Revenue management is at the heart of a company’s challenges. It encompasses a whole range of commercial activities such as strategy, pre-sales, recruitment, training, performance analysis…
As the first point of contact with a prospect, it plays a vital role in both the customer experience (creating a relationship, gathering requirements, managing the allocated budget…) and in company management (sales and margin forecasts, cash flow, customer portfolio management…).
What is Revenue management?
Sales management covers all sales-related activities within a company. It encompasses a wide range of business activities such as prospecting and pre-sales, as well as support functions such as recruitment, training and performance analysis.
Revenue management activities
Prospecting
- Identifying sales targets
- Database creation and enrichment
- Setting up a multi-channel contact strategy
- Development of targeted prospecting campaigns
Request a quote
- Qualifying interested prospects
- Analysis of needs and preparation of sales proposals
- Preparation and presentation of detailed quotations
- Proactive follow-up and reminders
- Regular CRM updates
Customer billing
- Seamless data integration between CRM and financial management tools (ERP, billing software)
- Generate and send compliant invoices
- Setting up customer reminders
- Payment reconciliation and receivables management
Support activities
CRM quality control
- Definition and application of CRM best practices
- Implement regular quality controls on data input
- Correct errors and remove obsolete or irrelevant information
- Implementation of workflows and automation to improve efficiency
Integrating newcomers
- Design of a complete onboarding program (sales techniques, methodology, corporate culture)
- Personalized progress monitoring
- Continuous skills assessment
- Training in the use of tools
Sales force management
- Regular pipeline meetings and opportunity reviews
- Individual and group coaching to solve sales problems
- Crisis management and conflict mediation
- Team HR management and compensation
Revenue management activities
Sales management
- Real-time monitoring of sales and revenue trends
- Development and coordination of ad hoc sales campaigns
- Sales forecasts
- Analysis to identify growth drivers
Monitoring KPI indicators
- Selection and definition of relevant KPIs
- Implementation of reporting tools and dynamic dashboards
- Commercial data collection, processing and analysis
- Regular dissemination of insights and recommendations to stakeholders
Strategy definition
- Align sales strategy with overall corporate objectives
- Building a detailed action plan with clear milestones
- Steering sales transformation projects (digitalization, internationalization, etc.)
- Definition and adjustment of pricing policy and product/service portfolio
Revenue management tools
Depending on the situation, sales management can be supported by software such as CRM, ERP or costing software… In addition, the various processes can be digitized or even partially automated (eliminating repetitive, non-value-added tasks).
Below you will find an illustration of 3 levels of process maturity: documented, digitized and automated.
The strategic challenges of sales management
Customer acquisition
Sales management is all about generating sufficient or growing sales volumes, vital to the smooth running of the company. The main effort is to find customers in your target market.
Customer loyalty
In parallel with acquisition, maintaining a good relationship with existing customers will help to increase the average shopping basket or obtain referrals and therefore new customers.
Adapting to markets
In collaboration with marketing, monitor developments, competition and trends to ensure clear positioning and pricing for prospects. By implementing flexible, responsive processes in the face of these changes.
Optimizing Revenue management
Optimizing your activities means freeing up your sales force from tedious tasks, improving margins and profits, and boosting team performance. Thanks to automation, specialized software and training.
Find out more in our article on task automation
Example of the Revenue process: 7 key steps to closing a deal
We ‘ ve written a full article on the subject, here’s an extract.
1. The art of uncovering opportunities in your target market
Sales management starts withidentifying potential customers. There are two main approaches to sales:
- Proactive approach: reach out to prospects via various channels (telephone, e-mail, social networks, etc.).
- Natural attraction: creating relevant content to spontaneously attract the attention of potential buyers
The key to success lies in an in-depth knowledge of your target market.
2. Listening to needs: the discovery interview
This crucial step is an aid to qualification and must meet these challenges:
- Making initial contact
- In-depth understanding of prospect issues
- Gather essential information to assess the opportunity
Each interview needs to be prepared, with a level of effort specific to your market. Examples of preparatory tasks:
- Find out about the company and its sector
- Prepare a structured interview guide
- Enter data into the company’s CRM system
3. Assessing potential: qualifying the opportunity
The question here is whether the investment in time and resources is worthwhile. Criteria may include :
- Suitability for the target market
- Clarity of need
- Available budget
- The interlocutor’s decision-making power
Some companies use a scoring system to objectivize this evaluation.
4. Putting the offer into practice: from costing to proposal
This phase comprises several stages:
- A precise estimate of the resources required by means of a costing
- Drawing up a detailed sales proposal
- Drawing up the corresponding quotation
Numerous automation options are available: for example, automated quotations
5. The moment of truth: presenting the offer
Golden rule: never send a proposal without first presenting it in person (except in special cases). This moment allows :
- A detailed explanation of the proposed solution
- Time to answer questions and clear up doubts
- Qualify the prospect’s real interest
6. The art of compromise: the negotiation phase
If the offer arouses interest, a period of discussion about the conditions often follows. Key tips:
- Staying proactive
- Strike a balance: every concession must be matched by a quid pro quo
- Be creative in finding win-win solutions
7. Realization and transition to production
The last stage marks the end of the sales process and the start of the operational phase:
- Finalization of legal aspects (contract)
- Launching operations (planning, procurement, etc.)
- Administrative management (invoicing, payment tracking)
Effective coordination between the various departments of the company is essential for a smooth transition.
