kienbui1995 Pipeline Management
When to Use
When managing a sales pipeline — reviewing deal health, forecasting revenue, or improving CRM data quality.
Core Jobs
1. Define Stage Definitions
Each stage needs an objective criterion to move forward — not "rep feels good about it":
| Stage | Criteria to Enter | Exit Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Qualified | MEDDIC partially complete, pain confirmed | Discovery call completed |
| Demo | Problem aligned, right buyer engaged | Demo delivered, next steps agreed |
| Proposal | Economic buyer engaged, budget confirmed | Proposal sent and reviewed |
| Negotiation | Verbal commitment, pricing discussed | Signed contract |
2. Weekly Pipeline Review
For each deal in pipeline:
- Last activity date (> 2 weeks = at risk)
- Next step with a date
- Economic buyer engaged? (Y/N)
- Blockers?
Deal health score: Green (on track) / Yellow (at risk) / Red (stalled)
3. Build the Forecast
Weighted pipeline:
- Each deal × close probability by stage
- Stage probabilities: Qualified 20%, Demo 40%, Proposal 60%, Negotiation 80%
- Compare: weighted pipeline vs quota for the month/quarter
Categories:
- Commit: deals you'll stake your reputation on closing
- Best case: deals that could close with some luck
- Pipeline: full weighted value
4. Pipeline Hygiene
Monthly:
- Close or remove deals with no activity in 30 days
- Update stage, close date, deal value
- Ensure next step exists for every deal
Key Outputs
- Stage definitions with objective criteria
- Weekly pipeline review template
- Forecast spreadsheet (weighted by stage)
- Pipeline hygiene report
Anti-Patterns
- Stage definitions based on rep's gut feeling
- Deals sitting in "Proposal" stage for 60+ days without update
- Forecast based on gut, not weighted pipeline
- Deals with no next steps (they will stall)