, and nurture leads all hand-free for more lead-volume production—ultimately producing higher revenue growth. That said, we are offering free consultations for retail, wholesale, and ecommerce businesses to see where they may be able to utilize automation in their email marketing campaigns. If you or anyone in your office would like to take advantage of this offer, the link to schedule an appointment with a consultant is below. Thank you, Cameron Eck, Account Executive Marketing Inc. cam@marketinginc.com 123-456-7890 [Schedule Appointment Button] 3. Citing Mutual Connection Sales Introduction As a way to build rapport and get a response, some sales reps cite mutual connections the lead may be familiar with. This could include a friend or colleague they both know, a similar LinkedIn connection, or even a gatekeeper who informed you the email recipient is the best person to contact. Template Subject Line: [Cite mutual connection] Hi [contact name], [Cite mutual connection or decision-maker and (if necessary) something you know about the lead]. [Explain your intentions and selling/value proposition]. [Initiate Call to Action] Thank you, [Name], [Title] [Company] [Email] [Phone Number] Example Email Subject Line: Madison Batts Told Me to Connect With You Hi Rick, Madison Batts mentioned to me briefly that you were having some issues with your current financial adviser and were looking for a switch. I’d love to schedule a quick call and show you how our personal planning resources and access to a multitude of financial products can get you on track to hit your wealth goals. Do you have 15 minutes open this week? Looking forward to hearing back and connecting. Thank you, Cameron Eck, Adviser Wealth Management Inc. cam@wealthmanagementinc.com 123-456-7890 [Schedule Appointment Button] 4. Post-meeting Follow-up Email There are plenty of circumstances where you’d send a warm sales email after you talk to the person during a cold call or at an event such as a trade show, conference, seminar, or networking event. In those situations, use this email template to follow up with them on anything you discussed to move them forward in the sales process. Template Subject Line: Great Speaking With You at [reference event or call you’re following up on] Hi [contact name], [Address the event you met them at and/or how great it was speaking with them (if cold calling)]. [Acknowledge or reference something they mentioned at the event or on the call that had you send them a follow-up email]. [Explain the selling proposition or next steps (if cold calling) required to move forward in the process]. [Initiate Call to Action] Thank you, [Name], [Title] [Company] [Email] [Phone Number] Example Email Subject Line: Great Meeting You at the Chamber Event Hi Joe, It was a pleasure to meet you at the Arlington Chamber of Commerce event last week. I hope you enjoyed the presentations and mingling as much as I did. You mentioned you were looking for quotes for your upcoming insurance renewal. We produce competitive premiums thanks to our wide range of carrier partnerships, which offer plenty of flexibility and options. Let me know if you are interested, and I will arrange a brief meeting to discuss. Thank you, Cameron Eck, Producer ABC Insurance Inc. cam@abcinsurance.com 123-456-7890 [Schedule Appointment Button] 5. Noting Similar Attribute Email Just like citing a mutual connection, noting something similar about you and the recipient in your introduction is another excellent way to build rapport. An attribute can include things like belonging to the same networking group or association. It may also be personal such as the same hobbies, alma mater, or being from the same geographic area. Template Subject Line: [Specifically cite the mutual or similar attribute] Hi [contact name], [Introduce yourself and cite similar attribute(s) for interests, hobbies, etc.]. [Explain intentions and touch on your solution]. [Possibly discuss unique value proposition]. [Initiate Call to Action] Thank you, [Name], [Title] [Company] [Email] [Phone Number] Example Email Subject Line: Fellow JMU Duke Hi Sydney, My name is Cameron Eck. I saw on LinkedIn that you are a fellow graduate from James Madison University and a business owner in the technology space. I’m looking to connect with other software vendors and technology consultants to talk about my innovative solution to managing software development and client infrastructure projects. Are you interested in learning more about it? I’d love to set up a few minutes for us to talk. Thank you, Cameron Eck, Founder ABC Tech cam@abctech.com 123-456-7890 [Schedule Appointment Button] 6. Praising the Contact Email Who isn’t intrigued by an email message that directly compliments you or your business? That’s exactly what this cold sales email template uses to engage with a prospect—showing them you genuinely care about their activity and accomplishments while opening the conversation to build a business relationship. Template Subject Line: [Describe what you’re praising the contact for] Hi [contact name], [Introduce yourself and praise something they did, accomplished, or contributed to, and describe how it may have impacted you]. [Describe your intentions and how they can add value to the recipient with an optional value proposition on what your business does]. [Initiate Call to Action] Thank you, [Name], [Title] [Company] [Email] [Phone Number] Example Email Subject Line: Excellent Sales Seminar Hi Mel, My name is Cameron Eck from Writing Agency Inc. I loved your blog post last week as it shed valuable insight on where social selling and referral marketing is heading into the future. I’m looking to tap into some of the markets you commonly work with, like software vendors and automation consultants, and would love to talk about potential partnerships between our firms. We generate high-quality content primarily for tech businesses using writers who have expertise and experience in the fields they write about. That said, we can definitely offer each other plenty of referral opportunities through our similar target markets. Are you interested in discussing this further? I’d love to set up a few minutes for us to talk. Thank you, Cameron Eck, Content Manager Writing Agency Inc. cam@writingagencyinc.com 123-456-7890 [Schedule Appointment Button] 7. Requesting Introduction to Decision-maker Email Often, a sales rep will contact a firm by phone or email only to be stopped in their tracks by a gatekeeper. In these scenarios, ask who the best person would be to speak to regarding your product or service offerings. If you’re sending an email to a confirmed gatekeeper or to a generic domain email address such as info@[company.com], use this business email example to request an introduction to the decision maker. Template Subject Line: [Describe intention for {lead name} with value proposition phrase] Hi [possible contact name if you have it], [Introduce yourself and business, solution offering, and value proposition]. [Describe intention/request decision maker contact info or referral]. [Initiate Call to Action] Thank you, [Name], [Title] [Company] [Email] [Phone Number] Example Email Subject Line: Hoping to Help ABC Accounting Streamline Data Management Hi, My name is Cameron Eck from Management Software Inc, a provider of a simplistic solution to managing data migration and analytics projects for accounting firms. I was hoping to get in contact with someone from ABC Accounting who might make decisions on productivity software. Can you please guide me in the right direction by providing that person’s contact info? Thank you, Cameron Eck, Account Executive Management Software Inc. cam@projectmanagement.com 123-456-7890 [Schedule