For GTM and Revenue Operations teams, keeping systems and processes optimized is critical for hitting revenue goals. Whether you’re approaching the end of a quarter, launching a new strategy, or simply ensuring your operations run efficiently, a clean and well-structured CRM can make all the difference.
Here’s a comprehensive checklist to help your team stay on track and maximize revenue opportunities year round.
1. Audit Your Pipeline for Accuracy
Your pipeline is only as strong as the data behind it. Inaccuracies can mislead forecasts, cause inefficiencies, or let critical deals slip through the cracks.
- Use Automation to Audit your Pipeline: Set up automated reports and validation rules that flag deals missing close dates, stuck in early stages, or lacking next steps. (If an opp hasn’t moved in 60 days, it’s probably not “working through legal”—it might just be dead…)
- Slack Alerts for Stalled Deals: Give a friendly (or passive-aggressive) nudge to reps when an opportunity has been chilling untouched for 30+ days.
- Revive Closed-Lost Deals with Smart Re-Engagement: Not all “no’s” are forever. Set up an automated workflow that reassigns closed-lost opps after 90 days. Maybe their budget magically appeared, or they realized their current tool is a dumpster fire—either way, be there when they’re ready.
2. Clean Up Duplicate Records
Duplicate records create inefficiencies, inflate metrics, and frustrate teams. Routine data hygiene ensures your database remains a reliable source of truth.
- Run Deduplication Reports: Use Salesforce’s native tools or third-party solutions like Sweep to identify duplicates across accounts, leads, and contacts.
- Prioritize High-Impact Records: Not all duplicates are created equal. Focus cleanup efforts on duplicates tied to open opportunities or key accounts to prevent routing issues or rep confusion.
- Implement Preventative Measures: Set up clear deduplication rules and leverage automated tools to prevent duplicate entry going forward.
3. Optimize Lead Routing
Fast responses to inbound leads can make the difference between winning and losing deals. Ensuring leads are effectively routed helps maximize conversion rates.
- Validate Routing Rules: Regularly check that lead routing rules align with your current sales territories and team structure.
- Use Slack Alerts for Real-Time Notifications: Automate Slack alerts to notify reps the moment a new lead is assigned.
- Reassign Leads in Limbo: Audit leads stuck without ownership or action. Set up rules that detect unresponsive owners (e.g., leads untouched for 5+ hours) and automatically reassign them to the appropriate reps to prevent missed opportunities.
4. Align on Team Goals and Priorities
Ever played “RevOps telephone”? You tell Sales the plan, Sales tells Marketing a different version, and by the time Customer Success hears it, the whole thing is unrecognizable. Let’s fix that.
- Automate Weekly Forecast Updates: No more “What’s the latest on this deal?” Slack messages at 9 PM. Set up scheduled reporting that sends live forecast updates to leadership and teams. Create Deal Rooms in Slack with all the relevant stakeholders and up-to-date information.
- Use a Shared Dashboard for Visibility: Keep all teams aligned with a real-time dashboard so everyone sees the same numbers (and no one blames RevOps for “moving the goalposts”).
- Document Processes with Automation: Tools like Sweep can automatically map out workflows, so no one has to dig through old Slack threads to remember the stages of a Pipeline Opportunity.
5. Simplify Reporting for Faster Insights
Most Salesforce orgs don’t track the right data for meaningful reporting. Out of the box, Salesforce doesn't have standard fields for tracking when records change stages—yet this data is crucial for conversion velocity, pipeline movement, and forecasting.
- Timestamp Every Stage Change: Salesforce lets you create custom fields and automation to track entry and exit timestamps manually. Instead of manually creating fields and flows, you can use Sweep’s one-click toggle to track entry, exit, and duration timestamps for each stage, plus owner and role changes. Bonus: It auto-builds reports and dashboards for you.
- Track Conversion Velocity: Know exactly how long deals sit in each stage and who’s moving them forward (or stalling them).
- Create a Dynamic Path with Validation Rules: Guide reps through the sales process with a stage-by-stage path at the top of records, requiring key fields before they can move forward. Better compliance = better data.
Keeping your pipeline clean and actionable shouldn’t be a once-a-year effort. By implementing these best practices consistently, your team can drive better results year-round–whether you’re closing out a big quarter, preparing for a big sales push, or simply optimizing for efficiency.
Sweep automates the tasks that slow teams down, like deduplication, lead assignment, and real-time Slack alerts. Book a demo to see how it works.
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