For manufacturing, engineering, and construction businesses, the quiet period following the Christmas and New Year break offers a valuable opportunity to prepare your sales operation for the year ahead. As digital transformation continues to reshape B2B sales, optimising your CRM and sales processes becomes increasingly crucial.
Drawing from our experience with hundreds of UK businesses, we’ve compiled a comprehensive checklist of actions that will set your sales operation up for success in 2025. Whether you’re leading a team of 5 or 50, these tasks will help modernise your approach while maintaining the practical efficiency your business demands.
The Complete Checklist
The list includes a LOT of items to go through. Take your time. Some may not apply to your industry, but all are worth reading to see if you can gain something from the suggested action. We’ve listed these by function, starting with your CRM and then on into Sales Operations, Customer Support, and Marketing.
CRM System Management
- Data Quality Audit
Review the completeness and accuracy of your contact database. Missing or outdated information can lead to lost opportunities and wasted time.
Benefit: Improved contact rates and more effective targeting. - Contact Information Verification
Check phone numbers, email addresses, and physical addresses for key accounts. Clean data ensures your team can reach decision-makers when it matters most.
Benefit: Reduced bounce rates and higher response rates. - CRM Field Usage Analysis
Review which custom fields are actually being used and which are being ignored. Remove unnecessary fields and add missing ones.
Benefit: Improved user adoption and cleaner data entry. - Integration Health Check
Test all CRM integrations (email, calendar, phone systems, etc.) to ensure proper data flow.
Benefit: Improved automation and reduced manual data entry. - User Permission Review
Audit user access levels and update them based on current roles and responsibilities.
Benefit: Enhanced data security and appropriate access control. - Dashboard Optimisation
Review and update dashboard components to ensure they display the most relevant metrics for each role.
Benefit: Better visibility into key performance indicators. - Mobile CRM Usage Review
Assess mobile CRM functionality and usage patterns to optimise field sales support.
Benefit: Improved mobile productivity. - Data Backup Verification
Ensure all critical CRM data is properly backed up and recoverable. What level of data security do you have in place, and do you have a backup strategy?
Benefit: Risk mitigation and data security. - Custom Report Audit
Review and update custom reports to ensure they provide actionable insights. Benefit: More effective reporting and decision-making. - Data Compliance Audit
Review data handling practices for compliance with current regulations. Benefit: Risk reduction and regulatory compliance. - CRM Data Enrichment Review
Evaluate current data enrichment tools and processes. How do you currently assess whether the data you are using is useful, and what do you currently do to improve the data?
Benefit: More complete and accurate customer data. - CRM Training Needs Assessment
Identify knowledge gaps in CRM usage across the team and plan training sessions. Your CRM may have had several new features added during the year – does everyone know how to use them?
Benefit: Improved system utilisation and adoption.
Sales Operations
- Sales Process Mapping
Document each step of your current sales process and identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies.
Benefit: Streamlined operations and shorter sales cycles. - Pipeline Stage Definitions
Review and clarify the definitions of each pipeline stage to ensure consistent usage across the team.
Benefit: More accurate forecasting and stage-appropriate actions. - Sales Territory Assessment
Evaluate territory assignments based on performance data and growth potential.
Benefit: Balanced workloads and optimised coverage. - Win/Loss Analysis
Review won and lost opportunities from the past year to identify patterns and areas for improvement.
Benefit: Enhanced win rates through learned insights. - Product Knowledge Base Update
Review and update internal product documentation and competitive comparison sheets.
Benefit: More confident and knowledgeable sales conversations. - Pricing Strategy Review
Analyse win rates at different price points and evaluate market positioning.
Benefit: Optimised pricing and better profit margins. - Sales Activity Metrics Review
Evaluate key activity metrics (calls, emails, meetings) against outcomes to optimise activity targets.
Benefit: More focused and productive sales efforts. - Account Segmentation Update
Review and refine account segmentation criteria based on current business priorities.
Benefit: More targeted sales approaches for different segments. - Pipeline Cleanup
Review aged opportunities and update or close as appropriate.
Benefit: More accurate pipeline and forecasting. - Sales Commission Structure Review
Evaluate commission structures against desired behaviours and outcomes.
Benefit: Better aligned sales incentives. - Sales Performance Metrics Update
Review and update KPIs for measuring sales team and individual performance.
Benefit: Better performance tracking and management. - Sales Tool Stack Assessment
Evaluate the effectiveness of current sales tools and identify gaps or redundancies.
Benefit: Optimised tool usage and cost efficiency. - Sales Playbook Review
Update sales playbooks with new best practices and market insights.
Benefit: More effective sales conversations and consistent messaging. - Customer Journey Mapping
Document the typical customer journey from first contact to close, identifying key touch points.
Benefit: More strategic engagement planning. - Sales Meeting Templates Review
Update meeting agenda templates and discussion guides for different sales stages.
