If you lead a small or medium sized business, chances are sales pipeline management is high on your priority list. And for good reason – standardizing your sales tracking process delivers results.
According to leading research firm Aberdeen Group, companies employing sales pipeline management achieve 36% higher team attainment of annual quota compared to those flying blind.
But as an SMB, complex enterprise CRMs overwhelm teams and undermine adoption. Whether it‘s upfront licensing costs or intense admin workloads, solutions built for large corporations just don‘t fit.
What if you could dramatically simplify pipeline tracking without sacrificing data insights? Meet Bigin.
Why Bigin is a Game Changer for Managing SMB Sales
Built by Zoho as part of their market-leading CRM platform, Bigin combines consumer-grade ease-of-use with advanced functionality tailored for lean SMB teams. Right out of the gate, Bigin accelerates sales oversight through:
Flexible Pipeline Modeling – Map your unique workflow stages in just minutes
Kanban-based Tracking – Visually track every deal from lead to close
Mobility – Work on the go with full access via iOS and Android
Built-in Analytics – Monitor performance trends and forecasts
But how does such a lightweight tools compare long-term against popular mainstays like spreadsheets? Let‘s dig deeper into why Bigin is primed to be an SMB game-changer when it comes to modernizing pipeline strategy.
Bigin vs. Spreadsheets – Why Excel Alone Fails SMBs
If the staple of sales tracking since the dawn of Excel, why consider shifting away from spreadsheets at all? Aren‘t they the quintessential model of flexibility and accessibility that SMBs need?
In theory, yes. But for most modern small business pipelines, spreadsheets quickly show limits:
Data Fragmentation – Without a central database, sales collateral ends up scattered across emails, individual trackers and local files. This introduces version control issues and prevents unified views.
Manual Configuration – Formatting and updating views requires intensive, specialized expertise beyond typical sales reps. What works today risks falling stale.
Limited Accessibility – Collaborating across devices remains cumbersome, especially for mobile teams always on the go.
Minimal Analytics – Real-time reporting and forecasting requires manual number crunching. Institutional knowledge walks out the door when top performers leave.
No Automation – Following up on the key tasks needed to progress deals relies solely on individual diligence and memories.
Unlike rigid legacy CRMs, Bigin strikes an optimal balance between power and simplicity that SMBs need today. Sales ops directors can customize pipelines in just clicks. Reps monitor deals and seamless drive progress via built-in workflows.
Advanced features like role-based access, robust integrations and predictive analytics ensure long-term scalability so early-stage tools don‘t inhibit future maturation.
Let‘s walk through how Bigin specifically rises above spreadsheet limitations to drive pipeline consistency and analytical sophistication tailored for lean teams.
Situational Analysis – Assessing Your Pipeline Process Maturity
Before diving into Bigin specifics, it‘s worth stepping back and objectively assessing your current sales tracking process maturity.
Quickly check any limiting factors that apply today:
- [ ] Sales data scattered across tools/spreadsheets
- [ ] Visibility gaps between sales managers and reps
- [ ] Forecasting revenue is largely guesswork
- [ ] Following up on time-sensitive tasks falls through the cracks
- [ ] Critical tribal knowledge lives only in individual reps‘ minds
- [ ] Reporting pull data on pipeline health demands IT help
If even a few sound familiar, chances are managing pipelines via manual tracking introduces serious visibility and consistency gaps.
Luckily, purpose-built sales pipeline tools like Bigin can quickly close these SMB capability gaps at extremely accessible pricing. First, let‘s ground ourselves on what mature pipeline processes entail.
Traits of a Highly Effective SMB Pipeline Machine
Despite variations across verticals, SMBs running smooth sales machines often share these core traits:
Centralized tracking – Deals across every channel feed into a consistent pipeline taxonomy with standardized fields and statuses
Specialized milestone views – Reps see tasks tailored for closing while leadership tracks cycle time and forecasts in aggregate
Proactive notifications – Workflows automatically trigger next step reminders based on stage duration targets
Auditable changes – Every customer data and deal status tweak logs details like editor and timestamp
Actionable analytics – Managers slice real-time reports on aging analysis, conversion performance and more
Delivering these capabilities natively makes Bigin a go-to solution for establishing pipeline discipline often lacking in standard SMB toolboxes.
Now let‘s walk through how Bigin specifically empowers your team to painlessly adopt modern pipeline best practices.
Discover Bigin – Intuitive SMB Pipeline Management
Bigin combines consumer-grade interfaces with the sales tools teams need for executing sophisticated pipeline strategies tailored to SMB constraints.
Rather than generic templates, Bigin offers industry-specific models out-of-the-box for professional services, manufacturing, IT services and more so terminology matches existing vernacular.
Teams can customize statuses and fields to match in-house processes in just clicks. Every deal feeds into customized pipeline views traceable from lead to close:
Configuring Workflows & Notifications
Building automated workflows tailored to each pipeline phase ensures consistent follow-up as deals progress. Alerts route overdue tasks to appropriate team members based on custom criteria:
Actionable Analytics for Everyone
Unlike static reporting requiring spreadsheet gurus, Bigin analytics visualize insights in real-time at appropriate levels. Reps track task completion rates while executives view cycle time trends across channels:
Advanced custom reports empower managers to slice data on aging trends, predicting at-risk deals, and more.
Bottom Line – Bigin Delivers SMB Pipeline Tools That Simply Work
Even in spreadsheets, modeling complex sales processes is possible (if not cumbersome). But adopting modern analytics and process governance requires专业化 tools.
Rather than change workflows to fit limitations of rigid solutions, Bigin‘s flexibility bridges simplicity with sophistication tailored for high-growth SMBs.
- For reps – managing deals becomes easier and more mobile than spreadsheets.
- For managers – real-time forecasting and risk analysis without manual number crunching.
- For leadership – confident strategic decisions grounded in pipeline data.
If your SMB is pursuing double-digit growth, consider test driving Bigin for a more resilient and scalable pipeline foundation, especially as onboarding only takes minutes.
The bottom line? Modern problems require modern solutions. Spreadsheets carried us far, but unlocking the next stage of rapid SMB expansion relies on purpose-built tools like Bigin that simply work.
What stalled deals keeping you up at night could seamlessly progress to closed wins before the quarter‘s end. Start turning pipeline stress into sustainable success today.
