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Setting Up a Sales Process

To set up a sales process, use the Sales Process (RSF_SALES_MODEL) component.

This section provides an overview of the sales process and discusses how to:

Page Name

Definition Name

Usage

Sales Process Page

RSF_SALES_MODEL

Review the KES stages and tasks that make up the sales process delivered with the PeopleSoft system. Define other stages or tasks as necessary.

Clone Sales Process Page

RSF_SLSPRCS_CLONE

Copy an existing sales process to use as the basis for a new process.

Sales efforts typically follow a defined series of stages and tasks. PeopleSoft Sales provides the Knowledge Enabled Sales (KES) process, a ready-to-use proprietary sales process that enables you to identify the stages and tasks that an organization's sales process requires. The KES process can also help sales representatives learn how to perform tasks using the organization's best practices.

The KES process includes several stages. Each stage is associated with an opportunity pipeline segment, and every stage includes one or more tasks. You can use the KES process that is provided or you can define sales stages and tasks based on your organization's preferred sales model.

Note that you can enable multiple sales processes at one time. For example, you might have one process for selling within a particular industry and another for selling a particular product or service line. You can relate all the various stages to common pipeline segments to ensure that you analyze pipeline information correctly.

This table lists the KES stages and their tasks. You can modify these stages and tasks to meet your business needs.

Note: The weights included in this table are provided as an example of how the KES process works.

Stage

Weight

Purpose

Task

Discover

10

Identify and review knowledge about the customer, industry, and competitors before making the initial sales call in the Qualify stage.

Complete these tasks during the Discover stage:

  1. Review lead information.

  2. Review opportunity information.

  3. Review customer information.

  4. Review customer contacts.

  5. Review industry briefing.

  6. Review customer briefing.

  7. Perform customer research to identify recent news releases or financial statements that are pertinent to the customer.

  8. Review competitor briefing.

Qualify

20

  • Align the customer's buying process with the sales process based on information obtained during the initial sales call.

  • Identify the customer's needs.

  • Identify the decision makers, influences, and competitive landscape.

Complete these tasks during the Qualify stage:

  1. Plan initial sales call.

  2. Conduct initial sales call.

  3. Update opportunity information.

  4. Update customer information.

  5. Assemble customer's buying team.

  6. Assemble sales team.

  7. Follow up on initial sales call.

  8. Update competitor information.

  9. Document customer's needs.

  10. Create opportunity plan (needs analysis, product research, follow-up calls, and so on) and assign tasks to move the opportunity to the Develop Solution stage.

Develop Solution

20

Define a set of products or services to meet the customer's needs and preferences, and obtain a quote for these products or services.

Complete these tasks during the Develop Solution stage:

  1. Define solution.

  2. Configure and quote solution.

  3. Review solution with sales team.

  4. Review solution with customer.

  5. Finalize solution based on feedback from sales team and customer.

Develop Proposal

20

Create a comprehensive written proposal that identifies how the proposed solution addresses the customer's needs. The proposal includes the quote itself, product descriptions, support policies, and legal information such as warranties.

Complete these tasks during the Develop Proposal stage:

  1. Update opportunity information.

  2. Generate proposal based on the quoted solution.

  3. Redefine proposal, if necessary.

  4. Review proposal with sales team.

  5. Refine and finalize proposal based on feedback from sales team.

  6. Submit written proposal to customer and update the status.

Negotiate and Close

20

Discuss the written proposal with the customer and negotiate terms and conditions to win the business.

Complete these tasks during the Negotiate and Close stage:

  1. Review negotiation strategies in preparation for meeting with the customer.

  2. Conduct negotiation meeting to win the business.

  3. Complete legal contracts.

  4. Summarize the opportunity outcome, update the status, and identify why the opportunity was won or lost.

Retain

10

Prepare a plan to manage the customer relationship after closing the opportunity.

Complete these tasks during the Retain stage:

  1. Update solution based on opportunity outcome.

  2. Update customer information, including new contacts for implementation and ongoing customer relationship.

  3. Prepare relationship plan.

  4. Conduct relationship meeting to discuss relationship plan.

Use the Sales Process page (RSF_SALES_MODEL) to review the KES stages and tasks that make up the sales process delivered with the PeopleSoft system.

Define other stages or tasks as necessary.

Image: Sales Process page

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Sales Process page.

Sales Process page

Field or Control

Definition

Model and Name

Displays PSFT (KES) and Knowledge Enabled Sales as the default values if you use the KES process. If you use a different sales process, the process and name appear. You can edit the name on this page.

Close % Method (close percentage method)close % method

Select a method for evaluating the progress of opportunities; 100 percent equals closed or completed. Values are:

  • Stage Weight %: Expresses progress as a percentage of the weighted stages that are completed.

    For example, suppose that your sales model consists of three stages and you assign a weight of 50 percent to the first stage and 25 percent each to the second and third stages. When you complete the first two stages, the system calculates that you have completed 75 percent of the sales model.

  • Stage Level: Expresses progress as a simple percentage of the stages completed.

    For example, suppose that your sales model consists of four stages. When you complete the first two stages, the system calculates that you have completed 50 percent of the sales model.

  • Task Type: Expresses progress as a simple percentage of tasks completed.

    For example, suppose that your sales model consists of eight tasks. When you complete the first six tasks, the system calculates that you have completed 75 percent of the sales model.

  • Not Used: No methods are used to evaluate the progress of opportunities.

Hide Tasks and Show Tasks

Click to hide or display tasks. If you use tasks associated with your sales process, display them. Otherwise, hide the tasks that appear here.

Clone

Click to access the Clone Sales Process page, where you can copy or clone the sales process to a different setID. You can clone the stages and tasks of the process.

Sales Stages

Field or Control

Definition

Stage # (stage number) and Sales Stage

Displays the sequence number and stage of the process, and lists the associated tasks at the bottom of the page.

Click the Add button to create additional stages of the process and associate tasks with them. The system enters the stage sequence number. You can override the sequence numbers to reorder the stages.

Pipeline Segment

Identify the pipeline segment to associate with the stage.

In the KES process, pipeline segments include Contact, Develop, Negotiate, Qualify, and Retain. You must specify a pipeline segment to correlate with the stage if you set up pipeline targets for a sales user's pipeline segment quotas on the Sales User page.

See Pipeline Targets Page.

Weight % (weight percentage)

Enter the weight percentage that represents that stage's portion of the sales model.

For example, if a stage represents half of the sales model, half of the work, half of the time, half of the important landmarks, or half of some other measure, then enter 50 (percent).

Tasks

Field or Control

Definition

Task # (task number) and Sales Task

Displays the sequence number and name of the discrete activity that runs as part of a sales stage.

The system enters the sequence number when you add a task. You can override sequence numbers to reorder the tasks.

Use the Clone Sales Process page (RSF_SLSPRCS_CLONE) to copy an existing sales process to use as the basis for a new process.

Image: Clone Sales Process page

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Clone Sales Process page.

Clone Sales Process page

You can copy (or clone) an existing process with its stages and tasks and then make adjustments to create a new process.