How we optimized SunRoof’s Pipedrive setup to improve reporting and sales performance
By: Aneta Szotek
Tags: Marketing, Business, CRM, Customers, Sales

How we optimized SunRoof’s Pipedrive setup to improve reporting and sales performance Aneta Szotek Follow Sep 15 · 10 min read

SunRoof creates beautiful, 2-in-1 smart solar roofs and innovative facades that produce power from the Sun. They operate in the Scandinavian countries, Poland, and Kenya. Their mission is to equip everyone with a solar energy source on their roof. They dream of a future where we can all thrive together with nature. SunRoof is the most efficient and environment-friendly solar roof on the market.

sunroof.se

When we first met, SunRoof had already implemented Pipedrive at their company. What they needed help with was the optimization of processes and their setup. They also needed to create a proper data structure. The team wanted to put in place the guidelines on how to use Pipedrive that would be a reference point for anyone on the team.

The team wanted to get access to the most accurate sales data possible. They needed to differentiate between high-value KPI and low-value KPI, improve reporting, and sales performance.

Phase 1: CRM audit

The first phase included an initial diagnosis of what currently works and doesn’t work in SunRoof’s Pipedrive setup. The goal was to understand how the team uses Pipedrive and how they would like their CRM to support them in the sales process.

The SunRoof team didn’t have a full understanding of the system and didn’t use all the benefits a CRM system can bring. They didn’t have any guidelines or unified rules on how to use the system.

Having performed the audit, we created a Pipedrive specification for the SoftwareSupp consultant that later took over the optimization project. This way, the client knew exactly what and how would be improved and optimized. The specification included diagnosed problems and the actions that the consultant or the team can take to optimize the Pipedrive setup.

Pipedrive specification

Thanks to the initial audit, SunRoof could identify the potential benefits for their organization. In the first phase, we discovered the most important areas that should be improved to make the CRM implementation the most effective.

Phase 2: Pipedrive configuration and optimization

In the second phase, the SoftwareSupp consultant implemented changes to the Pipedrive setup that allowed SunRoof to optimize the usage of the system. The process included creating guidelines, educating the team on how to use the system, automation, and security improvements.

During this phase, we stayed in touch with the SunRoof team to make sure the changes affect positively their workflows. We created a guide that includes all rules and best practices for using Pipedrive at SunRoof.

Deal and sales forecasting

Pipedrive sales forecasting provides a comprehensive way to plan sales activities for specific timeframes. For the forecasting to work, the team needs to add probabilities and expected close dates for every deal or stage. This way the system understands how long it would take to close a deal.

To make sure that the forecasting is possible to use, the team needs to follow specific rules while entering the data. We identified the flow and the data structure to make financial forecasting possible for SunRoof.

Deal sources and lost reasons

Adding deal sources and “lost reasons” to deals is a crucial element that lets you enable more precise reporting. If you track where your leads come from, you can optimize your marketing strategy accordingly.

Additionally, if your lost deals have the reasons why the client didn’t decide to go with your product attached to them, it’s easier for the sales team to adjust strategy and compare it with specific lead sources.

In SunRoof, the lead sources and lost reasons weren’t tracked properly. They were entered manually in several languages as the employees operate on different markets. There weren’t any rules on how to use these fields.

In consequence, reporting was ineffective. The custom fields were filled in one-by-one. It wasn’t possible to analyze data on a bigger scale and draw conclusions.

To solve the problem our software consultant created a fixed structure for these fields. For the “deal source” fields, we agreed on a set of rules that the team can refer to when they have a new lead.

Lost reasons

Both fields were predefined and the team could choose a reason from the drop-down list. The field was made obligatory so that the salesperson needs to fill this field in to be able to change the deal stage. Accurate data provides valuable insights into the sales process optimization.

Labeling

SunRoof didn’t use the labeling system to distinguish between the cold leads, hot leads, and actual customers.

Labeling allows the users to use more advanced filtering options that help them identify the leads that are most likely to buy the product.

In SunRoof, the Pipedrive funnel includes additional post-sales stages. It is necessary to supervise the solar roof installation. The salesperson is in touch with the client to support them until the roof is ready to use. They make sure that the client is content with the final outcome of the installation.

For such a funnel, the labeling system is useful because it lets the sales team filter out the deals that are still in progress and the ones that are already closed.

Labeling system

In SunRoof, we implemented labels to differentiate between:

cold leads

warm

hot leads

customers

The labeling process was automatically changed depending on the stage that the deal entered. The team didn’t need to remember any additional steps to be able to fully use this functionality.

Labeling can be used to filter out the leads that are the most likely to make a purchase as well as to perform a lead segmentation that can be used for future marketing campaigns.

Mailing

SunRoof didn’t use Pipedrive’s mailing system to track conversations with customers. The team needed to add all the information manually on the deal level. This process was time-consuming and prone to human errors.

The SunRoof team decided to upgrade Pipedrive to a higher plan and that allowed them to connect their mailboxes to Pipedrive. Thanks to this feature, the messages to and from the customer can be saved in one place. Everyone on the team can easily track the conversations. All data in the system is always up to date thanks to this automation.

