I am trying to set up the right infrastructure for our deal pipeline for New Business, Renewals, Expansion, Downsell. Here, in the community, I saw that the best practice is to create a separate pipeline for each. However, we only have 2 pipelines with our Starter plan.
I am thinking to keep only one Sales Pipeline and introduce naming conventions to be able to filter and report on them, ex. "Expansion - Company XYZ - $50,000".
What are potential consequences and drawback of keeping all deals together? What's the impact on reporting (Closed revenue, funnel stages CVR, Average time in stage, etc). It seems like I can filter everything through "Deal Name Contains" to be able to differentiate.
Given the limitation of having only two pipelines in the Starter plan, I would suggest utilising both pipelines and using deal object tags. These visual cues can quickly inform team members about the nature of a deal without the need for in-depth examination, streamlining the process of managing and navigating through deals. Here's a suggested approach to organize your deal types effectively, incorporating the use of colored object tags for clarity:
Suggested Pipeline Structure
Pipeline 1 - Core Sales Pipeline: This pipeline should focus on capturing New Business and Expansion deals.
New Business Deals: Tag these deals with one color (e.g., blue) to indicate fresh opportunities with new or existing clients.
Expansion Deals: Use a different color (e.g., green) for deals that represent upselling or cross-selling opportunities with existing clients. These deals typically involve less effort than acquiring new customers but are crucial for growth.
Pipeline 2 - Customer Success Pipeline: This pipeline is dedicated to Renewals and Downsell.
Renewals: Apply a specific color (e.g., yellow) for renewal deals, which are critical for maintaining your existing customer base and ensuring recurring revenue.
Downsell: Use another distinct color (e.g., red) for downsell opportunities. These deals require special attention to understand the reasons behind the downscaling and to maintain a positive relationship with the customer.
Additional Tips
Clear Guidelines: Establish and document clear guidelines for how deals should be moved between pipelines and stages, including when and how to apply colored tags.
Review and Adjust: Periodically review the effectiveness of this structure and make adjustments as necessary based on feedback from your team and any changes in your business processes.
After taking some time to research, I am still unsure of the best way to manage different deal types. I am considering maintaining a single Sales Pipeline and introducing naming conventions to filter and report on deals, e.g., "Expansion/New Business/Downgrade/Renewal - Company XYZ - $50,000." Could someone clarify these scenarios, please?
Scenario 1 (Downgrade): Customer A's New Business Deal was Closed Won on November 1, 2023, at $10K ACV. On April 20, 2024, Customer A decides to downgrade the contract, and the new contract value is $6K ACV. How should I manage deal creation/update? How do I ensure the $4K in lost revenue is reflected in forecasting? Do I need to prorate or use discounts for this?
Scenario 2 (Renewal + Expansion): Customer B's New Business Deal was Closed Won on November 1, 2022, at $10K ACV. On November 1, 2023, Customer B renews the contract and expands services, and the new contract value is $16K ACV. On April 20, 2024, Customer B requests another upgrade, and the new contract value increases to $21K ACV. How should I manage deal creation/update? How do I ensure the $6K + $5K added revenue is reflected in forecasting?
Given the limitation of having only two pipelines in the Starter plan, I would suggest utilising both pipelines and using deal object tags. These visual cues can quickly inform team members about the nature of a deal without the need for in-depth examination, streamlining the process of managing and navigating through deals. Here's a suggested approach to organize your deal types effectively, incorporating the use of colored object tags for clarity:
Suggested Pipeline Structure
Pipeline 1 - Core Sales Pipeline: This pipeline should focus on capturing New Business and Expansion deals.
New Business Deals: Tag these deals with one color (e.g., blue) to indicate fresh opportunities with new or existing clients.
Expansion Deals: Use a different color (e.g., green) for deals that represent upselling or cross-selling opportunities with existing clients. These deals typically involve less effort than acquiring new customers but are crucial for growth.
Pipeline 2 - Customer Success Pipeline: This pipeline is dedicated to Renewals and Downsell.
Renewals: Apply a specific color (e.g., yellow) for renewal deals, which are critical for maintaining your existing customer base and ensuring recurring revenue.
Downsell: Use another distinct color (e.g., red) for downsell opportunities. These deals require special attention to understand the reasons behind the downscaling and to maintain a positive relationship with the customer.
Additional Tips
Clear Guidelines: Establish and document clear guidelines for how deals should be moved between pipelines and stages, including when and how to apply colored tags.
Review and Adjust: Periodically review the effectiveness of this structure and make adjustments as necessary based on feedback from your team and any changes in your business processes.
HubSpot's best practice is to create a new pipeline if your stages are different. If your stages are the same, then use the same pipeline, but create a property to identify them and filter them out, as you mentioned.
You shouldn't see any issues with reporting regardless of the route you take.
Thanks for responding. What property would you create? I saw that there's a default "Deal Type" property that has 2 options "New Business' and "Existing Business".