How edtech company connected multiple lead sources to Pipedrive

Time of the project: 1 month

Scope:

• optimization of the sales process
• creating one database where the sales, marketing, and recruitment teams would be able to find all the details related to clients and deals
• creating a single point of reference for tracking conversations, storing relevant files, and browsing report

Effect: New system in Pipedrive with filtering and sorting options that weren’t available before. The system faster than a spreadsheet and fulfilling the highest data security standards. Adding integrations and automation made using the system even more efficient which results in accurate sales data, improved relationships with clients, and better internal communication within the company.

Expert responsible for the service realization:
Aleksander Dytko, SoftwareSupp Pipedrive & Zapier Expert

I was working on a full-scale implementation project on Pipedrive - from the discovery phase, through implementation, the integration, testing to optimization. One of the biggest challenges was integration strategy to combine multiple lead sources connected via native integrations, Zapier-like tools, and Pipedrive's workflow feature.

Setting up an efficient Pipedrive environment requires creating integrations with other apps that the team uses on a daily basis. Synchronizing data among those apps is an important step to ensure coherent communication with clients, effective automation, and significant time savings.

The setup we’ll describe today was created for a polish edtech company, a programming school based in Poland. They teach their students how to code using an online education platform, mentorship, and tasks oriented at team cooperation. Thanks to that, the graduates are equipped with the skills they need in the workplace. After the certification, the company also supports its graduates in the job-searching process and recruitment.

The company  hasn’t used any CRM systems before. All sales activities were saved in a spreadsheet with an endless number of rows. They wanted to streamline their funnels and procedures as well as create a reliable source for reporting.

Implementing a CRM system in a company from scratch requires learning about their needs, their current sales funnel, the tasks they perform daily, and the goals for the implementation. All of that happens smoothly when you work with a professional consultant who can map out and create a custom setup that responds to your company’s strategic goals.

Working on the Pipedrive implementation with SoftwareSupp

The first step is always to find the right expert. To achieve that, the company posted a job offer on the SoftwareSupp platform. They needed a person who would be able to fully implement Pipedrive at their company, migrate their existing database, create integrations, and train their employees on how to use the system.

When posting a job on the SoftwareSupp platform, you can be sure that you’ll get offers only from verified experts that have the skills and experience required to complete the tasks. The Company collected responses from several experts that matched the criteria. The SoftwareSupp team assisted them in choosing the most suitable consultant for the job.

Aleksander, the expert responsible for this project, specializes in Pipedrive implementations. He also knows how to approach app integrations, as he works in a sales department and administers a variety of sales and marketing tools on a daily basis.

Apart from working with the expert, the company had the support of a dedicated SoftwareSupp Project Manager. Mike, who coordinated this project, set up the kick-off meeting, helped to define the scope of the project, and was in touch with both the client and the expert until the project was completed. This model saves a lot of time on the client’s end. Project coordination is done externally and it doesn’t require a high level of involvement from the client’s team.
The Project Manager also engages in quality monitoring at every stage of the project. Hiring the expert with SoftwareSupp ensures that the job will be done most effectively. When the project is completed, the SoftwareSupp team gathers feedback about the expert’s work and calculates the NPS score that helps to maintain the highest quality of all the projects.

Learning about the client’s needs

During the initial introduction call, Aleksander, as a consultant responsible for implementing Pipedrive, asked a series of questions that allowed him to create the setup that matches the exact client’s needs. Some of the most important questions that should be asked at this stage are:

• Why do you want to implement a CRM system at your company?
• What are the goals you’d like to achieve with Pipedrive?
• What are the metrics that you’d like to analyze?
• What does your team structure look like?
• What is your product?
• Are there any differences in the funnels for specific products that you sell?
• What are your lead sources?
• Which apps are you using for work?
• Who will be using Pipedrive?
• What are your minimum setup requirements to start testing Pipedrive?
  

Having gathered these details, Aleksander was prepared to start working on their Pipedrive account. Aleksander also used visual tools such as Cawemo to present the flows that will be created in Pipedrive. Thanks to that, the client was able to see if the flow matches what happens within the company and give their feedback in real-time.
The main goal of this implementation was to create one place where the sales, marketing, and recruitment teams would be able to find all the details related to clients and deals. They also needed a single point of reference for tracking conversations, storing relevant files, and browsing reports.

Setting up Pipedrive

Up until this point, the company sales team used a spreadsheet that consisted of thousands of rows to track their sales activities. Organizing leads, deals, and clients in this way was extremely cumbersome and time-consuming. They needed optimization for their sales process as the client base was constantly growing.

The first step was to import all the client data to Pipedrive. Aleksander structured the database using names that were already present in the spreadsheet to create matching custom fields in Pipedrive. Thanks to that he was able to create contacts in Pipedrive that were then ready to be used for further operations.

Additionally, Aleksander mapped out other necessary fields in Pipedrive to make sure that all relevant data is stored in one place. He also made sure to properly track lead sources and created integrations to make sure every new lead lands in Pipedrive. 

Lead sources indicate how the lead got first in touch with the company. Updating them in Pipedrive manually would be time-consuming and increase the sales team’s workload. To avoid those repetitive tasks, Aleksander created integrations that update these fields automatically. Thanks to that, the team is always up to date and knows exactly where the lead comes from and what the most effective lead sources are.

