The Impact of a Congested B2B Sales Pipeline

A congested sales pipeline can hinder your B2B company's efforts to convert prospects into buyers. Most B2B companies have a sales pipeline. It's simply a visual representation of their sales process. Not to be confused with a sales funnel, a sales pipeline shows the individual stages of a B2B company's sales process. It typically begins with prospecting, followed by lead qualification, sales pitch, closing and buyer retention.

Regardless of how your B2B company's sales pipeline is structured, you'll need to move prospects through it. Failure to do so will result in a congested sales pipeline, which can manifest in the following ways.

Stale Sales Leads

With a congested sales pipeline, your B2B company's sales leads may become stale. Fresh sales leads, of course, are almost always more valuable than stale leads. Fresh leads are prospects whom you've recently identified. Stale leads, on the other hand, are prospects whom you've identified a long time ago. A congested sales pipeline means that sales leads may accumulate in the early stages, resulting in staleness. You'll need to move these prospects through your B2B company's sales pipeline in a timely manner so that they don't become stale.

Unqualified Leads

A congested sales pipeline can result in fewer qualified sales leads and more unqualified sales leads. Qualification is typically a stage in the sales pipeline. It comes after the prospecting (e.g. lead generation) stage but before the sales pitch stage. You'll need to qualify sales leads before moving them to the next stage.

Depending on where exactly your B2B company's sales pipeline is congested, you may experience a high number of unqualified sales leads. Unqualified leads are prospects whom you haven't yet vetted or scored. You can still contact them to pitch your B2B company's products or services, but the chances of them making a purchase are slim. You'll need to unclog your B2B company's sales pipeline to generate more qualified leads and, ultimately, sell more products or services.

Fewer Sales

Of course, the biggest problem associated with a congested sales pipeline is fewer sales. Each sale occurs at or near the end of the sales pipe. If you're unable to move prospects through your B2B company's sales pipeline, you'll inevitably generate fewer sales.

Using a sales pipeline is a great way to visualize the stages in which prospects are currently located. With that said, you must prevent it from becoming congested. A congested sales pipeline can result in stale leads, unqualified leads and fewer sales.

Avoid Unqualified Sales Leads

One of the best ways to avoid this scenario is to have a prospecting service like SalesLeads’ Prospecting Service. This service helps you to qualify the sales prospect and get right to the demonstration phase. This helps to keep the top of the funnel moving in the right direction so your sales staff can maintain a consistent stream of movement. Learn more about the prospecting services now.