Chapter 1: Pipeline Management: The Backbone of Your EnterpriseEnterprise Enterprise (in the context of sales) is a relatively large organization typically composed of multiple levels, locations, and departments which need multi-layer software systems that support collaboration across a large corporate environment.

Much has been written (and spoken of) regarding the need for an accurate sales processSales Process Sales Process is a series of strategic steps or a set of activities aimed at driving sales growth through the alignment of personnel, market insight, methodologies, relevant business units, and technology. – also known as sales pipelineSales Pipeline Sales Pipeline is a type of visualization showing the status of each sales prospect in the customer life cycle or sales process. management. Companies generally fall into a rough range of possibilities with regard to pipeline management.

Chapter 2: Pipeline Management: Critical to Attaining Company Goals

What may not be clear until you take a closer look is the fact that accurate and effective pipeline management is essential to the attainment of long-term company goals. For that reason, pipeline management might also be called “opportunity management.”

Chapter 3: Pipeline Management: A Self-Sustaining Success

Laying out the separate steps of the sales process and making sure they are followed is the only way of bringing control to sales, both for the salespeople and sales management. If played right, pipeline management is also a self-sustaining success.

Chapter 4: Pipeline Management: The Vital Importance of Automation

When allocating a budget in an enterprise, automation often takes somewhat of a back seat to other matters. While the causes for this are many and varied, we will not attempt to examine them here, but simply demonstrate the vital importance of IT support for one crucial activity: sales pipeline management.

Chapter 5: CRM and Booming Your Company

Automated tools for CRM have been around in one form or another since the advent of computers. CRM today goes well beyond simple contact management, however, and if intelligently utilized can help steer an enterprise into whole new levels of profitabilityProfitability Profitability is the potential, degree, metric, ability or relative efficiency of a business to yield financial gain (i.e., profits) after all relevant expenses and costs have been deducted..

Chapter 6: Where CRM Can Go Wrong

CRM can and often does become almost more of a hindrance than a workable solution. Why does this occur, and what can be done about it?