Automating Sales Pipelines with Marketing Automation with iChat Labs' solution

Client Challenge:

Our client, a leading energy solutions provider based in Australia with close to 50 active employees dealing with leads and customers, faced a common yet critical challenge: managing an increasing number of sales leads efficiently.

With their 20+ strong sales team handling hundreds of opportunities simultaneously, manual processes for moving leads through the sales pipeline became time-consuming and prone to errors.

On top of that, they have multiple sub-brands generating leads and sending them all to one big database.

The client needed an automated system to streamline their workflow, minimize manual tasks, and integrate seamlessly with their existing platforms.

iChat Labs’ Solution:

At iChat Labs, we specialize in marketing automation and customized CRM solutions. We took on the challenge of transforming our client’s sales pipeline into a fully automated process that not only reduced manual workload but also improved accuracy and efficiency.

Step-by-Step Automation Process:

1. Lead Capture:
   Leads are automatically added to the CRM through Facebook Lead Ads. These leads are immediately placed into the appropriate pipeline stage, thanks to a lead form trigger automation. This initial step ensures that no lead slips through the cracks.

2. Sales Call and Data Update:
   The sales team contacts the lead, gathers crucial information, and updates a custom field labeled "call outcome." This field captures the next action needed—either a follow-up or preparation of a quote.

3. Follow-Up or Quoting:

   • Follow-Up Required: If the lead requires further nurturing, they are moved to the "Follow Up" stage, where automated reminders ensure timely actions.

   • Ready for Quote: For leads ready for a quote, a webhook is sent to Square, creating a contact in their system. The sales agent receives an email with a link to create the estimate and a Trigger Link to notify HL that the quote has been sent.

4. Quote Sent:
   Once the sales agent clicks the Trigger Link confirming the quote is sent, the opportunity is automatically moved to the "Quote Sent" stage. The contact then receives an email with the invoice and payment instructions.

5. Payment and Inspection Scheduling:
   Upon deposit payment via Square - their preferred payment processor, a webhook updates the opportunity to "Inspection Fee Paid" through a Pabbly integration. The contact then receives an email to schedule an inspection. A QR code is dynamically generated for the installer, who scans it upon arrival, moving the opportunity to the next stage.

6. Final Quote and Completion:
   The sales agent makes a follow-up call and sends the final quote. A Trigger Link is again used to update the system, moving the opportunity to the appropriate stage. Subsequent steps involve tracking delivery, updating payment status, and moving the contact to the review stage once full payment is received employing similar techniques.

Why This Matters:

By automating these steps, we eliminated the need for the sales team to manually move opportunity cards through the pipeline. This not only saved time but also reduced the risk of errors, allowing the team to focus on more critical tasks.

The Power of Trigger Links:

Trigger Links played a vital role in this automation. By embedding these links in emails and internal notifications, we ensured that the correct actions were taken at each step, without the need for manual intervention. While this approach does require careful user training initially to avoid accidental clicks, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.

Results:

The result was a seamless, efficient sales pipeline where the sales team could easily manage hundreds of opportunities without the hassle of manually dragging and dropping cards. The automation ensured that leads were nurtured correctly, quotes were sent promptly, and payments were tracked accurately.

We have also helped our client to reduce cost by helping them move to our preferred platform and by giving them the ability to add unlimited number of users and contacts without needing to worry about reaching platform limits.

The cherry on top was the increased number of positive reviews for the business after implementing the automation which also allowed them to send review requests quickly as soon as the installation was completed.

Conclusion:

At iChat Labs, we believe in leveraging the full potential of marketing automation to simplify complex processes. This case study is just one example of how our customized CRM solutions can transform the way businesses manage their sales pipelines.

If you’re looking to streamline your operations and boost your team’s efficiency, let’s chat about how we can help.

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