The lead sources that the company uses are web forms (WordPress plugin), Facebook forms, ClickMeeting, and CallPage. In the future, they also want to expand lead sources to Google Ads and YouTube. The setup is ready to accommodate those needs.

To make sure that the contacts and deals include all the relevant details, Aleksander created custom fields for the company account.

All deals had these additional fields:

• Deal source
• Course edition
• Start date
• End date
• Course name
• Payment method  (bank transfer, employer, Labor Office) 
• Source of financing (Labor Office, employer, own resources)
• Payment date

Pipedrive is a highly customizable tool, so the setup can be adjusted to the client's business model. The company needed specific fields related to payments and course financing. Some courses are paid for by the student’s employers which is not a typical setup for a B2C funnel.

The company also needed several funnels to address the specific needs of different teams and client’s lifecycle. The structure included five separate funnels:

• B2C Sales was designed for individual clients
• B2C Operations was used for managing courses in progress
• B2B Sales provided an overview of business clients
• B2B Operations was similar to B2C Operations, bur was used for group courses
• Recruitment helped the team manage the graduates’ recruitment processes at partner companies

‍What is a really important advantage of using a CRM system is the possibility to store the entire conversation history in one place. It’s possible to achieve without much additional work when you integrate your mailbox with Pipedrive. This automation allows the team to copy emails sent from Gmail to Pipedrive. With a Gmail integration, the company team can send messages just as they are used to, but the conversations are saved in the contact history.

Integrations with other applications

To make sure that the Pipedrive setup is at its maximum efficiency, it’s necessary to create integrations with the applications that the team uses every day. This way, many tasks can be automated and all the important data is automatically transferred to Pipedrive. The team saves time and has more contextual data that helps them build relationships with future and current clients.

The company team uses SALESmanago as their email automation tool. They create campaigns and categorize their leads in this application. Thanks to its integration with Pipedrive, they can transfer data between the systems. The lead status, personal details, and information about the courses are always up to date.

CallPage is another essential app that the team uses. It’s a callback automation software that the company uses. It allows the team to provide immediate free phone callback to potential clients. The company has a CallPage widget on their website. When a potential client leaves their telephone number, the consultants call them back using the CallPage software within 28 seconds.

It’s an important lead source for the company. When a lead leaves their phone number, and the consultant calls back within seconds, the contact in Pipedrive is automatically created. They have a native integration with Pipedrive, so it's possible to use the CallPage interface to create automation.

You can use the API key you’ll find in Pipedrive to fill in the integration details in CallPage. The integration will be visible in the CallPage app. The CallPage leads are then automatically redirected to Pipedrive. 

ClickMeeting is a video-conferencing platform that the company uses to host webinars. They needed an integration that would allow them to create deals and contacts in Pipedrive based on the details provided by the participants. ClickMeeting has native integration with Pipedrive, however, what the client needed was something different than the default integration provided. The company needed deals that were based on the actual webinar participants’ details, not based on the registered users. The default integration setup allows only to export the registration list.
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Aleksander created a custom solution for this scenario. He created a Zapier template that the sales team can use when they create a new webinar.

The team needs to provide only the Room ID and the webinar title to make the Zap work. The instructions that Aleksander provided made it easy for the team to use the template and create deals automatically in Pipedrive.

Guiding the team on how to use Pipedrive

The implementation was not the end of the support the company got from the expert and SoftwareSupp. Aleksander met up with the team twice to teach them how to use the software. After each of them, he made the adjustments based on the comments that the team provided. Aleksander also created a document with detailed descriptions of all Pipedrive procedures that serve as a guide for all Pipedrive users at the company. It will also be a useful step in the onboarding process for future new employees.
Setting up the CRM system in the right way requires listening to feedback from people who are using the software every day. Once they get familiar with the system after the initial training, they can explore the features and find what works and what needs improvements. The most important goal of implementing a CRM solution is to make it easier for the team to perform their tasks. They are the ones that will be using Pipedrive from then on, so the setup needs to mirror their workflows and make them more efficient.

At any time of the project, the company team was also able to submit tickets on the SoftwareSupp platform if they needed some help. After the project was completed, the SoftwareSupp team gathered feedback about the cooperation with the expert and the results.

Working with Pipedrive

Implementing Pipedrive allowed the company to save time on tracking sales activities. The team can now focus on working with leads and closing deals. They don’t need to divide their focus between making sales, browsing spreadsheets, and wondering if the data that they find there is up-to-date.

The team has also access to Pipedrive Insights where they can track their progress and analyze sales data. They can create custom reports and make better business decisions for the company.

Having multiple integrations in place, they can also benefit from automation that adds contacts and deals automatically. The integrations also fill in custom fields, so every detail the team would ever need is always in Pipedrive.

The company team was able to discard the spreadsheet they worked on before. In Pipedrive, they now have the filtering and sorting options that weren’t available before. It’s easier to find the right details. Also, the application loads faster than the spreadsheet and fulfills the highest data security standards.

Having a CRM system in place is the most professional way to manage sales funnels. Adding integrations and automation makes using the system even more efficient which results in accurate sales data, improved relationships with clients, and better internal communication within the company.

Note: the customer has not decided to share their name, due to security/NDA reasons.