The Ultimate Guide To Pipeline Management

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The Ultimate Guide toPipeline Management

INTRODUCTIONIf you’re tired of hearing your sales reps complain about not having enough pipeline, gripe about bad opportunities,or panic at the end of every month over whether or not their opps will close, you’re in the right place.By the end of this guide, you will have the framework you need to rationally assess yourteam’s pipeline concerns, and, if they’re justified, address them for good.Your ability to create and maintain a healthy pipeline hinges on your mastery of three different aspects ofpipeline management: inflow, visibility, and execution. We present detailed methodologies for improving yourteam’s capacity in each of these areas, and conclude with outcomes we’ve seen from organizations thathave successfully implemented them (spoiler: they win more deals).PRIORITY 1: DEVELOP CONSISTENT OPPORTUNITY INFLOWTHE CHALLENGESTHE SOLUTIONProblems with pipeline inflow typically manifestFind out exactly how much pipeline you need. Thisthemselves in three ways:solution sounds simple enough, but if you’ve spentany time trying to forecast or set goals, you know1. Reps are missing their numbers because they don’tit isn’t. That said, it’s also not impossible. Youhave enough oppscan dramatically reduce frustrating guesswork by2. Sales leadership and ops don’t know if the pipelineexecuting these steps:is good or not3. It’s unclear how much pipeline is actually neededto hit the number1. Monitor trends in your pipeline inflow2. Identify patterns in behavior3. Understand coverage needs4. Match input with output1

STEP 1: MONITOR TRENDS IN YOURPIPELINE INFLOWKeep detailed records of your team’s pipeline, bothby opportunity count and by value. InsightSquared’spipeline flow report provides a straightforwardvisualization that shows you at a glance what’shappening when your pipeline changes.STEP 2: IDENTIFY PATTERNS IN BEHAVIORRun analyses to find out what actions influence pipelineflow. Do periods of higher inflow correspond with higherrep activity? Effective marketing campaigns? Productreleases? Answer those questions to match inputSTEP 3: UNDERSTAND COVERAGE NEEDSAfter getting a handle on your company’s pipeline trends and the behaviors that stimulate pipeline growth, consideryour sales reps’ workload. How many opportunities do they expect to generate, and how many do they need to besuccessful? What does each mean for their quota attainment? How should pipeline trends affect your hiring plans?STEP 4: MATCH INPUT WITH OUTPUTEstablish a sales process that enables you to maintaina steady supply of opps in every stage of yourpipeline. This process can take many forms – you maytrain your reps to switch effectively between closingand prospecting as the need arises, or split intodedicated teams of development reps and closers.Breaking your sales cycle into stages and visualizingthe progression of opportunities enables you to spotchoke points and work with your team to streamlineyour process.2

CONCLUSIONThese four steps lay the foundation for effective pipeline management, but that’s only the beginning. As yourcompany grows, the factors influencing your pipeline will evolve. For your sales team to be able to adapt andimprove over time, your next step must be to create transparency in your pipeline.PRIORITY 2: ATTAIN PIPELINE VISIBILITYTHE CHALLENGESTHE SOLUTIONAfter establishing a consistent inflow of opportunities,Implement and enforce measurable, repeatablecommon challenges most sales teams continue tosales processes. To get a better handle on what’sface include:happening in your pipeline, develop a plan of attackfor your reps to follow, and find ways to measure their1. No one knows what the common characteristicsperformance effectively. Here are the four steps thatof a good sales engagement arewill accomplish those goals:2. The pipeline numbers don’t reflect reality3. No one knows what is going on whenpipeline changes1. Define quality2. Develop a playbook3. Record performance4. Manage to the numbersSTEP 1: DEFINE QUALITYQuality isn’t subjective when it comes to salesopportunities. Compare your closed-won andclosed-lost opportunities and follow the path theyall took from opening to closing. You will findpatterns for both. Use those patterns to create aframework that allows reps to assess the quality ofan opportunity as soon as it hits their pipeline.Reviewing your sales cycle for closed-won opps enablesyou to identify the common path that companies take tobecome customers, and helps you quickly sort high-andlow-quality opps.3

