What is a sales pipeline? Simply put, it is a series of transactions and opportunities that a salesperson will hopefully work toward closing a deal. Even the best salespeople need to have a lot of opportunities in the pipeline because not every deal will close. Stuff happens. A healthy pipeline gives you the structure and guidance to build strong relationships, reinforce your credibility, and work your pipeline to secure consistent deal wins. The pipeline provides visibility into every sale and into the overall sales process. It can reveal obstacles that are slowing the sales process or getting in the way of completing specific sales.

Traditionally, the sales pipeline has been depicted as a funnel. Wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. A lot of activity goes in at the top (awareness of the need and the seller, examination of what else is out there in the marketplace, and prospects are consuming content) and eventually the number of deals winnows to a few. nud peachy_tara

Although the funnel has been with us for decades, its major drawback is it is transactional. One-dimensional. It works its way to the sale. What happens next? Enter the Flywheel and the Bow tie.

The marketing Funnel focuses on converting leads into customers (hunting), while the marketing Flywheel emphasizes building lasting customer relationships and turning them into promoters through continuous engagement and delight (farming). The Bow tie model extends beyond the purchase, focusing on post-sale retention (combines the best of hunting and farming).

Which one is better? The Flywheel is useful in go-to-market motions because it focuses on customer experience. The best marketing engages customers and prospects to care, share, and buy. You become a trusted advisor to your customers due to your relationships. They’re no longer targets to be pursued. If you treat your customers right, they are likely to stay with you.

Although I like the Flywheel (a huge improvement on the funnel), I prefer the Bow tie model. I’ve also seen it referred to as the double funnel. The Bow tie includes all the stages of the traditional funnel, but it continues after the purchase to include efforts toward retention and broadening engagement. So you’re working hard to close the deal, broaden the relationship, and continually surprise and delight.

Some day in an AI-dominated future, these models will become obsolete. Hyper personalization will rule the day. Even complex B2B deals will involve considerably more self-optimization and real-time decision-making.  The sales process will become increasingly dynamic.

And I’m digging, digging, digging.