How sales can benefit from project management concepts

How can you apply project management concepts to improve your company’s sales process? To start with, you can consider the different stages of the sales process which are prospecting, qualifying, proposal, deal closure, and implementation as project milestones. In short, disciplined selling requires smart project management skills ’ you need to identify a goal, make good use of resources and activities, and align the work of all parties involved in carrying out the project plan.

Your company’s sales process can be compared to a project plan. Sales reps act as project managers ’ they develop the plan, align resources like company, partner, and customer, and lead from the front to execute the plan.They must also learn to use software to ensure good project oversight and management. Just as project managers will go Microsoft Project courses (this one for example), sales managers will need to learn to use sales management software. Thus, many project management concepts, approaches, disciplines, and skills apply to sales as well.

The sales process can be treated as a type of project management. Sales professionals can enhance their skills by learning about project management concepts. They can read good books and articles on project management to improve their knowledge.

In addition, sales professionals can get support from their organization by portraying their sale campaign efforts in terms of project management. Plus, they can manage the sales process and sales strategies in the same disciplined manner as successful projects are handled.

Similar to project management, successful sales processes involve smart planning and implementation. Project management uses a systematic method to take brainstorming and creative thinking to effective implementation. Sales professionals can combine proven sales theories with project management’s control, monitoring, and execution to make their company more competitive. Read on to learn about areas in sales management that are influenced by project management concepts.

6 Ways Project Management Relates to Sales/Marketing

1. Branding Strategies

Successfully executing a brand strategy needs attention to facts and substantial investment. Your company’s future depends on proper execution of brand strategies. This process involves close coordination and collaboration between your company’s different functional units which is similar to project management. Brand management needs consistent implementation and attention to details as well as the larger picture ’ this is also the basis of project management.

2. Customer Relationship Management

It is easier and more cost-effective to get repeat business from existing clients than to acquire new ones. The project manager can help in this task as they need to build a good relationship and rapport with clients. Therefore, apart from the skills needed for successful technical and commercial execution of projects, project managers should also possess the skills required to enhance the company’s sales capabilities.

3. Promises to Customers

Sometimes, in the bid to close the deal, sales professionals promise deliverables that can be hard for project team members to achieve. Sales activities thus heavily impact project initiation and planning. Sales professionals need to understand their role clearly and how it impacts project management workflows. This will enable them to define client needs with clarity and help set realistic project schedules and pricing.

4. Product or Service Launch

You can effectively apply project management concepts to your company’s launch of a new product or service. Follow project management principles to adopt an organized approach, get confidence and buy-in from company employees, and implement a streamlined and efficient process that reduces time-to-market.

5. Sales Force Automation

Sales Force Automation (SFA) can also benefit from project management principles. Companies and clients can collaborate to create a robust project initiation process. This process can start early in your company’s sales cycle and when the deal is closed you have clear objectives, goals, charter, and authority in place. Process focus is also improved by aligning SFA with project management principles. SFA projects focus on implementation of products and product deliverables and not the on immense change brought about by SFA. Project management changes the focus to the activities and tasks that are needed for change.

6. Sales Initiatives

Sales managers can no longer depend only on their personality to lead their team or close deals. In today’s cutthroat marketplace, products are getting commoditized and margins reduced. Plus, it has become hard to differentiate your company from the rest of the competition. Therefore, sales reps need to act and think like project managers. They should focus on improving the conventional sales workflow by focusing on customer needs and how to address them in the sales cycle and later while implementing the solution accepted by the client.

The good news is you have plenty of project management solutions to choose from, one that fits your sales-oriented needs. The global web-based project management software market is predicted to grow at a compound rate of 9.3% from 2017 to 2025 and top $6.08 billion by 2025.

For example, Wrike adapts to a sales pipeline, affording you with at once the big picture (your overall weekly sales, maybe) and drill-down functionality to specific tasks (your reps’ specific tasks, for example). You also have more Wrike alternative solutions that can match your requirements.

Conclusion

To select quality sales and project management software solutions for your company needs you can consult a reputed software directory that publishes detailed reviews and articles. As this article shows, you can improve your company’s sales process with project management principles and methodologies to benefit from fresh business opportunities. Feel free to contribute your views on this topic.

To take a big leap in sales, an advanced tool like Salesmate CRM is essential that not only aid in closing more sales but also help in maintaining good customer relationships. If you are still in doubt about a CRM and need to know how can it be beneficial for your sales team then get in touch with our team.