Benefit: More productive customer interactions. - Account Planning Template Update
Refresh strategic account planning templates with current best practices.
Benefit: More effective account growth strategies. - Proposal Template Update
Review and refresh proposal templates with current messaging and pricing.
Benefit: More professional and consistent proposals. - Pipeline Velocity Analysis
Calculate and optimise deal velocity through different pipeline stages.
Benefit: Faster deal cycles and better forecasting. - Sales Technology Training Plan
Develop a training calendar for new sales technologies and CRM features.
Benefit: Better utilisation of available tools.
Customer Support
- Customer Feedback Analysis
Review customer feedback and satisfaction scores to identify areas for improvement.
Benefit: Enhanced customer experience and retention. - Customer Success Stories Update
Collect and document new customer success stories for sales use.
Benefit: More compelling social proof in sales conversations. - Reference Program Assessment
Update your reference customer list and program structure.
Benefit: Stronger proof points for prospects. - Customer Onboarding Process Review
Assess and optimise the handoff from sales to customer success.
Benefit: Smoother customer transitions and faster time to value. - Customer Communication Preferences Update
Review and document preferred communication channels for key accounts.
Benefit: More effective customer engagement. - Contact Role Analysis
Review and update contact role definitions and relationship mapping.
Benefit: Better understanding of account relationships.
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Marketing
- Lead Scoring System Review
Evaluate your current lead scoring criteria against actual conversion data from the past year. Adjust weights and criteria based on real performance.
Benefit: More accurate prioritisation of sales efforts. - Email Template Performance Review
Analyse open rates and response rates for your email templates. Update or replace underperforming messages. Benefit: Higher engagement rates with prospects. - Marketing-Sales Alignment Review
Assess lead handoff processes and lead qualification criteria between marketing and sales.
Benefit: Smoother lead transitions and better qualification. - Follow-up Sequence Audit
Review automated follow-up sequences for effectiveness and timing.
Benefit: Improved engagement and reduced manual follow-up needs. - Sales Collateral Audit
Review all sales materials for accuracy, branding consistency, and current messaging.
Benefit: Professional presentation and consistent communication. - Lead Source Analysis
Evaluate the quality and quantity of leads from different sources.
Benefit: Better lead source prioritisation and resource allocation. - Social Selling Strategy Review
Assess social selling effectiveness and update best practices.
Benefit: Enhanced social media engagement with prospects. - Sales Content Management Review
Organise and tag sales content for easier access and sharing.
Benefit: More efficient content utilisation. - Lead Nurturing Program Assessment
Review and update automated lead nurturing programs.
Benefit: More effective lead development. - Competitor Database Update
Document new market entrants, pricing changes, and feature updates from existing competitors.
Benefit: Better competitive positioning and more informed sales conversations. - Technical Documentation Review
Audit and update all technical specifications, product sheets, and engineering documentation used in sales materials.
Benefit: More accurate and confident technical discussions with prospects. - Sales Territory Mapping Review
Update geographic and account-based territory assignments.
Benefit: Optimised coverage and reduced conflicts.
How to Use This Checklist
Following the Christmas Break
- Focus on quick-win tasks that don’t require team input
- Review and prioritise which items need immediate attention in January
- Document current pain points while they’re fresh in your mind
The First Few Weeks of January
- Share relevant sections with department heads
- Schedule team meetings to implement key changes
- Set deadlines for critical updates
Throughout Q1
- Tackle more complex system changes
- Monitor the impact of your improvements
- Adjust and refine as needed
Implementation Tips
For Manufacturing & Engineering Firms
- Pay special attention to the CRM data quality audit – accurate technical specifications and requirements are crucial for your sales team.
- Ensure your sales process mapping reflects both direct sales and distributor channels.
- Consider creating separate lead scoring criteria for different product lines.
For Construction Companies
- Focus on territory mapping to optimise field sales team efficiency
- Ensure mobile CRM access is fully functional for on-site visits
- Update customer communication preferences to reflect project-based relationships
For Distribution Businesses
- Prioritise integration health checks to ensure smooth order processing
- Review pipeline stages to reflect both spot purchases and contract negotiations
- Update account segmentation to reflect changing supply chain dynamics
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Trying to tackle everything at once
- Not involving key team members in process changes
- Forgetting to document changes made
- Neglecting to set measurement criteria for improvements
Next Steps
Don’t let this checklist overwhelm you. Start with the areas that will have the biggest impact on your business. If you need help prioritising or implementing any of these improvements, our team at BuddyCRM specialises in helping businesses like yours modernise their sales operations.
We provide the technology, the training and the support needed to ensure successful implementation. Unlike other CRM providers, we don’t leave you to figure things out alone – our support team understands the unique challenges faced by manufacturing, engineering, and construction businesses.
See how BuddyCRM can work for your industry.
Call us on 0121 288 0808.
This checklist will be updated regularly throughout 2025. Bookmark it for future reference, and subscribe to our newsletter for detailed guides on implementing each of these points.