Day 1 Pipeline and Pacing

As described in the KPI Wednesday blog post prior to this one, close rates (CRs) can be used to set a target for the amount of open pipeline you should have entering each new quarter. The pacing towards this target – the next quarter’s Day 1 Pipeline – can be tracked throughout the current quarter and should be incorporated into weekly forecast calls and pipeline reviews.

Next quarter's Day 1 Pipeline is also a great metric to share and discuss with your other pipeline source channel stakeholders, mainly Marketing and Partnership teams.

This pipeline value includes all open deals that have a close date of next quarter, regardless of how it ended up in that bucket. It may be that a deal was created with an initial close date of next quarter, pushed to the next quarter, or pulled forward into the next quarter from a future quarter.

How to Calculate

How well you are pacing towards that target is determined by analyzing the percentage to final attainment, or where you end up for each day or week of the quarter. This pacing percentage is set as a percent to target goal. It can then be multiplied by the current or future target to determine the values for each day or week.

For example, if you started last quarter with $1,000,000 in Day 1 Pipeline, and on Day 60 of last quarter you had $650,000 in Day 1 Pipeline, then your pacing for Day 60 is 65%. Multiple quarters should be analyzed to create these targets. If your Day 1 Pipeline Target for next quarter is $1,500,000, then on Day 60 you should have created $975,000 in Day 1 Pipeline to be on pace. 

The below chart shows a depiction where the Day 1 Pipeline target has been set at $2,500,000, then showing the values (vs. percentages, though either are valid depictions) in both actuals vs. pacing.

Tracking this KPI provides early visibility into risks and opportunities for next quarter, allowing you and your pipeline stakeholders to take earlier action to close a gap or take advantage of overachievement. A cadence for review of these KPIs needs to be agreed upon, and it is ideally done during weekly forecast or pipeline review meetings.

More on Pipeline KPIs

We've covered other great ways to stay on top of your pipeline generation and coverage. Read more about pipeline coverage ratios and also about understanding pipeline KPIs in general. And of course, for our "big book" on GTM metrics and performance measurement, download the PDF here for definitions of 45+ KPIs and to view different scorecarding examples.