What is the best way to use CRM to track leads and project cashflow?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is HUGE in any industry where you’ve got multiple leads at various stages in the sales process. CRM software is a must in keeping organized and optimizing every opportunity. The best way to use CRM is to create levels and use the levels to get a handle on cash projections.

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Step 1: Create Levels

My agency had four levels in our CRM system for prospects who requested to be contacted.

Level 1 – This level is people we needed to chat with and qualify. Remember to use my NBAT technique to qualify leads quickly. If you don’t know about NBAT, watch this quick video about assessing Need, Budget, Authority and Timing.

Level 2 – These people were qualified and needed a meeting to sell our foot in the door offer, such as a discovery or audit. (More on that in this post.)

Level 3 – Leads at this level were ones in the proposal stage. We had qualified them and established a relationship in levels 1 and 2.

Level 4 – This level was only for the done deal, after we got approvals and sign offs to proceed.

Remember when you set up your levels, these are just for potential customers who ASKED to be contacted. People who enter your system through a lead magnet, should stay in the “lead bucket” until they indicate otherwise.

Step 2: Assign Percentages to Your Levels

For revenue forecasting purposes, we assigned percentages to each level. You can start by using my numbers below and fine tune them once you have a good handle on your own rates.

Level 1 – About 10% of the people in this level will turn into sales.

Level 2 – Roughly 25% in this level convert to sales.

Level 3 – Between 50-75% of these prospects will become clients.

Level 4 – Anywhere from 75-100% will close the deal.

Step 3: Plug In the Numbers

Use the percentages and get a great snapshot of your cash projection. Use this to analyze your accounting systems, accounts receivable, recurring revenue and more.