Appointment Button] How to Design a Sales Email Template As a business owner or someone in a sales management role, you may find yourself having to create your own email templates users can easily customize for every purpose and unique lead. While these templates will primarily be used in an email channel, they also offer an excellent solution for crafting a LinkedIn InMail message. Keep in mind that because it's a template, design it to easily tailor an email message to any contact recipient. Therefore, certain sections will require a description of what to say rather than an actual message statement. For example, things like the email subject line, greeting, or reference point will vary depending on the lead. Alternatively, your signature, call to action, and value proposition will likely stay the same. It's essential to be straightforward and as detailed as necessary. Ensure that your whole team can understand any description of what should be added in the email. It's also smart to include sales email examples with the templates users can reference—similar to what we did in our templates. Here’s how to design email templates for sales activities in six steps: 1. Determine Your Objectives & Tactics Start your template by understanding your desired outcome and strategize how you’ll get there. The email objective could be to generate a lead, qualify them, schedule a call, retrieve information, or discuss a partnership opportunity. In terms of tactics, these will be your solution to getting prospects to open your email and respond. Keep in mind that the average email open rate is only 18%, so any little detail you can add to spike that number up is crucial. At a minimum, include typical components you’d use for any type of email such as a greeting, introduction, purpose statement, and call to action or request by the recipient. Additionally, one of these tactics can also be incorporated to get more interest: Highlighting your unique value proposition Citing a recent event the recipient would be interested in Referencing a mutual connection Noting similar attributes or interests Praising the contact on an accomplishment or success The tactics are merely a method for getting your foot in the door and will likely be used in your opening line. Once your entire plan is set, you can begin designing the various elements of a sales email template. 2. Write Your Subject Line Description The effectiveness of your subject line is an indicator of open rates—with 47% of email recipients opening a message solely based on the subject. The subject line should either identify your purpose, present your value proposition, cite a personalized antidote, or do some combination of the three. Below are some examples of how a subject template could look for each tactic: Highlighting your unique value proposition Subject: Ready to Help [lead name] With [solution/service] Through [unique differentiator] Citing a recent event the recipient would be interested in Subject: Hi [lead name], Did You Hear About [recent event or findings]? Referencing a mutual connection Subject: I Saw You’re Also Friends With [mutual connection], I’d Love to Connect Noting similar attributes or interests Subject: Hey Fellow [mutual college mascot], I Think I Can Help You With [solution/service] Praising the contact on an accomplishment or success Subject: Great Work With That Recent [project they did or accomplishment they received] Personalized subject lines tend to be most effective, with a 22% higher likelihood of opens than non-personalized ones. Try to personalize your subject lines as much as possible using the information you can acquire about them that will catch their eye. 3. Create a Personalized Opening Line The opening involves your greeting, introduction, and personalized statement (if any). At a minimum, it will likely start with something like: Hi [contact name], My name is [your name], [role or job title] from [organization name]. We provide [product or service] primarily to [ideal target market or niche specialty]. Once you’ve done the introduction, move forward with your specialty tactic you’ve selected in the form of a personalized statement. If you’re going straight into highlighting your value proposition, you can skip this part. Otherwise, the sentence could start with many different contextual phrases such as: I was on your website and saw that… I saw on LinkedIn that… A mutual connection [or friend] of ours, [person’s name], mentioned to me… It was great meeting you at… After the context of where you got your information or met the recipient, go into what you noticed or admired about the person or their business. Here’s where you directly indicate the connection, event, attribute, accomplishment, etc. 4. Communicate Value For this step, you’ve already made an introduction and personalized the email message to gauge the recipient’s interest. Now it's time to communicate the intentions and value you offer them. The intentions could be something as direct as I wanted to reach out to you about [your product or service needs / a promotion we are running / a partnership opportunity / a new solution we are offering]. It may even be tied into your value proposition such as in the Noting Similar Attribute Email example above. The “value” should be similar to what you’d say in an elevator pitch that explains why customers should choose you. This could be a range of product or service characteristics such as low prices, excellent customer service, high-quality solutions, or something relevant to the customer experience like product ease of use, robust customization, or comprehensive solutions. Your unique value proposition in your sales email templates should be straightforward and applicable to all recipients in that target audience. As an example, saying “We produce competitive premiums thanks to our wide range of carrier partnerships which give plenty of flexibility and options” is a unique selling proposition that does not need to be tailored to a lead. 5. Add a Call to Action The call to action (CTA) is simply a request made to the prospect for how they can move forward. Just like for the value proposition, this should be fairly universal in your email templates since you’re trying to complete a single objective for each template. For example, “Are you interested in discussing this further? I’d love to set up a few minutes for us to talk.” is a CTA universally understood and usable for all recipients. 6. Research Contacts & Draft Your Email The last step is to research who you plan on contacting and inserting their information in the email template transitioning the template into a message. Your network, LinkedIn, and company websites are tremendous sources of information. Find out who the decision-makers are for your offerings and any personal information you can add in the subject line and message lines. Instead of retyping each email by hand, use a customer relationship manager (CRM) with template filling capabilities to auto-fill your drafts. , for example, lets you store templates and pulls data from your lead records to an email message or do small customization on certain parts of the message—allowing you to send personalized emails to a large volume of contacts in a short amount of time. Bottom Line Sales emails are a popular method to connect or follow up with leads. However, drafting a brand-new message for each contact is a time-waster that can easily be solved by using our free sales email templates or creating your own for various objectives. Once you've established the template, conduct prospect research, fill in each section with the appropriate information, and send your emails—generating and nurturing valuable sales leads.

