The Sales Pipeline helps sales professionals answer the question, "What business is in the pipeline and how do we close it?"
Sales Pipeline is an ACT! for Notes add-on or standalone application that enables users to manage specific pieces of an "opportunity" -- an engagement, project or sale of a specific product or service -- rather than the contact or firm. It is a simple, easy-to-use way to manage multiple, discrete pieces of business associated with any contact or company. Though Pipeline is a standalone Notes application, it permits the user to toggle back and forth to the ACT! for notes contact, company, or activities associated with the opportunity.
Pipeline Form Configurator: The Form Configurator allows the administrator to determine which parts of the opportunity form will be used by the organisation, and which will not. It provides a series of check boxes for many features of the form, and by deselecting items, they will disappear from the opportunity form. Pipeline is full featured, but not crowded. Those features that do not apply to a specific organisation's needs can be removed.
Pipeline Profile What is the nature of the opportunity and who is it with; what products and/or services are we offering; how are we positioning our company to make the sale; what are out strengths and weaknesses; who is the competition.
Contacts & Personnel Who at the client or customer 3rd part is involved in the buying decision; what is their role (contacts are picked from a window that contains ACT! for Notes contact names); who at our firm is involved in making the sale(names are picked from the Lotus Notes names and address book); where is each organisation; what is the responsibility of each.
Pipeline Status Where is this opportunity in the sales pipeline; what is the level of qualification; when do we expect the business to close; how much money is involved; why did we win or lose; and what internal steps are needed and what steps have been completed. From the standpoint of Lotus Notes security, who is the manager of this opportunity and who has what level of read or write access. Opportunities in the database are summarised in Lotus Notes Views. Views may be added to help the user report on opportunities in different ways, or "drill down" into the data, selecting only certain opportunities for summary and review. |