STEP 2: DEVELOP A PLAYBOOKAfter defining the characteristics of high-quality opportunities, you should establish guidelines for how thoseopportunities should be treated. Turn those guidelines into a playbook, and incorporate it into the daily routine ofyour sales reps. This will solidify your sales process and facilitate the recording and analyzing of performance.STEP 3: RECORD PERFORMANCEStart recording sales cycles by stages, monitorwon and lost rates, and compare the trajectory ofopportunities from different sources. Continueadding more metrics as required by the stage ofyour business. This data will allow you to manageperformance over the long run, and act as abarometer for your team’s performance overshorter periods.A sales funnel that tracks conversions of opportunitiesbetween stages is a good staple for monitoringperformance and providing reps with performancegoals to shoot for.STEP 4: MANAGE TO THE NUMBERSUse data gleaned from measuring opportunity performance to create a team standard your reps can aim forWhat is the average amount of time opps spend in each stage? What is the typical win rate for different sizes ofopps? Start to create a data-driven culture where everyone knows the averages and seeks to surpass them.This is the final step for eliminating opacity in your pipeline and creating a culture of accountability within yoursales team.CONCLUSIONSolving challenges related to pipeline flow and visibility are big victories, but you’re not done just yet. Theeffort you put into overcoming those challenges won’t pay off fully until you improve sales execution in thelater stages of your sales process as well. The next section takes you through the steps that will get you overthat final hurdle.4

PRIORITY 3: SEIZE OPPORTUNITIESTHE CHALLENGESTHE SOLUTIONIf you’ve really solved for pipeline flow and visibilityTeach reps to prioritize opportunities effectively andbut you’re not seeing a corresponding boost inmake adjustments early and often. It’s dishearteningbookings, you’re likely struggling with one or more ofto coach a team that’s not executing, but the goodthese problems:news is you’ve already done most of the hard workrequired to solve the problem. Here are the final steps1. Reps wasting time trying to close objectivelyto get a return on all the time you’ve already investedbad opportunitiesinto optimizing your pipeline management:2. Reps aren’t running the right plays at the right time3. Reps don’t organize their pipeline effectivelyand good opportunities die on the vine1. Clean the pipe regularly2. Catch problems early3. Reinforce good behaviorSTEP 1: CLEAN THE PIPE REGULARLYHave reps compare every opportunity to yourplaybook guidelines, and purge opportunitiesthat aren’t a fit. Identify sales stages where themajority of opportunities are being lost, andfind ways to keep a higher percentage of your oppsmoving in the pipeline. Protect your team against“happy ears” by having them clean their pipeline ona weekly basis.The pipeline today report provides full visibility into allopen opps, which saves your team hours prepping forpipeline review meetings and organizing their opps.STEP 2: CATCH PROBLEMS EARLYFind out which reps consistently push deals or seem to be perpetually short of pipeline, and ensure they areapplying the right tactics to all of their opps. Coach them out of bad habits early. If you notice such problemsbecoming widespread, reinforce the sales process through incentives and further training, or update theprocess to solve the problem.5

STEP 3: REINFORCE GOOD BEHAVIORUse the visibility you’ve created in your pipelineto highlight best practices, and then spread themacross the rest of your team. Create transparencywithin your sales organization by providingdashboards and access to reports that put individualperformances side-by-side. Provide incentives tobe a leader on metrics like sales cycle, win rate, andstage-to-stage opportunity conversions.The win factors report exposes the subsets of oppsyour team is most likely to win, allowing you to identifyand prioritize high-quality opps.CONCLUSIONPredictable pipeline inflow gives you the ability to predict performance more reliably. As a result, you’ll set morerealistic goals and plan incentives accordingly. That’s the only real recipe for a happy, productive sales team.Pipeline visibility allows you to measure in-the-moment performance and diagnose inconsistencies inperformance before they become real problems. The days of losing half your pipeline overnight and not knowingwhere it went are over.Improved execution on pipeline means less time explaining why you missed your number, less sleep lostwondering how your team will perform next month, and more free time for you to focus on strategic thinkingand the big-picture of your company’s future.A sales team without any pipeline issues is a sales team in an envious position. It’s not aneasy position to reach, but once you’re there you’ll see the benefits far outweigh the costs.6

ABOUT INSIGHTSQUAREDInsightSquared helps revenue operations professionals make better decisionsby equipping them with actionable, real-time intelligence on sales and marketingKPIs. Businesses rely on the company’s solutions to forecast more accurately,better manage pipeline, tailor rep coaching based on individual performance,understand their marketing attribution, and conduct data-backed planning andanalysis. For more information, visit www.insightsquared.com.

that aren’t a fit. Identify sales stages where the majority of opportunities are being lost, and find ways to keep a higher percentage of your opps moving in the pipeline. Protect your team against “happy ears” by having them clean their pipeline on a weekly basis. The pipelin

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