A customer profile is a snapshot of one of your ideal buyer types in terms of shared demographics, pain points, typical buying journey, and priorities. Customer profiles help you refine and focus marketing and sales efforts to produce more effective campaigns, increase revenue, and improve customer retention. Download our free ideal customer profile template and follow the steps below to create a profile for each of your company’s ideal buyer types. You can also create your own customer profile templates and use them to plan and execute sales and marketing campaigns that generate leads, nurture them, and help you convert more deals. Learn how to better connect with customers through positive, sales-centric customer profiling in six steps below: 1. Gather & Analyze Customer Information The first step is to gather and analyze information about your customers. As you dig into this data, you may find that some of your best customers share similar demographic traits, behaviors, pain points, buying motivations, values, or interests that are helpful when creating a customer profile. If you use customer relationship management (CRM) software, you may have been tracking some of this information without realizing it. CRMs store contact, lead, and customer information, including product preferences, their preferred mode of communication, and past queries, which also provide context to their interests and behavior. Use popular CRM systems like , , or to identify data for your buyer profiles. 2. Identify Common Customer Demographics Demographic information answers the question, “who are they?” It includes age, race, gender, income, occupation, education, marital status, and role in an organization. This data helps you better understand budgets and spending capabilities, potential pain points, decision-making and purchasing power, and what messaging will engage them the most. For example, if your target audience age is between 20 and 25, imagery and messaging in ads and marketing content should reflect their values, interests, and age group. Alternatively, a B2B business targeting buyers in a certain role, such as a financial manager, would use marketing and sales materials with corporate-oriented images. It could also include messaging that speaks to the pain points or common responsibilities of these types of professionals. Providers like have a customer segmentation list that allows users to filter existing customers, so they can easily see common demographics. It can also help them identify the size of a particular segment, and see if it takes a significant chunk of their customer database. 3. Determine Common Customer Behaviors Behavioral information answers the question, “what do they do?” This could encompass both what your ideal buyer types do in their personal lives or professional roles, as well as the customer’s typical buying journey. Understanding customer behaviors is vital for identifying the common roles, responsibilities, pain points, buying motivations, and purchasing decisions. Information about customer behaviors and demographics can also show you which communication channels they prefer to use. The “what they do” indicates whether they use social media, frequently check email, attend trade shows, or are constantly on their phone. Knowing this can further help you personalize your communication channel and messaging, which 52% of consumers expect from brands that reach out to them. 4. Analyze Preferences & Priorities Shared by Your Ideal Buyer Types This information answers the questions “what do they want or like?” and “what’s important to them?” It could be hobbies like fishing or biking or could refer to priorities when making purchases such as high-quality products, great value, or reliable customer service. The emotional selling strategy adheres to this part of the customer profile because varying priorities trigger different emotions. For example, let’s say you sell insurance, and one of your consumer profiles is “The Family-oriented Buyer,” representative of buyer types that always prioritize doing what’s best for their family. When marketing or selling to leads that fit this customer profile, the “fear” emotion can be triggered by explaining the risk of not purchasing an insurance product and the negative impact it could have on their family. 5. Assign Names to Customer Profiles & Add Them to Contact Records Group the information compiled of your customers’ demographic, behavior, and preferences into buyer archetypes and assign each customer profile a unique, descriptive name. Once a name is assigned, the profiles should be used to create or improve your company’s sales and marketing strategies, activities, and campaigns. One of the most effective ways to do this is by tagging customer records in your CRM system. Tagging is a feature for assigning traits or attributes to a contact record in the form of a “tag,” which (in this case) could be identical to the customer profile name most appropriate for a given contact. Tags enable you to easily sort and filter contact lists for marketing and sales activities like email marketing and cold-calling campaigns. They also allow your reps to engage prospects in productive, effective conversations since agents know more about the contact’s values, needs, and motivators. With tagging, you can see the relevant information in a contact record or download contact lists by filtering your data based on a tag. One example of a CRM provider that offers this functionality is . It lets you tag contacts and view the tag within a record or filter a list based on tag data. By tag filtering using customer profile names, your team can easily compile a list of leads or customers and deploy targeted marketing and sales initiatives most likely to resonate with the list. 6. Plan & Deploy Customer Profile-targeted Campaigns After creating your customer profiles, it’s time to strategize, plan, and execute sales and marketing campaigns based on them. Every campaign, initiative, or activity will include a communication channel (where you do it), messaging (what you communicate), and a method or tactic (how you do it). Below are examples of each component in a campaign: Channel (the where): Phone (cold calling), email (mass or personalized), online (ads, social media, website, or blog content), in-person (trade shows, expos, networking events), and so on Messaging (the what): Such as low price, time or effort-saving, high quality, special offer, time-limited, free trial, total value Tactic/Method (the how): Such as emotional selling, consultative selling, using people in ads representative of your target demographic, educational marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) When using customer profiles to create sales and marketing campaigns, use similar approaches for current customers as well as prospecting and lead generation. This is because each profile encompasses an archetype of similar buyer-type attributes. Customer Profile Examples Most businesses have between two and six customer profiles. However, you may have many more if you offer a broad range of products or services or serve many different customer types. Below are customer profile examples, including a customer profile chart for a business-to-consumer (B2C) company and one for a business-to-business (B2B) company. The chart for your company should include multiple types of customers, their characteristics, and the best potential marketing strategies and channels to utilize for each customer type. Restaurant Customer Profile (B2C) Commercial Insurance Customer Profile (B2B) Statistics on Personalizing Offerings to Customers Businesses have proven these benefits when applied to the customer experience. Below are some interesting statistics on customizing and personalizing offerings to customers: Benefits of Sales-Centric Customer Profiling Customer profiling helps small businesses utilize a more strategic and informed approach when crafting offerings and marketing messages to their various audiences. It allows businesses to veer away from a one-size-fits-all approach because they can use actual insights and data to identify what resonates with a particular audience segment. Below we list the key benefits of developing specific consumer profiles: Personalized offerings: Understanding what a specific audience segment wants based on their behavior or motivations helps businesses design customized offerings targeted to address their needs. Increased retention and profits: Knowing what appeals to your customers helps you craft more effective messages, resulting in new and retained customers, and ultimately increased profits. More engaged customers: Making your customers feel that you understand them encourages them to engage with your brand—whether that is trying new products, engaging with your social media profile, or referring you to their peers. Bottom Line For professionals in marketing or sales management, learning how to create a customer profile offers insights to help you attract and convert more of your ideal buyer types. Doing so helps you customize your offerings and messages, which 97% of marketers reported has shown improvement in business results. Download our free template to build customer profiles following the steps above and use them to optimize your sales and marketing campaigns with more effective content.

