Can You Answer These Questions About Your Sales Pipeline?

September 9, 2008

For most of us, we’re nearing the end of Q3 and the all important 4th quarter is looming large on the horizon. If you’re managing a highly transactional sales organization, you may be starting to wonder:

“How’s my pipeline changing?”

“Which deals should I focus on?”

“Where does my team need help?

“What patterns are emerging?”

“Where do we need to invest?”

In sales it’s critical that you have visibility into what’s coming into your pipeline, what’s moving out, and what’s changed. And you need to be able to see the trend over time. Without the ability to get answers to these and other questions and take the appropriate action, revenue growth opportunities will continue to be missed and you’ll risk being hit by nasty surprises throughout each quarter.

Here’s a list of the types of questions you need to be able to answer in order to ensure your sales pipeline is not based on fiction or fantasy:

New Pipeline Since the Beginning of the Month, Quarter or Year

What’s new in the pipeline since the beginning of the selected time period?
What % of the pipeline is new for this period?
What % of the new pipeline has closed within the same quarter historically?

Pipeline Fluctuations in the Current Period

What moved out? What’s stuck?

What % of the current period pipeline moved out to future periods?
Is there a pattern? (e.g. particular sales reps, products, industry verticals, etc.)

Where has the pipeline shrunk?

What % of the current period pipeline shrunk?
Is there a pattern? (e.g. particular sales reps, products, industry verticals, etc.)

Where has the pipeline grown?

What % of the current period pipeline grew?
Is there a pattern? (e.g. particular sales reps, products, industry verticals, etc.)

Pipeline Velocity

What % of the current period pipeline is stuck in its current stage?
What % of the current period pipeline has progressed to subsequent stages?

Pipeline Size and Shape

What are your conversion rates and sales cycle times?

Lead to opportunity
Opportunity to demo
Demo to quote
Quote to close

What % of your current period pipeline is above and below the thresholds of average days to close for deals that end up being won?

By industry vertical
By sales rep
By competitor

What % of your current period pipeline is nearing the threshold of average days to close for deals that end up being lost?

By industry vertical
By sales rep
By competitor

What is the pipeline for the remaining month, quarter or year?

Next 30, 60, 90 days, etc.?

What is the % distribution for early stage vs late stage opportunities?

By region
By sales rep

Are there some possible quick wins?

What are the dynamics of new versus repeat business?
What are the days to close for new versus repeat business?
What is the current period pipeline for new vs repeat business?

And if you’re wondering what other companies are doing to become what Thomas Davenport refers to as “analytical competitors,“ be sure to download this new research from Aberdeen, called “Sales Analytics: Hitting the Bulls-eye.”

You may also want to register for this new Sales Management 2.0 community centered around best-practice sharing.

Written by dcunningham · Filed Under Features