I know what you’re thinking – how am I going to manage this whole sales effort when I’m just learning these concepts. The good news is that there is software called pipeline management or customer relationship management (CRM) that does it all for you. And many of them are free or incredibly inexpensive.

You can select a CRM system that is accessible via the Internet and many have free or low cost options. While not all CRM solutions are created equally, here are some of the most common features.

• Contact Management. Virtually all CRM systems enable you to manage contacts of all types some of which are your sales opportunities. Even though the primary use of the system the tractor sales efforts, you can also use it to attract contacts for other purposes such as marketing efforts.
• Pipeline Management. All CRM systems have functionality to manage your sales pipeline including adding new opportunities in settings sales stages and creating weighting for each sale stage. This allows you to get a quick snapshot of your total pipeline as well as the number of opportunities that exist at each stage of your pipeline.
• Access. CRM solutions are available via the Internet so you and any other members of your team can access them at any time.
• Price. Many of the popular CRM solutions offer free versions or free versions for a limited number of users or a certain period of time. The cost – either from the start or after the expiration of the free period – usually ranges a few dollars per month per user to $50 per month per user.
• Marketing Campaigns. Good CRMs systems don’t just allow you to manage sales, they allow you to execute and track marketing campaigns such as email and social media campaigns. These allow you automatically track all the interactions with a customer, such as whether they received a call from a sales rep and an email campaign.
• Social Media Integration. Some systems nicely integrate with social media where you can manage all your social conversations across Google+, Facebook, and Twitter.
• Reporting. All CRM solutions provide robust reporting capabilities on all stages of your pipeline.
• Automated Alerts and Tasks. Some CRM allow you to automatically set alerts for standard activities.
• Integrations. Some CRM solutions offer integrations with other common systems such as accounting and social media systems.

The basics are pipeline management but some of these other features may be helpful to you as you grow.