Lead scoring aims to prioritize your sales activities by focusing only on opportunities with the best chance of converting into customers. By establishing customer fit and interest criteria, setting a point system, and applying it to current deals in the pipeline, you gear effort toward those most interested and qualified to make purchasing decisions. In this article, we explore how to set up a lead scoring system, provide a template and use-case examples, and discover software tools you can use during the process. Free Lead Scoring Template Lead scoring can sound intimidating, but you don’t have to start from scratch. While many customer relationships management (CRM) systems offer contact and deal scoring tools, you can also do it manually. We’ve created a free template you can customize to help you ‌filter out the most promising leads from those unlikely to buy. You can also design and implement your own point-criteria system as part of your lead generation process by following five simple steps: 1. Determine Scoring Criteria for “Fit” Scoring criteria are the elements you consider essential prospect attributes of someone who will make a purchase decision. In other words, to determine fit, you must first define the activities or customer attributes that will deem the lead qualified and interested in your offerings. We’ll start with the customer’s “fit” for what you are selling—similar to the qualities of your target market(s). An excellent way to establish fit is through creating customer profiles or snapshots of what an ideal buyer (or your target audience) type looks like. Each profile will have a unique name and describe shared demographic, behavior, and interest qualities. Additionally, based on the shared traits for each profile, you’ll describe the best marketing strategy, both in terms of messaging and channel to target them effectively. The chart below is an example of different profiles used in business-to-business (B2B) selling for an insurance agency. The name of each profile summarizes that archetype's priorities and needs—impacting how you’ll sell to them. In addition to your ideal customer types, evaluate the person’s authority to make a purchase decision, their spending capabilities, and the timeline of urgency for your product or service. The budget, authority, need, and timeline (BANT framework) are great ways to identify prospects and supplement those target customer profiles. 2. Establish Scoring Criteria for Interest Discovering a well-suited potential buyer for your offerings by fitting a customer profile and having the budget, authority, need, and timeline to purchase from you isn’t conclusive enough. You now need to create criteria for how interested they are based on their interaction history with your business. Classify each contact or deal based on how they were generated and where they are in the sales process. For example, marketing qualified leads (MQL) are prospects who have interacted with a marketing asset such as a website, email, or content material, such as an e-book. By downloading assets, subscribing to a newsletter, or clicking on an email link, they have indicated they’re curious to learn more about your solution. Alternatively, a sales qualified lead (SQL) is further along in the process and expresses interest through a sales resource—indicating they are closer to making a decision. A sales resource entails pricing pages that a prospect could submit an inquiry through, a free trial they sign up for, or an actual sales rep in which the prospect requests pricing, a product demo, or a full proposal. Fit and interest go hand in hand, and both need to be considered as scoring criteria. A prospect who is a good fit but has no interaction history may need just initial outreach on your end. On the other hand, an interested potential customer who is a poor fit could end up not suited for your offerings and fail to get the exact solution they desire—which can result in unsatisfied customers and poor user reviews. 3. Create a Point System Once you know which attributes you are evaluating, generate a point system. A point system considers weights based on how important a criteria category is. For example, someone who requests pricing is more valuable than a person who reads a post on your blog. Therefore, an event where a potential buyer contacts your sales reps for quotes should carry more weight—awarding more points. The chart below shows examples of circumstances for awarding negative or positive points based on fit and interest categories. You can use this as a lead scoring template to craft your own point system: Example Lead Scoring Criteria Keep in mind, your point system occurs on an ongoing basis in real time. In other words, you keep adding or subtracting points as they occur until the lead converts to a customer. For example, you conduct some prospect research and find a business that meets your exact customer profile. Because of that, you automatically assign them +30—giving them points before engaging them. You reach out via cold call and ask some qualifying questions. You determine they have the budget, need, and authority to make a purchase, but it's not urgent—assigning them +8 points for 38 total. They then subscribe to your email newsletter for +5 and a few weeks later, agree to a product demo for +20—putting them at 63. After the demo, they ask for a proposal that adds another +25—for a total score of 88, qualifying them a “hot” prospect. Following that status, they will either reject your proposal, which would be a significantly negative event in the -20 to -30 range, or accept it, putting them as a won deal. For simplicity and a consistent frame of reference, we recommend sales management personnel create an opportunity scoring system that ranges between 1 and 100 to make it easy to compare and evaluate pending deals. 4. Configure Lead Scoring in Your CRM or Manually After you’ve designed a point system for every event, activity, and characteristic you can measure, you are ready to apply it. While you can do this manually with our lead scoring template, it’s an excellent idea to use a CRM that can automatically calculate deal and contact scores based on how you configure it. For example, with , you can establish criteria, points, and weights in the system which will continuously calculate scores based on prospect activity and traits. You can also create notifications to receive alerts if a significant event were to happen that yielded a significant score bump, such as someone signing up for a free trial. 5. Prioritize Leads & Opportunities Conduct your sales business as usual and score points as events occur. If you’re manually doing this, ensure you’re accounting for everything taking place as frequently as possible to maintain real-time information for your sales team. For CRM users, take the calculated scores and use them to identify the hottest opportunities to focus your efforts on. This could be continuously nurturing those prospects by calling or emailing them or making special offers for them to expedite a deal. For example, you have a high-quality lead with a score of 90, and you want to finalize the deal quickly. You can do a limited-time discount if they agree to purchase within the next week. Once the scoring criteria are set with point values, CRMs like let you evaluate scores in two ways. The first is within a lead, contact, or opportunity profile that shows insights regarding their quality and changes over some time. The other is a list where you can filter or sort records based on their score. What Is Lead Scoring? Lead scoring is a lead qualification technique where you assign points to contacts or opportunities based on how likely they are to purchase from your business. It will consider the combination of a prospect’s fit for your offerings and interest level based on their interactions with your brand. You can increase conversion rates by narrowing in on the top opportunities—putting you in a position to maximize sales revenue. Lead Scoring Examples Now that you know the step-by-step process of how to score leads, let's take a look at a real example and use-case scenario. Imagine you sell content writing services for technology businesses, and the following represents your perfect customer: Beth the Boutique Cybersecurity Business Owner Demographics: Middle-aged business owner of a 1-10 person firm. Behavior: Focuses their time mostly on sales and client-facing activities as well as content development. Priorities: Would like to use a blog for marketing their thought-leadership. Does not wish to work with a large marketing agency since they only need writing services. Has worked with other writers in the past and is dissatisfied with their lack of cybersecurity knowledge. As part of your sales and marketing efforts, you primarily use cold calling, email, and referral marketing to generate and nurture leads. Based on how your revenue operation is conducted and what a perfect customer looks like, you set the following point criteria: With the point criteria set, here are lead scores for three different potential deals based on their fit and activity: ABC Cybersecurity 1-10 employees (10 points) Cybersecurity firm (10 points) Well within budget (10 points) Contact is a decision-maker (10 points) Lead currently has writer but wants new one urgently (20 points) Lead was generated by referral: (10 points) Opened marketing email and had a positive response (6 points) Current Total = 76 points (warm lead) Software Vendor Inc. 1-10 employees (10 points) SaaS business (5 points) Well within budget (10 points) Contact is decision-maker (10 points) Does not have writer and wants one urgently (30 points) Submitted web form of interest (5 points) Rep had a positive interaction with a lead on a call: (4 points) Lead requested proposal: (25 points) Current Total = 94 points (hot lead) Cam’s Automation Consulting 50+ employees (3 points) Lead is an automation consultant (3 points) Somewhat within budget (5 points) Contact is not decision-maker (-1 point) Lead currently has writer but wants new one (10 points) Lead wants a new writer in a few months (5 points) Lead opened email marketing message: (1 point) Lead Opened email marketing message: (1 point) Current Total = 28 points (cold lead) Based on this example, despite Software Vendor Inc. not being the perfect customer for this business, they are currently the hottest prospect due to their urgency level and the sales readiness they’ve expressed. Cam’s Automation Consulting, on the other hand, has interacted with the business quite a bit. Still, because email opens aren’t significant, they only produce minimal point values—making it a colder lead. Bottom Line Lead scoring offers more efficient sales operations, with businesses using a scoring process experiencing a 77% increase in ROI from lead generation activities. Prioritizing only the best opportunities helps you avoid wasting time on deals that won’t pan out. To create a scoring model, determine your criteria, design a point methodology, and apply it to your contacts and opportunities as they are generated.