Organizing the sales team
Organizing the sales team
Whether in terms of sales management activities or knowledge of the company and its offerings. It is imperative to distribute responsibilities among different profiles within the team. Over and above the actions of each member of the team, the development of skills, the monitoring of performance indicators and the implementation of sales procedures and processes are essential to the smooth running of the company.
The right interconnected software
The main sales management software packages are CRM, ERP and costing software.
They can manage large volumes of business and customers.
They enable you to manage sales activity, forecast sales, centralize customer relations information…
To avoid multiple re-entries of the same information in several software programs, or information searches, it is possible to connect software programs to each other
Task automation
Thanks to automation platforms, you can free your sales force from certain sales management tasks, such as: CRM updates, importing quotations into the CRM or quotation, automatic quotation generation, validation circuits with the sales manager, qualification tasks, automated sales reporting. These automations help reduce errors and provide consistent, complete data in real time.
Tracking performance targets
It’s important for a company to set up performance indicators (otherwise known as KPIs).
The important thing is to build them up gradually, one by one, which will make it easier for you, for example, to visualize the results of sales process optimizations over a period of several months.
Setting up systems to measure these indicators and analyzing data will enable you to make informed decisions at any time.
Using BPM software for Revenue management
Workflow or BPM (Business Process Management) software is a platform built around a process or workflow engine.
Thanks to this engine, a company can replicate the current operation of a business process (as close as possible to the existing one) on a 100% customized workflow. This workflow takes into account simultaneous steps, conditions, validations and automations.
This means better collaboration between teams, fewer errors and shorter lead times.
These tools also enable you to document the process and keep it up to date automatically. So you don’t have to worry about pdf files.
How to optimize sales management? Our advice
Identify problems before looking for solutions
There are a multitude of ways to improve your sales management, but the most crucial is to find the one that best suits your context. To achieve this, it’s essential to start by identifying the difficulties encountered by your teams. We recommend that, depending on your resources and availability, you carry out an audit (even a short one) of your current sales management (and you can do it yourself).
A well-conducted inventory will enable you to highlight operational obstacles, prioritize them and imagine an ideal way forward. Just as you wouldn’t build a house without a plan, even a quick audit will guide you in the creation of a high-performance sales organization.
Find out more in our article on how to conduct an audit easily.
Once you’ve identified the problems, explore possible solutions
Let’s take an example of a problem: “My sales are insufficient”. There are several possible approaches:
- Track A – Optimizing salespeople’s time
- Track B – Recruiting new sales talent
- Track C – Partially delegate order generation
- Track D – Investing in advertising
Once you’ve identified these avenues, define your criteria and limits (for example, “keep payroll stable”, “respect a monthly budget of 1000 euros”…). All these parameters will help you select the most appropriate solution.
Then, for example, if you’re looking to optimize your sales force’s time, you can look for software to lighten and automate your teams’ administrative tasks (such as CRM updates, automated quotations, reminder management…).
Example of the optimization and automation of a response process to a request for quotation
Let’s imagine an automation platform that lets you fully customize your prospects’ quote requests. Its aim is to connect your software to each other, collect data, automatically update your CRM, and automate costing and quotation creation.
In the example shown, the process includes steps assigned to different actors, and automations for administrative tasks and communication of steps to the right people.
The steps are as follows:
- prospect qualification,
- creating opportunities,
- costing,
- automatic quote generation with validation circuit
- CRM updates
- automated dispatch of the offer to the customer
This type of automated, adaptable process optimizes lead management, data organization and communication between the various players. The process automation platform thus contributes to improving the efficiency and performance of sales management.
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What are the advantages and disadvantages of sales management optimization?
Harmonizing practices
Process management tools enable employees to follow a single process specific to your expertise. No more quotes on the same perimeter with different amounts. Training time on tools and processes is greatly reduced.
Relief for sales staff
Automation software frees sales staff from tedious, non-value-added tasks. Teams work more comfortably, and your data is complete and consistent. They can concentrate on the technical side.
Best margins
Time is freed up for all sales staff, which you can then invest in the search for additional sales (on an existing target or in a new market), or to reduce the payroll or set up training programs.
Sales forecasting and data analysis
Whether through the digitalization of sales management or the homogeneity of CRM data, all steering, monitoring and analysis actions will be facilitated. Your decisions and convictions will be supported by high-quality data.
Requires initial investment
Before you can achieve your first ROI, you need to be able to invest time or money. We advise you to start with sales management optimizations that have simple ROI, such as task automation. Once the first optimization has been achieved, it will pay for itself, creating a virtuous loop of investment. Don’t hesitate to testsales management optimization toolslike Lapala free of charge.
Conclusion
In conclusion, sales management is at the heart of a company’s performance. It encompasses many aspects, from prospecting to loyalty building, including optimization of internal processes, recruitment and team management.
The digital age offers new opportunities to improve this management: interconnected software, automation of repetitive tasks, real-time data analysis… These tools enable sales teams to concentrate on their real added value: customer relations and sales.
However, optimizing sales management is not just a question of technology. It requires a thoughtful approach, tailored to each individual company. The key is to identify weak points, explore various solutions and implement progressive improvements.
By investing in sales management optimization, you’re not just boosting your short-term results. You’re building an organization that’s more agile, more efficient and better equipped to face future market challenges.
Now you know all about sales management. Now it’s your turn! See you soon for more content!
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