Pipeline Management

A pipeline is not a list of deals. It is a model of future revenue, and like any model, it is only useful if it reflects reality. Pipeline management is the discipline of keeping that model accurate, actionable, and predictive.

Stage Definitions

Each stage has an entry condition (what makes a deal move in) and an exit criterion (a specific buyer action that confirms progression). Stage advancement based on seller activity rather than buyer action creates false pipeline.

Stage 1 — Prospect

Entry: Account identified as fitting ICP. Contact identified. Exit criterion: Buyer has agreed to an initial conversation. Probability: 5–10%

Stage 2 — Discovery

Entry: First call booked and held. Exit criterion: Pain confirmed and quantified. Buyer has agreed to continue. Probability: 20%

Stage 3 — Qualified

Entry: MEDDIC gaps identified and a plan to close them. Exit criterion: Economic buyer identified and a path to meeting them confirmed. Probability: 35%

Stage 4 — Solution / Demo

Entry: Demo or proposal scoped and scheduled. Exit criterion: Buyer has confirmed solution addresses their pain. Stakeholders mapped. Probability: 50%

Stage 5 — Proposal

Entry: Commercial proposal submitted. Exit criterion: Buyer has reviewed and provided feedback. No pending showstoppers. Probability: 65%

Stage 6 — Negotiation

Entry: Buyer has indicated intent to proceed. Commercial terms under discussion. Exit criterion: Commercial agreement in principle. Legal/procurement engaged. Probability: 80%

Stage 7 — Closed Won / Lost

Entry: Decision made. Won: Signed contract or PO received. Lost: Decision to not proceed confirmed. Loss reason recorded.

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Pipeline Hygiene Rules

A deal must be removed or downgraded when:

• No buyer-initiated contact in 3× the average stage cycle time
• Last confirmed next step has passed with no response
• Economic buyer access has been explicitly refused
• Budget has been removed or frozen
• Champion has left the organisation

Stale deals inflate forecast and delay honest assessment. Review and cull weekly.

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Pipeline Review Framework

Run weekly or bi-weekly. Focus on movement, not status.

Questions per deal:

1. What has the buyer done since last review? (not the seller — the buyer)
2. What is the confirmed next step and date?
3. What is the biggest risk to this deal?
4. What do you need to move it forward?

Review by stage, not by rep. Look at the whole funnel shape:

• Too many deals in early stages = conversion problem downstream
• Too many deals in late stages with low movement = closing or qualification problem
• High pipeline volume + low win rate = qualification problem upstream

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Sales Velocity

The single most useful pipeline metric:

Sales Velocity = (Number of Opportunities × Win Rate × Average Deal Value) ÷ Sales Cycle Length

Use it to model the impact of improvements:

• Increasing win rate 5% → velocity impact
• Reducing cycle length 2 weeks → velocity impact
• Increasing average deal value 10% → velocity impact

Optimising the right lever depends on where the bottleneck is.

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Pipeline Coverage Ratio

Coverage ratio = Total pipeline value ÷ Quota

Industry standard targets:

• 3× coverage for an established team with a proven process
• 4–5× for a new team or new product with higher uncertainty
• Below 2× = quota achievement is unlikely without exceptional close rates

Coverage ratio by stage matters more than total coverage. A 4× pipeline that is 80% in Stage 2 is not a healthy pipeline.