A customer relationship management (CRM) system is a business tool that helps organizations manage their lead outreach and sales processes and improve relationships with customers. The best are equipped with functionalities for lead and contact management, sales automation, pipeline monitoring, and business performance reporting. In this article, we further define what a CRM system is and why this software is essential for small businesses. Top CRM Systems for Small Businesses *Based on annual pricing For a closer look at the features, strengths, and weaknesses of each provider mentioned above, read our guide to the best CRMs for small businesses. If these providers have too many features you may not necessarily need, check out our guide on CRM alternatives if you only need a tool for organizing and tracking prospects and leads. What Is a CRM System Used For? CRM systems work by pulling together lead and customer data collected by business websites, social media, emails, and third-party apps into a single customer database. This enables more streamlined sales, marketing, and service activities and strengthens relationships by allowing agents to provide more personalized interactions with contacts. Some CRMs provide more robust functionality beyond contact management and workflow automation. For example, a business can also use a CRM platform to analyze data and uncover patterns to make your sales, marketing, and CRM campaigns more efficient. It can also be used to predict future sales trends. A CRM's use case depends on the individual application. CRM features vary from one provider to another and between pricing tiers. Some platforms only provide sales tools, while others include marketing features. There are also some all-in-one solutions that help you manage and improve all aspects of your CRM process. The complexity of a CRM system also depends on what other business tools it is designed to work with. CRMs, like and , can be purchased as standalone systems. Alternatively, they may be integrated with other types of software as a value-added service, such as (which is primarily an email marketing tool) or , a voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) platform. The Expert's Guide to Customer Relationship Management Small Business Use Cases + Pro Tips Download Now Why Your Business Needs CRM Software Customer relationships are the foundation of a successful business, but building good relationships takes time and effort. It entails various activities, such as continuous communication, re-engagement, and understanding your customers’ needs. These are aspects CRM systems help you manage through tools like contact management, omnichannel communications, email marketing, and analytics. CRM tools help you streamline your sales processes and customer communications, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. Some of the challenges you can avoid when using a CRM system include: Difficulty in managing an influx of customers and leads Not having enough visibility into your customer data Being unable to accurately monitor your teams’ performance Wasting time creating reports manually Studies show CRMs use sales, marketing, and automation features to help businesses target their audience, enhance access to customer data, and shorten the sales cycle. A HubSpot report found that 61% of high-performing leaders used a CRM solution to automate their sales process. Additional Benefits of CRM Software A CRM solution simplifies your customer relationship management process, helping you manage your leads and increase customer retention. It is equipped with tools and features that automate some aspects of your business operations and make customer interactions more efficient and effective, as well as improve your overall customer satisfaction score. Some of the top benefits of utilizing CRM platforms include: Simplified sales processes and increased team productivity Centralized access to customer information Data-backed insights for improved decision-making Improved collaboration among your departments—particularly sales, marketing, and service CRM Software Costs CRM pricing models range from free to more than $100 per user, per month, depending on the type of CRM and the features included in each package. Free and low-cost CRMs ranging from $8 to $15 per user, per month often support a limited number of seats and have lower data storage capacity. These also typically only include basic CRM functionalities, such as contact, lead, and pipeline management. CRM packages for mid-range companies can range from roughly $30 to $150 per user, per month. These usually offer additional features for lead generation, collaboration, and reporting. Others offer more extensive CRM integration, such as a built-in phone system. More advanced plans for large enterprises can cost as much as $300 per user, per month. The most expensive CRM systems include deeper customization options as well as highly sophisticated analytics and reporting tools—typically beneficial for larger-sized enterprise companies. Types of CRM Platforms There are three fundamental types of CRM solutions: operational, analytical, and collaborative. While they have different sets of functions and purposes, each has the same goal: to improve customer relationships and grow your business. Operational CRMs do this by automating your business and sales processes to save time and effort. Analytical CRMs focus on gathering data and analyzing it to help you deliver excellent service to your customers. Collaborative CRMs‌ bring together your sales, marketing, and service teams to help you better understand your customers’ needs. Types of CRM Technology When choosing a CRM solution, determine the type of technology you need based on several factors. These include the size of your team, your company’s budget, the level of customization you need, and the extent of data access by third-party vendors. Take a look at these examples of CRM systems below to see which one best fits your business needs. Cloud-based CRMs Also known as software-as-a-service (SaaS) or on-demand CRM, cloud-based systems store your data in a remote network your employees can access anytime, anywhere. The provider also takes care of the deployment and maintenance of the system, so you only need to oversee the CRM adoption and provide your employees with access to the app. They can open it and access customer data as long as there is an internet connection. Cloud-based CRM systems are seen as a more budget-friendly option because you don’t need to invest a large amount for a software license. You only need to pay subscription fees regularly. Most CRM providers already include basic maintenance and support services in the subscription costs. When you’re ready to scale up your business, you can upgrade to a higher-pricing tier with more data storage and features. Some of the popular cloud-based CRM providers are , , and . On-premise CRMs An on-premise CRM solution is installed on the company’s servers and requires the purchase of a software license. You also have complete control over the setup, installation, employee training, software maintenance, and data security. However, the vendor will still provide technical support when critical issues arise. With this kind of system, you don’t need to rely on an internet connection to access your database. While an on-premise CRM system allows you to have complete control over the server, this also means that your company bears full responsibility for the extra IT staff needed to manage it. In addition, you have to shoulder the expenses for hardware and software maintenance or upgrades, industry compliance, and offsite data backup service. In general, this kind of system requires a greater capital investment and takes longer to scale. Some popular CRM providers still offer on-premise versions of their software. Examples of these include and . Open-source CRMs An open-source CRM solution allows users to access its basic source code for free and customize it deeply based on its intended use. You can deploy the modified software to individuals or your entire company. In addition, there’s support from open-source developer communities for bug fixes and troubleshooting. The main drawback of open-source solutions is that they require advanced technical skills to implement. Aside from that, most open-source CRMs are not known for aesthetically pleasing and intuitive interfaces. There is also a limited number of core features available with the free source code, so you need to pay for a more robust system. Examples of open-source CRM platforms are , , and . To learn more about these providers or see other similar options, check out our guide to the best free and paid open-source CRM software. Industry-specific CRMs Most popular CRM providers are general-purpose CRMs that offer businesses a centralized location to manage customer data and interactions. However, some businesses benefit from using industry-specific CRMs. These CRMs provide more niche and specialized tools to help particular business types move customers and prospects through sales cycles more quickly. Businesses that need industry-specific CRMs include companies in the insurance, healthcare, real estate, hospitality, mortgage, call centers, and construction industries. CRMs for these industries typically have processes and ready-made tools that need minor customizations. For example, a CRM system for the real estate industry will usually have features for payment collection, lease contract management, and integrations with popular real estate marketplaces. Integrating Your CRM With Other Business Tools Software integrations connect various tools to sync essential customer data and allow them to flow in one or both directions. Integrating your CRM with other applications your sales team uses helps facilitate more integrated customer data management and avoid information redundancies. For example, if a team member updates your CRM database, it will automatically update the same information in all apps. In addition, integrating your CRM with other apps is crucial in managing your customer relationships, especially if you need specific functionalities only certain software can provide. These may include some of the most popular CRM integrations, such as customer service or help desk, social media management, email marketing, and accounting software. Essential CRM Features & Functionalities Different CRM providers have their own set of features and highlight the functionalities that set them apart from competitors. However, there are certain fundamental CRM features that should be included in their lineup of capabilities you should look for—no matter which provider you’re considering. Creating Your CRM Strategy A CRM strategy is a plan of action for organizations to process customer data and use it to improve their products and services and effectively serve their customers. It is essential in strengthening customer relationships, driving sales, increasing team productivity and collaboration, and improving the overall customer experience. Implementing Your CRM Implementing CRM software requires careful planning—especially if you want your team to utilize it. While most CRM systems are designed to work out-of-the-box, you still need to take several aspects into consideration to get your CRM up to speed and make the most of your investment. Steps included in implementing CRM include assembling your CRM team, establishing your goals for using the software, identifying data that needs to be migrated, and integrating third-party apps. You also need to train your team on how to use the system to increase CRM adoption and maximize its benefits. Bottom Line CRM systems may seem overwhelming and, sometimes, like overkill for your business. However, using one often makes the difference between providing timely and informative follow-ups or allowing deals to slip through the cracks. This makes the CRM solutions well worth the investment for businesses of all sizes, provided your team commits to keeping data up to date and is thoroughly trained on its expected use. You Might Like… Interested in how you can properly utilize your CRM system? Read our guide on CRM best practices. Did you know the customer relationship management process began in the 1950s? If you’re curious about the evolution of CRM through the years, check out our comprehensive article on the history of CRM. Using a CRM can help you attract new clients and open new opportunities for career advancement. If you want to showcase your knowledge in using CRM in a verifiable way, consider earning CRM certifications.

