Siebel Applications Administration Guide > Activity Plans and Sales Methods >

Defining a Sales Methodology

Creating a sales methodology includes the following parts:

• Creating the sales method record
• Creating a sales stage record for each stage in the methodology

NOTE:  Sales methods and stages are associated with activity templates and assessment templates of type Opportunity. If you are not intending to create a template of this type, then you do not have to define a sales methodology.

You use the Sales Methods view of the Administration - Data screen to define sales methods and to create and associate sales stages with each of those methods.

This task is a step in Process of Administering and Using Activity Plans.

To create a sales method and associated sales stages

1. Navigate to the Administration - Data screen, then the Sales Methods view.
2. In the Sales Methods list, create a new record, and complete the necessary fields.
3. In the Sales Stages list, create a new record, and complete the necessary fields.

   Some fields are described in the following table.

   Field	Comments
   Phase	Select the value that best matches the stage you are currently adding. For example, the Prospecting stage best matches the lead discovery phase. This value is used for rolling up many different stages into phases. Phases simplify management and reporting of the sales cycle. The choices in this drop-down list are configured by using the SALES_STAGE_PHASE_TYPE type in the List of Values. For more information, see Working with Lists of Values. The default choices are: A - Lead Discovery B - Working the Deal C - Closing D - Lost Deal
   Status	Select a status value. The choices in this drop-down list are configured by using the SALES_STAGE_STATUS type in the List of Values. The default choices are Open, Won, and Lost. For more information, see Working with Lists of Values.
   Quota Factor	Type the amount by which a sales representative's quota is multiplied for that sales stage. As you move deals from one stage to another stage, some deals fall out of the pipeline. To eventually close $1,000,000 in revenues, you might need $10,000,000 worth of stage 01 deals, or $5,000,000 worth of stage 04 deals, or $1,500,000 of stage 08 deals. Your quota factors in this case are 10 for stage 01, 5 for stage 04, and 1.5 for stage 08. In your Siebel application, a sales representative's quota is the sum total of the revenue quota objectives on all of the representative's active quota plans. The default value is 1.
   Order	Type a number for the sales stage's position in the list of values in the Opportunities screen.
   Win Probability	Type a number for the probability or likelihood (out of 100) that, after successfully completing this stage, the deal is eventually won. In theory, the later the stage, the higher the win probability is, because each stage brings the salesperson closer to winning the deal.
   Duration	Type the number of days in a particular stage required for an average deal under average circumstances.
   Stalled Deal Limit	Type the number of days that an opportunity can be in a particular sales stage. If the opportunity exceeds this limit, then you can consider the deal to be stalled. There is no effect on the sales stage or any other aspect of the opportunity.

Before the Sales Method and Sales Stage can be used, the cache might need refreshing. For more information, see Clearing the Cache.