Sales guides

Sales guides in SuperOffice CRM are powerful tools designed to simplify and standardize the sales process by linking sale types to predefined stages. Each stage includes suggested follow-ups and documents that guide sales staff through a structured sales pipeline, ensuring no opportunities are missed and maintaining consistency across your team.

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What is a sales guide?

A sales guide consists of:

• Stages: Predefined phases in the sales process, such as First Meeting, Quotation, or Closing. Each stage has a name, a probability percentage, and a description.
• Follow-ups: Actions like calls or meetings associated with each stage.
• Documents: Templates for quotations, contracts, or emails relevant to the sales process.

When you create a sale or update its type to one with a linked sales guide, the guide automatically activates in the Sales guide section tab. This tab provides an overview of stages, follow-ups, and documents for the sale. Example: A sale type for new customer acquisition might include:

• First Meeting stage: Meeting follow-up and introductory email.
• Quotation stage: Preparing and sending the quotation.
• Closing stage: Signing the contract and scheduling follow-ups.

Sales guides are set up in Settings and maintenance and can be tailored to fit your organization’s specific workflows.

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How a sales guide works

(video length - 1:24)

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Steps

1. Start with a stage: When you create or update a sale with a linked sales guide, the first stage is automatically set. The Sales guide section tab displays the follow-ups and documents associated with this stage.
2. Create activities: Follow-ups and documents can be created directly from the Sales guide section tab:
   • Click Create next to the follow-up or document name.
   • Complete the prefilled fields in the dialog and save.
   Assign follow-ups to specific team members for better collaboration.
3. Mark task as completed: After completing an activity, check the box next to its name in the Sales guide section tab. Documents are marked completed automatically when created. Completed items also appear in the Activities section tab.
4. Move to the next stage: Once all activities for a stage are complete or as needed:
   • Manually move the sale to the next stage or allow automatic progression (if configured).
   • The guide updates to display the suggested follow-ups and documents for the new stage.
5. Repeat until sale completion: Work through the stages until the sale is marked as Sold or Lost.

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Sales guide section tab

The Sales guide section tab provides a visual and functional overview of the sales process, helping sales reps track progress and manage tasks efficiently.

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Key components

• Stage buttons: Located at the top, these buttons represent predefined stages, such as First Meeting, Quotation, and Closing.
  • Current stage: Highlighted with a filled circle ().
  • Future stages: Marked with an open circle ().
  • Completed stages: Marked with a check ().
• Activities: The tab is divided into two columns: Follow-ups and Documents. Each row includes a Create link, enabling users to generate the required follow-up or document directly from the section tab.
  Use the Show all stages checkbox to view all activities and documents across stages.

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Create a follow-up or document

To create a follow-up or document linked to a sales guide:

1. Go to the Sales guide section tab.
2. Locate the follow-up or document under the current stage.
3. Click Create next to the item.
   • For follow-ups, the Follow-up dialog opens with prefilled fields based on the sales guide’s settings. Modify as needed, then click Save.
   • For documents, the Document dialog opens with a preselected template. Complete the required fields and click Save.

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Mark a follow-up as completed

1. In the Sales guide section tab, locate the follow-up.
2. Check the box next to the follow-up’s name. The task is marked as completed and appears in the Activities section tab as finished.

Documents are automatically marked as completed upon creation.

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Why does the Sales guide dialog open when complete a follow-up?

In Settings and maintenance, it is possible to specify that a follow-up in a sales guide should be suggested automatically when the preceding follow-up is marked as completed. In that case, the Sales guide dialog opens when you mark the previous follow-up as completed. In the Sales guide dialog you have three options:

• Click Create to create the next follow-up in the sales guide. This takes you directly to the dialog for follow-ups.
• Click Cancel if you do not want to create the follow-up at the moment. The Sales guide dialog closes and you should remember to create the follow-up later on.
• Check Always create follow-up? Do not show this dialog again if, in future, you always want to create the suggested follow-up. The dialog for follow-ups will then open automatically next time.

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Move to the next stage

Sales guides support both manual and automatic progression through stages:

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Automatic stage progression

If enabled, the next stage is suggested when all required follow-ups and documents in the current stage are marked as completed. You can choose to move forward or remain in the current stage.

1. Complete all required follow-ups and documents for the current stage.
2. When the dialog appears, click Yes to move to the next stage or No to remain in the current stage.

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Manual stage progression

You can manually move the sale to the next stage if needed, without completing all follow-ups and documents in the current phase.

1. Right-click the button for the desired stage in the Sales guide section tab.
2. Select Move to this stage from the menu.

Alternatively:

1. Click Edit () on the Sale card.
2. Use the Stage dropdown to select the next stage.
3. Click Save.

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Benefits of using sales guides

• Consistency: Standardizes sales processes across your organization.
• Efficiency: Provides clear steps, templates, and tasks for every stage.
• Visibility: Keeps sales reps focused on the current stage and upcoming steps.