Implementing sales quotas helps sales managers and business owners hold their teams accountable for performance. Additionally, they allow organizations to forecast sales and break down goals into smaller objectives, such as monthly calls or revenue, that sales team members must complete. In this article, you’ll learn how to set sales quotas, explore best practices for managing them, and access free sales quota templates for your small business. Here’s how to set sales quotas in three easy steps: 1. Determine Revenue Targets Broadly evaluate the organizational revenue you’d like to produce. Begin with a break-even analysis to determine the amount of sales needed just to remain operational. Your break-even point includes all of those annual expenses added together. For instance, if you added all the costs of salaries, employee benefits, insurance, office supplies, software, marketing and advertising, and legal costs for a $500,000 total, the $500,000 is your break-even point. After setting that number, determine your desired profitability for that period. This could be a percentage such as 20% or a flat profit number like $100,000. Once the total revenue target is established, decide how much will be from retained business (current customers) and how much should be derived from new business. Using the same example, if we had a total revenue target of $600,000 but knew that $400,000 would come from current customer subscriptions, we could set our new business sales target at $200,000. 2. Develop Roadmap Objectives Developing the road map involves several aspects, such as choosing a time frame and performance minimums—decided based on which type of quota you wish to set. As someone in a sales management position, you need to make a critical decision as to how you’ll set a minimum standard for your team using one of three different types of quotas: Sales revenue quotas: The amount of revenue that must be generated per week, month, quarter, and/or year Deal-based quotas: The number of deals that must be closed or number of products or services sold per week, month, quarter, and/or year Activity quotas: The number of activities that must be completed (e.g., calls placed, emails sent, appointments set) or number of leads that must be generated each week, month, quarter, and/or year Once you’ve set the type, divide it into smaller objectives: If it's revenue-based, break the annual number down into a quarterly or monthly sales quota. We’ve created a sales revenue quota calculator help you calculate this specific type of quota: For deal-based quotas, divide your annual revenue target by the average revenue per deal your business accumulates, then break it down by quarter or month. For example, for a $200,000 new business target with an average deal of $20,000, you need 10 deals. Activity-based quotas are the trickiest to set because you need to work backward using conversion rates. For example, imagine you’re trying to close 30 deals as a business for the year, and your sales pipeline conversion rates are as follows: Cold calling (Introduction) → Product demo = 5% Product demo → Quote proposal requested = 20% Proposal sent → Deal-won = 40% To hit 30 deals, work backward. If you close 40% of deals after the proposal is sent, you need to send 75 proposals for the year (30 deals/40%). If you only get proposals requested after 20% of the demos you do, you need to conduct 375 demos for the year (75 proposals/20%). If you only schedule demos for 5% of introduction calls, you need to make a minimum of 7,500 cold calls for the year (375 demos/5%)—your annual activity quota. 3. Assign & Monitor Quotas for Each Rep The road map or objectives you create in the previous step are your organizational quotas. After you have the total activity or production requirements, assign them to each rep. While it may be easiest to divide the targets equally for all reps, we’ll discuss in the best practices section why you should have personalized quotas based on experience. After your reps have received their quotas, monitor their progress to keep them on track. If they are way ahead on the expected performance, reward them with a bonus, a day off, or another prize to encourage more effort. If they are falling behind, use one of your experienced reps or yourself to act as a sales coach and find out how you can help them. You may need to empower them with sales enablement resources such as software or more leads. Free Sales Quota Templates Though quotas are vital to achieving sales goals, they can be challenging to set for the first time, as they require financial and operational analysis. That’s why we’ve created three free sales quota templates you can use that fit the major types of sales performance metrics you want to evaluate. 1. Sales Revenue Quota Template If you’re looking to hold your team accountable for revenue generation, use this revenue quota template. The top-down approach allows you to segment revenue goals across teams and individuals based on your organizational objectives. 2. Deal Quota Template If your main priorities are acquiring new customers and lead generation, this is the template for you. Deal-based quotas go top-down to decipher the number of deals needed to achieve revenue targets. From there, you can divide it and assign the metrics to individuals on a quarterly, monthly, or weekly basis. 3. Sales Activity Quota Template When you know the activity required to get leads through the sales funnel, use this template to produce activity minimums for your team. With this method, you use a bottom-up approach, starting with later stages in the sales process to find out how many phone calls, emails, proposals, or appointments it takes to complete sales goals. Best Practices for Managing Sales Quotas In addition to following our step-by-step process and free templates for managing sales quotas, there are best practices you can incorporate to maximize their effectiveness. Here are some ways you can supplement quota setting and monitoring: Use Historical Data If you’re fortunate enough to have been in business for a few years, you likely have a general idea of the effectiveness of your lead generation campaigns, efficiency in pipeline conversions, and typical revenue growth rates. Use this information when setting activity and production quotas. Historical metrics help you set performance standards based on what has been achievable in the past. As an example, if you had 15 sales reps who each brought in between $100,000 and $200,000 of revenue each year, it is realistic to require a sales quota in that range. It would, however, be an unrealistic quota to demand $300,000 in production or a far less challenging target. Historical data also helps evaluate seasonality in your sales operations. In other words, you can adjust monthly or quarterly minimums based on slow or busy months. If 70% of your revenue usually comes in Q4, it wouldn’t be fair to demand 25% in Q1, Q2, or Q3. You’d likely require the vast majority of production in Q4 and smaller proportions in the first three quarters. Personalize Quotas Based on Experience & Position We mentioned earlier that it's not always a great idea to equally distribute sales quotas because experience and resources differ across your team. Larger minimums should be placed on the more experienced sales representatives you demand more from, while smaller expectations should be set for new or inexperienced reps. Furthermore, take job position into account when assigning metric standards. If, for instance, you’re assigning sales quotas to individual sales development reps (SDRs) tasked with cold calling and scheduling sales presentations for account executives (AEs), their key indicators might strictly be an activity such as cold calls placed or appointments set. Alternatively, for the account executives, you likely care more about deals or revenue and should demand as such. Sales also involve managing current customers through client experience management and customer support. While we’ve provided sales quota examples of obtaining new business, these minimums can also be used for retention. For example, you might set production requirements for a customer success representative to retain 90% of their accounts or $300,000 revenue year-to-year. The activity could also be a quota where you require X number of emails to be sent reminding clients of their upcoming renewals. Set Realistic Quotas Setting unrealistic expectations is toxic and poor practice for building a sales culture. There is a balance between a goal that is far too easy and a virtually unachievable goal. Low quotas offer reps little purpose and may cause you to miss out on attainable revenue growth. Quotas out of reach will make employees feel there is no point in trying because they won’t hit their numbers. Keep in mind that only 24.3% of sales people were able to reach sales quota numbers last year. Use your historical data to get a grasp on reasonable expectations. If you have no data, work backward from your revenue targets for the expected activity. If the daily or weekly activity you’re demanding from your team seems gruesome just to hit a break-even point, you may need to reconsider your pricing model. Utilize Technology Sales technology is extraordinarily beneficial in automating your quota and performance management process. CRM systems let you set quotas for individual reps and use lead and deal data to track their performance. With , for instance, you can specify requirements to monitor as activities take place and deals are closed. The results can be presented in the forecasting module to see expected performance or in a custom report. Sales gamification software is another valuable asset for sales teams. If you treat sales-quota attainment as a competition between your team with points and rewards, they will be more motivated to put in the effort. While individual platforms are specifically for performance management and gamification, some CRMs like have modules built into their system. The Zoho Motivator feature is an example that lets you create and track custom sales contests between reps. The contests have tailorable point systems, game structures, rules, and how the leaderboard is presented. Bottom Line Sales quotas indicate performance standards such as activity or production you expect your reps to hit over a specified time. Setting a quota requires understanding your organizational revenue goals and working backward to determine reasonable performance metrics. Technology such as CRMs or sales gamification tools helps you analyze data to set quotas, track progress, and motivate your team to put in the effort needed to meet their quotas.