Source: pipedrive.com

The salesperson’s mailbox is synchronized with Pipedrive, but it’s also possible to access the emails through the personal mailbox. The email integration doesn’t require the salesperson to use only Pipedrive to send messages. They can use their mailbox as they are used to, but they get the benefit of the messages being tracked in the system.

With Pipedrive, all emails are being tracked. The system monitors if the recipient opened the email or clicked the links included. It can help the sales team to follow up in a more appropriate way that would maximize the probability of closing the deal.

To protect the salesperson’s privacy, it’s possible to adjust the visibility settings of their emails. Thanks to that, it’s possible to make some emails private. Those emails won’t be visible to the rest of the team.

Pipedrive also offers “smart email BCC”. Every user gets a unique Pipedrive email assigned. If you add this email to BCC, the email will appear in Pipedrive and can be copied to the relevant deals. You can also use this address to forward customer emails to Pipedrive to update existing deals or create new contacts.

Another benefit of using Pipedrive’s mailing is the ability to create templates in the system. With these predefined emails, the salesperson can speed up their reply rate. They don’t have to write every email from scratch.

As SoftwareSupp, we helped SunRoof connect their mailboxes with Pipedrive and supported them in the process. Along the way, anytime the team member had a question they were able to ask it using the ticketing system on the SoftwareSupp platform.

Some of the questions that came up during the process were about the visibility of emails and email threads. The SunRoof team got the full instructions on how to solve the issues they came up with during the setup process.

Partner program

SunRoof has a network of partners that they work with. Apart from the SunRoof team, there are additional people that are involved in the sales and installation process:

affiliates

sales partners

installation partners

Because of that, the team needed an efficient way to manage these relationships and deals that the partners bring in. Together with SunRoof, we created a funnel that allows the team members to access partners’ deals and help them with the process.

Some partners have access to Pipedrive, others can submit their deals via a webform that is integrated with Pipedrive. With Pipedrive, it’s easier to manage partners’ deals and their commissions.

Security settings

To improve security and prevent data leakage, we set up Pipedrive security settings to match the organization’s data protection standards.

For the partner program, we created specific groups for every type of partner. Some of them use Pipedrive, but have limited visibility of SunRoof’s overall deals.

Data security alerts

We also showed the team how to use Pipedrive’s Security Dashboard to maximize their data protection.

Marketing integration

SunRoof didn’t use Pipedrive in the marketing process. They didn’t have any integration or a way to transfer data between the sales and marketing systems.

Together we decided to choose Mailchimp as a marketing tool. With this integration, the team can export specific groups of people to later add them to the Mailchimp campaigns. We created an automation that adds all clients that get a label “customer” to a specific Mailchimp group.

Exporting emails to Mailchimp

The labeling system also makes the marketing activities easier as the marketing team can use lead segmentation to adjust the offer that they’ll send as a win-back campaign in the future.

Website forms

For their partner program, SunRoof uses Google Forms. To allow the data to appear in Pipedrive automatically, we created a Zapier integration. This automation creates deals based on the information that the partner provides in the form.

Another web form that is necessary for the sales process is SunRoof’s calculator that estimates the cost of the project. Thanks to that, the potential customer can check how much they could save on electricity bills with SunRoof.

sunroof.se

With a Pipedrive automation, once the web form is filled in, the lead’s details are added to Pipedrive. A new deal is created and the link to the estimation is included. This automation was created using Pipedrive’s API.

As SoftwareSupp, we prepared the API keys and the process to follow for the client’s IT team. We needed to create specific custom fields in Pipedrive to transfer the information from the webform. Now the sales team can see the data entered through the form in one place.

Data enrichment

To help the sales team get to know their potential customers better, we integrated Pipedrive with Clearbit. It’s a database that lets the users check information about the company based on the domain that is used to sign up.

Clearbit allows the user to understand their customers, identify future prospects, and personalize interactions. SunRoof has instant access to the following data about the potential customer:

website

general email address

general phone number

sector

industry group

industry

sub-industry

estimated annual revenue

SIC code

Having this additional information saves the sales team’s time that they would need to spend on research. Instead, they can prepare a personalized and more contextual message to the potential customer.

Lead segmentation

Together with the team, we established rules about lead segmentation. Depending on the source, the lead gets a specific value assigned. This process helps the sales team to categorize the potential customers according to the probability of them buying the product.

Lead sources

The proper lead segmentation setup also improves the quality of reporting and data accuracy.

Optimizing Pipedrive with an expert consultant

The changes implemented at SunRoof transformed the way the team uses Pipedrive. With all customer information in one place, they are always up-to-date about their sales process. They have access to better analytics and use these insights to make better decisions. With improved security settings, they are sure that all the confidential data is safely stored in the system. They also know who has access to the information. The Mailchimp integration made cooperation between sales and marketing easier.

Implementing Pipedrive at the company is just the first step to start optimizing the sales process. Without the proper setup, automation, and adjusting the funnels to the specific industry and the company workflow, the team can’t discover all the benefits of using the CRM system.

With SoftwareSupp, you get a step-by-step guide with the actions that your team can take to improve the sales process. We can audit your current setup and match you with a consultant that will help you transform the way you operate on a day-to-day basis.