Too many clicks are required to update and/or close a deal
Once an order has been placed for a Deal in Traffic, then imported into matrix, the system does not list “Potential” Deals that could be “Closed” as “WON”. Instead, the user has to go back to associated deal, click on the deal, click on the “edit” button to open the drop down menu, click the “ Open Won”, then go to the “ status” drop down, click on closed, and then save.
The previous matrix updated the “deal” or “forecasting numbers “ automatically during an import, and the totals would be zero (if Actual equaled or exceeded Forecast).
For example: I put in a $5,000 deal as my pending. I get a $5,000 order and place it in OSI. The next morning when OSI is imported into matrixplus, the two dollar amounts would marry together. If there is a dollar amount left over, then I know I have to go back and change it. Ideally, the two numbers cancel each other and no more click throughs are needed.
We understand about creating a prospect in matrixplus to add in forecast dollars, and then marry it to the billed account once it is imported, however, this is a onetime event. In Matrix, this is a repeated occurrence. Since we forecast monthly, the extra “clicks” and the two step process to close a Deal is really cumbersome.
It would be acceptable if Matrix would list pending deals that could be closed once an order is imported that similar to the timeframe of a Deal with the same Advertiser and Salesperson assigned. The option would be to view each listed or Close deal and update pending (much like it does now when you manually can the Deal status to CLOSED – WON).
Quick Deals will be available in our next major release due out in a little over a week from now.
Quick deals allow salespeople to create, edit, and close deals all from the Bird’s Eye View. They are a slimmed down experience that better allows users to get in, get out, and get back to selling and are best suited for avails where the sales cycle is often shortest.
Managers and salespeople can also get in on the action from the Account List. Keep in mind this does not replace the way of doing deals as you know it today, it only allows you to do them quicker…but quicker will mean much less detail. Always a trade off ;)
Thanks so much for your patience and to everyone who worked with us in developing this idea! We really appreciate your time and hope you enjoy this feature as much as we do.
-
David Lempp commented
I realize you have quick deals solution, but I still agree with the original post/idea as it requires less time and provides more accuracy. Original post: For example: I put in a $5,000 deal as my pending. I get a $5,000 order and place it in OSI. The next morning when OSI is imported into matrixplus, the two dollar amounts would marry together. If there is a dollar amount left over, then I know I have to go back and change it. Ideally, the two numbers cancel each other and no more click throughs are needed.
-
AdminRyan Moore (Product Owner, Matrix) commented
This version allows you to add dollars, notes, and see historical revenue on one page. In fact we have found that you can add them quicker here as you're not forced to create separate forecast for each outlet you sell or create additional prospects just for forecasting purposes. They're all summed up into a single deal.
Create a deal from any account profile page and you'll see what we mean.
If you have multiple accounts you need to forecast for, you have a couple of options. Search for the next account via the green menu in the upper right once you've updated your last deal and add another from its profile page or use the account list and your right click -> open in new tab functionality for ease of use.
-
Kelly,
Would it be helpful if upon logging into Matrix everyday, you were presented with a list of new orders/dollars that came in from traffic the previous day and had the ability to "Close Win" a deal with one click if there is a deal that matches for the advertiser?
-
AdminRyan Moore (Product Owner, Matrix) commented
Deals allow you to better manage your accounts and their orders instead of simply throwing a number out there without much detail. Is updating a forecast once per week really helping you gain a better relationship with a client or really understand the needs of a customer? We don't think so, but you can still do that if you want to (it’s just now how we feel is the optimal way to conduct business anymore). It’s a new philosophy of business.
By fully managing the process you are able to view historical revenue and deals to see what you may have tried last year. Sure you might have lost the deal, but if you have good notes and activities around it, you can learn from the past in order to gain business later.
There is no way you can remember everything that happened during the process of a deal (especially after an extended period of time), but if you log the activities that help move the deal forward, you'll have them at your fingertips for all of time. -
Allan Mower commented
I prefer forecasting by deals. If I create a deal, I have something tangible to track. For deals that aren't in the pending stage, I've got them listed as proposed with action steps in the activity area.
-
AdminRyan Moore (Product Owner, Matrix) commented
now THAT is what i'm talking about when we ask for feedback! This is an extremely well written request. I can even tell you that because it was so well written, we have started whiteboarding ideas, drawing up mockups, and generally getting very excited about this request.
We want to follow up with you in the future when we feel it is clean enough for more feedback from you...sort of like a sanity check to see if we're on the right track knowing that this is something multiple customers would take advantage of.
Again, thank you so much for the detail and you will definitely hear from us in the future :)
-
AdminRyan Moore (Product Owner, Matrix) commented
In the past, you had to create a new prospect in order to forecast across multiple outlets. If it was not a prospect, you had to place the forecast across multiple accounts in order to get the most accurate depiction.
Matrix allows you to place forecasts for multiple outlets onto a single deal, thus saving you the time of having to go back and forth between lists and forecast entry as well as saving time by managing and updating a single deal.
We're improving the flow for deals and enhancing the information available on them as well so I'll be curious about how you all feel about this once we get those features out and in place.