A business proposal is a document sent to a prospective client that outlines a firm's product or service offerings. It explains how you will provide a solution, the cost, the timeline, and qualifying information such as your background and prior work experience. Writing a business proposal demands a series of research tasks to help formulate various sections in your proposal draft. Free Business Proposal Template Creating a business proposal can feel tedious and repetitive, especially if you’re reinventing the wheel with every new sales opportunity. Without a template to guide you and allow a simple plug-and-play process, you find yourself repeatedly drafting a proposal from scratch each time. That's why we’ve created a free business proposal template you can use as a resource for your proposal document. Our free template offers you a solid reference point to follow along as we cover the steps in making an effective business proposal and preparing for writing the individual sections. With that said, here is how to create a business proposal in eight steps: 1. Determine Sales Proposal Requirements The first step in learning how to make a business proposal is knowing what needs to be included. It should be noted that for a request for proposals (RFPs)—formal solicitation requests for products or services typically made by government agencies, public universities, and large corporations—the requirements are normally laid out line by line and must be followed precisely. If you are writing a business proposal for a potential customer undergoing your unique sales process, include things a decision-maker would like to see. For instance, pricing, timelines, and the proposed solution regarding quantities and how you will deliver the product or service are critical purchasing factors enclosed in the document. 2. Gather Necessary Information Gathering essential information and materials for your proposal tends to be complex because each potential client may require different details. In turn, this could demand other personnel become involved and a wide range of sources to pull documents. For instance, some may only need to see the price and proposed solution, while others will want your background story, client reference lists, and work samples to show you're qualified. While you may have to dig around your file database for company information, employee biographies, marketing materials, and pricing sheets, it's easier to store all resources you'll need for a proposal in one place. Customer relationship management (CRM) systems are an excellent route because you can track your proposal progress and acquire what's needed to draft it in one place. is a popular CRM platform that lets you monitor opportunities and store documents in one system. The deal management module allows you to update and view where various opportunities are in the sales pipeline. Then, you can utilize the Smart Docs feature to store, share, and customize templates and materials you'll need for your proposals and make them accessible to your whole team. 3. Design Your Proposed Solution Your proposed solution involves the processes, materials, product quantities, and personnel you will use to fulfill the offerings or your customer’s problem statement. Additionally, it should be included in the scope of work section in the proposal. For businesses that only provide a product such as equipment for a factory or manufacturing plant, this step could be as easy as knowing the quantity and having a logistics plan for how you’ll deliver and install it. For more service-based businesses, such as business consultants or content development services, there will likely be more steps and deliverables to complete the work. Regardless of your business, you can use the five W’s and an H methodology to construct a proposed solution that addresses your prospect's primary pain points: Who: Who will be involved, do the work, manage, and be a point of contact for the prospect? What: What solutions or products will be delivered, and what resources, processes, or technology will be used? Where: Where will work be done or be delivered to? When: When will the work start and be completed, what are the key milestones throughout the project, and when is each deliverable expected to take place? How: How will work be done, managed, and checked for high quality and customer satisfaction? Why: Why did you choose this particular solution for this customer’s needs? As an example, a business-to-business (B2B) content writing business might be trying to address a statement of needs issued by a client: “We would like to express thought leadership on the topic of the Zero Trust Cybersecurity Framework.” In this case, the business could send out this example proposed solution: The objective of this business proposal is to demonstrate how ABC Writing Agency can promote the thought leadership of Cybersecurity Corp. for the Zero Trust Security Model. We believe the best course of action is to research and copyright a branded e-book (roughly 4,000 words) regarding Zero Trust Security, the details of the solution, its benefits, and the modern-day security challenges it solves (what) with the final product completed August 2022. (when) The e-book will use your logo and branding scheme to convey your personal grasp on the subject and thought leadership using a series of direct quotes and statistical callouts. (why) To ensure high-quality work and client satisfaction, we will begin with an initial call to construct a detailed outline discussing the sections, style guides, tone, and to retrieve direct quotes. Following an initial draft, multiple rounds of edits will take place between Cybersecurity Corp. and ABC Writing Agency to develop a final draft. (how) The project will be led by our senior editor, Collin Buchanan, and content manager, Jake Cunningham, who comes from the world of cybersecurity. Our team will utilize and manage freelancers experienced in writing e-books on technical topics to research and copyright the asset. (who) All work will be completed by us virtually and delivered via Google Docs. (where) 4. Calculate Pricing Once you know how you’ll provide your product or service, formulate the costs to include in the pricing section of your proposal. Being one of the toughest steps for how to make a business proposal because of all the factors that need to be considered, it's critical to accurately communicate your costs to avoid losing a deal for overcharging—or worse—winning a deal with significantly underestimated costs. As you price everything, you can either do a flat fee, hourly rate, per unit charge, or some combination of the three. Sometimes it's best to work backward by establishing your desired probability first in the form of a percent like 20% profit or a flat dollar amount such as $10,000 above the work cost. For example, you want to make a 20% profit on the work for an equipment installation job for a manufacturing business, and you’re pricing using a flat fee. You’ve itemized the costs as the following: 1 x $80,000 manufacturing equipment = $80,000 3 installation/delivery employees x 5 hours x $32 per hour = $480 wages $480 employee wages x 7% employer payroll tax = $33 payroll tax $480 employee wages x 20% benefits and workers’ compensation = $96 benefits and compensation $200 for the delivery truck and gas = $200 for delivery costs Based on the itemized expenses, the total cost for this installation job will be around $80,809. To get the total you need to charge this customer to meet your desired profitability, multiply it by 20% to get $16,162. Add that to your total cost ($80,809 + $16,162), and $96,971 is the flat fee you will charge for the installation job. 5. Draft Your Proposal Now that you know your proposal requirements, have gathered the necessary information, determined the proposed solution, and calculated pricing, you are ready to draft the document. Following along with our free template, your draft will consist of the following sections: Title Page The title page is more to show the professionalism of your business than provide information. There should be a specific title establishing the purpose, such as “ABC Writing Agency