For many aftermarket sales teams, identifying the right opportunities can feel like finding a needle in a haystack. You’re constantly navigating through fragmented data, trying to figure out which customers need what and when. Without the right tools, you might spend more time sifting through customer lists than actually engaging them with relevant offers. This is where something like an Installed Base Data-led Pipeline Generation comes in as a game-changer, helping you streamline this process and turn your stale Installed Base data into actionable opportunities.

The Challenge: Disconnected Data, Missed Opportunities

As an aftermarket sales executive or team leader, you’ve likely experienced the frustration of working with incomplete or outdated customer information from scattered Installed Base Data. Maybe you’re trying to follow up with customers who bought equipment years ago, but you have no clear insight into whether they might need parts, services, or upgrades. Worse yet, you might not even know who’s falling through the cracks, resulting in missed opportunities and stagnant sales growth.

The reality is that your Aftermarket sales team needs more than raw data—they need a way to filter through that data efficiently, identify high-priority opportunities, and engage customers in a timely manner. And that’s exactly what Entytle’s Pipeline Generation can do for you.

What is Entytle’s Pipeline Generation?

Pipeline generation is a feature in Entytle’s Installed Base Intelligence Platform, designed to help aftermarket sales teams create targeted sales opportunities by using advanced data segmentation. With this tool, sales managers and salespeople can build pipelines focused on specific customer behaviors—like customers who bought a piece of equipment but haven’t yet purchased the necessary parts or services within a certain timeframe.

Think of it as a sales GPS that guides you toward your highest-value opportunities. Instead of spending hours combing through customer data manually, pipeline generation lets you set specific search criteria and generate a list of actionable opportunities in minutes with the help of your very own Installed Base Data.

For example, let’s say your goal is to identify customers who purchased an AQ12131 piece of equipment before 2013 but haven’t bought any corresponding parts in the last five years. With pipeline generation, you can set up these parameters, and within moments, the system will generate a pipeline filled with opportunities for you to pursue. Not only that, but you can assign these opportunities to your team members based on territories or other relevant factors, ensuring that everyone is working efficiently.

How to Get Started with Pipeline Generation

The process of creating a pipeline is straightforward, with just a few essential steps:

1. Access the Pipeline Tab

First, navigate to the Pipeline tab on the left sidebar. Here, you’ll see a list of existing pipelines that are either in progress or saved as drafts. You can filter these pipelines based on specific criteria such as location or account, ensuring you find the relevant pipeline quickly.

2. Create a New Pipeline

Click on the “Create Pipeline” button to begin. Once you start creating the pipeline, the left navigation menu will be disabled, so you can focus solely on setting up your criteria. If you need to step away, you can save your work as a draft at any point except during the initial step.

3. Define Your Pipeline Parameters

Now, define your pipeline. Give it a name, set start and end dates, and establish a target revenue. For example, you might name the pipeline “Sell CO13639 CO13911 to existing AQ12131 customers” and set a start date of today, with a six-month timeframe.

4. Set Your Search Criteria

This is where you specify the parameters for identifying opportunities. In our example, you could set the criteria to find customers who purchased AQ12131 before 2013 but have not bought CO13639 or CO13911 parts in the last five years. This step allows for precision targeting, ensuring your pipeline is filled with the most relevant opportunities.

5. Create Opportunities

Once you’ve entered your search criteria, the system will generate a list of opportunities based on your specifications. You can further filter these opportunities by territory, account type, or other factors to assign them to your team members appropriately. In this case, you could filter by the “East” territory and assign the opportunities to a specific salesperson.

6. Monitor and Manage Your Pipeline

After the pipeline is created, you can track its progress in the Pipeline Details section. This overview will show the target revenue, opportunity list, and how each opportunity is progressing through the sales stages. You’ll be able to see how your pipeline is performing against the targets you’ve set, giving you real-time insights into your sales process.

7. Complete and Close the Pipeline

Once all the opportunities in the pipeline are either won or lost, you can mark the pipeline as “Completed.” This removes it from the active pipeline list, but you can always retrieve it later using filters if needed.

8. Use IB Filters to create Pipelines

In addition to all the above stops, entytle also provides users with the capability to create pipelines on the main dashboard using Installed Base Filters (as shown below).

How Pipeline Generation Solves Your Pain Points

Pipeline generation addresses several key pain points that aftermarket sales teams face every day:

1. Data Overload: Aftermarket sales teams often have access to large amounts of IB data, but without a way to meaningfully segment it, that data is more overwhelming than helpful. Pipeline generation allows you to quickly filter through your Installed Base data and create focused lists of opportunities, helping your team work smarter, not harder.
2. Missed Follow-Ups: Customers who bought equipment in the past may be overdue for parts replacements, upgrades, or services, but without visibility into their purchase history, those opportunities are often missed. Pipeline generation ensures that you’re staying on top of these potential revenue streams, giving you the chance to engage customers before they even realize they have a need.
3. Lack of Focus: When your team doesn’t have clear direction, their efforts can be scattered and inefficient. Pipeline generation gives your team a focused roadmap, enabling them to prioritize high-value opportunities and work more strategically.

Why Pipeline Generation Matters: Proactive Engagement Drives Revenue

The value of pipeline generation extends far beyond efficiency. By proactively identifying and engaging customers based on their specific needs, you’re not just increasing your chances of closing deals—you’re also building stronger, longer-lasting customer relationships. Customers appreciate timely, relevant offers that add value to their operations, and pipeline generation ensures that you’re always one step ahead in anticipating those needs.

Moreover, this proactive approach translates into tangible results for your Aftermarket sales team. Instead of reacting to random inquiries or waiting for customers to reach out, your team can actively pursue opportunities, driving revenue growth and improving overall sales performance.

Ready to Optimize Your Sales Process?

If your Aftermarket sales team is spending more time searching for opportunities than capitalizing on them, it’s time to make a change. Pipeline generation feature within the Installed Base Intelligence Platform takes the guesswork out of aftermarket sales, giving you the tools to build, manage, and execute targeted sales campaigns with ease.

By harnessing the power of this feature, your Aftermarket sales team can shift from reactive to proactive, ensuring that no opportunity is left on the table. Whether it’s identifying customers who need parts, services, or upgrades, pipeline generation puts you in the driver’s seat, helping you steer your sales strategy toward sustained success.