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10 simple CRM sales pipeline reports for service business


The Chief Sales Officer (CSO) or the Sales Director needs to keep a close tab on the sales pipeline. It helps in making tweaks to the sales strategies, manage resources going towards a promotion or having additional campaigns to correct the sales trajectory.

Many organizations have CRM installed or subscribed to help the CSO or Sales Director to track the sales pipeline. However, if the sales pipeline reports are not configured properly then the data can mislead or hide the glaring issues which might turn out to be the reason for revenue dip in the future.

I am listing 10 simple CRM sales pipeline reports best suited for services businesses, which will help CSO or Sales Director to keep the pipeline green.

  1. Sales goals vs target report - This report tells you about your progress concerning the goals that you had set previously for the organization. If you see any negative deviation from the goal for more than a month then you should immediately reinforce the additional efforts to bring the numbers back to normal. It is best represented by the line graph.
  2. Sales closures in the next 3 months - This report tells you about the business that you are likely to close in the coming 90 days. This helps you in preparing your operations and delivery teams. You can ramp up or ramp down the resources based on these estimates. It is best represented by the stacked column (representing the stage of the deal/opportunity) chart where you have months on the x-axis.
  3. Sales closures per business line in the next 3 months - This report goes a little deeper and tells you how the individual business line is expected to bring in revenue over the next 3 months. It is best represented by the column chart.
  4. Net new-new closures in the next 3 months - This report tells you how much of the revenue is coming your way through the net new business from the new clients. In the services business, there may be a chance of having a recurring business. This report highlights the sales efforts that are going to winning new customers for you. It is best represented by the stacked column (representing the stage of the deal/opportunity) chart where you have months on the x-axis.
  5. Leads generated by the inside sales team in the last 30 days (or 4 weeks) - This report highlights the deals (in Hubspot lingo) or opportunities (in Dynamic CRM lingo) or leads (in general sense of sales world) being generated by your inside sales or demand generated team. It is best presented by the stacked column (representing the line of business) chart with days/weeks on the x-axis. 
  6. Introductory sales calls in the last 30 days (or 4 weeks) - This report tells you how many initial meetings you have happened. The sales cycle for every business differs. Depending on your sales cycle duration and closure rate, you can calculate the probable revenue realization period using this report. It is best presented by the stacked column (representing the line of business) chart with days/weeks on the x-axis. 
  7. Proposal sent (count and amount) in the last 30 days (or 4 weeks) - This report tells you how many proposals the company has sent. Based on your average proposal to closure duration and closure rate, you will know how soon and how much revenue to expect shortly. It is best presented by the stacked column (representing the line of business) chart with days/weeks on the x-axis. 
  8. Proposal walk-throughs or demo calls in the last 30 days (or 4 weeks) - This report tells you how many demos you have had. It is best presented by the stacked column (representing the line of business) chart with days/weeks on the x-axis. 
  9. The business won in the last 30 days (or 4 weeks) - This report tells you how much of business you have secured. You will get used to looking at an average number over a period of time. Any drastic change in this number should highlight that you have not performed as usual. If you have run a promotion campaign recently and yet you don't see a swelled number (past the average closure cycle period) then that should worry you. It is best presented by the stacked column (representing the line of business) chart with days/weeks on the x-axis. 
  10. The business lost in the last 30 days (or 4 weeks) - This report highlights the recent prominent reasons for a business not getting converted. You may find out that you are not closing the business because you are quoting a high price, the offering fitment is not there or the prospects are not qualifying any of the existing buyer personas. It will help you understand the changes you need to make in the sales tactics to have the closure soon. It is best presented by the stacked column (representing the reasons) chart with days/weeks on the x-axis. 

The same set of reports can be used for individual or 1-on-1 salesperson pipeline review. Such review meetings can be chaired by the sales manager. The only change would be in question number 5. For a salesperson, the sales manager would be interested in knowing how many leads are contributed by the salesperson through own efforts without taking into account the inside sales or demand generation team's support.

These 10 simple CRM pipeline review reports should keep you focused on generating targeted revenue for your organization. 

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