Proposal for Cybersecurity Corp. to Promote Thought Leadership on Zero Trust Security.” Also, be sure to indicate who the proposal was prepared for in terms of the decision-making person and their company name. Add your logo to the front and the contact information for the primary point of contact for your business they can contact with further questions. Table of Contents Use a table of contents to break down each part of the business proposal so they can easily navigate through it. Because of the digital age we live in, we recommend linking your table of contents electronically to each associated section so that the person reading your proposal can go to any part of the document by clicking on the table of contents. Executive Summary The executive summary takes everything in your proposal and compresses it into one paragraph. Essentially, if a reader reads this section, they should be able to grasp the general idea of your solution. Here’s an example using the content writing example above: With over 10 years of experience in writing high-quality marketing assets, we are eager to assist Cybersecurity Corp in their endeavor to promote thought leadership on Zero Trust Security. We plan to achieve this by writing a comprehensive e-book using engaging copy, stat callouts, and direct quotes from your leaders to help associate the security framework with your brand. Company Background Here’s your time to talk about your inception story, mission statement, founding purpose, and company history. You can also provide biographies and professional pictures of your company founders, leaders, and key personnel that might be involved in the work you provide. This is also the time to express your unique selling proposition. In other words, addressing the question “why choose us” over competitors. Lastly, if you’ve had any recognition or won any company awards, this is the section to highlight those successes. Scope of Work This section correlates with creating your proposed solution in step three as you present it in an actionable business plan. Describe the work that will be completed and the tangible deliverables associated with it. For example, here’s how a content writing business might construct a scope of work: We will provide content writing services to create predetermined marketing assets for Cybersecurity Corp. This includes researching online data for usable information, interviewing subject matter experts (SMEs) for additional insights and quotes, copywriting drafts, inserting callouts, and making edits per revision requests made by Cybersecurity Corp. Deliverables for the scope of work above include: 1 x outline developed by ABC Writing Agency and approved by Cybersecurity Corp. 1 x drafted e-book (max. 4,000 words) delivered by Google Doc No matter how long your scope of work is, it's crucial to avoid industry or technical jargon that might not be understood by just any reader. Any time you’re drafting the scope of work, review it and translate any statements that could be misunderstood or confusing to your reader. Timeline Be sure to indicate how long you expect it to take to complete the entire scope of work. It's also a good idea to provide estimates for each milestone or individual deliverable you set. Whenever possible, present the information visually to help your reader absorb it better. Below is a business proposal timeline example for a sales consulting business and its milestones. Pricing or Price Estimate For this section, take the price calculation you did in step four and present it to the potential customer. While you should itemize it to show where the price comes from, avoid adding your desired profitability as that should be private to your business. Make sure it's clear as to how each item is priced, whether that be hourly, per unit, or a flat fee. This section should also be used to explain payment expectations, e.g., when invoices must be paid by, how much money is required upfront vs after work is completed, refund policy, and if other billable expenses can be included automatically or require client approval. If your business offering requires an estimate because you won’t know how many units of a product you’ll need or how many hours it will take, be upfront. Provide an explanation and an estimated range. Conclusion, Terms & Appendix The final sections should include additional information that could be useful to your prospective client. A conclusion should express your gratitude for the opportunity and explain the next steps to move forward. Terms (or terms and conditions) can be added in a proposal or in the service agreement to cover legal aspects such as contract dispute policies, confidentiality, rules on subcontracting, and other legalities of a working contract. The appendix is optional but would utilize visuals or supplemental documents to enrich your proposal. For instance, you might include links to sample work, a client reference list, or a catalog of options for materials or software vendors from which the client can choose. 6. Edit Your Proposal Draft Upon creating the first draft of your proposal, run through it with multiple sets of eyes from various departments to ensure it is comprehensive and accurate. Some things to consider as you review it for potential revisions: Has strong readability: The proposal uses appropriate style, tone, and structured sentences to create a clean flow of information understood by the specific reader. Avoids grammar and technical errors: The proposal avoids punctuation, spelling, or other errors related to proper writing mechanics. Addresses requirements: The proposal contains all the information and sections required to meet the reader's or customer's needs and objectives. Use editing tools such as to evaluate your writing for enhanced quality. Grammarly lets users upload text into a system to check for grammar and spelling mistakes as well as engagement and readability of content. There’s also a plagiarism check feature to evaluate the text to billions of pages online. You can even adjust style preferences when subscribing to Grammarly Business to ensure it meets all your goals. 7. Send Your Proposal Now that your proposal is drafted, edited, and has the aesthetics it needs, you are ready to send it out for review. More formal submissions for RFPs may require that you submit them in person, electronically, or both, so review those provisions carefully before sending them in. Some sales plans incorporate unsolicited business proposals to new leads to present problems they didn't know existed with viable solutions they can offer. In these cases, they use the proposal to get their foot in the door and create sales opportunities. When taking this course of action, it's important to add context to the unsolicited proposal. For instance, in a sales email, briefly introduce yourself, your business, and what services it provides. Furthermore, indicate why you wanted to send a proposal to them specifically and let them know they can reach out if they wish to discuss it further. 8. Follow Up With Your Recipient Even after you send a proposal, the process is not over. Make time to follow up to confirm the contact received the proposal and see if they have any questions. Because of the proposals' details, there are usually other clarification steps in the procurement process, such as interviews, client meetings, or presentations before work begins. We recommend using a customer relationship manager (CRM) with task management capabilities to ensure sales reps don't forget to reach out to a prospect after a proposal is initially sent. , for instance, lets you design and assign general tasks to team members. There's also the option to create tasks within lead or deal records to manage activity for a specific opportunity. Bottom Line Many business owners and sales managers would like to standardize their proposal-writing system. However, it can be tricky to address the unique needs of every solicited and unsolicited opportunity to get the correct information in order and present their proposed solutions. Luckily, our how-to business proposal examples and free template will help you streamline your bidding process to win more deals.