Pipeline is the lifeblood of closing revenue. Planning for and monitoring how much pipeline you need, where it is sourced from, and your available pipeline-generation capacity are all necessary measures you need to track in order to stay on pace to achieve revenue targets.
Pipeline is much more than “how much did I create?” and “how much do I have open?” In upcoming blog posts that will follow this one, we’ll discuss several of elements that – when combined – provide you with insights that ensure your pipeline can support your revenue goals.
Here are some key questions to be answered::
How much pipeline do I need?
This includes the amount of pipeline you need when starting a new quarter (or day 1 pipeline); the coverage ratios during a quarter; and the amount of pipeline for the quarter that you need to create within the quarter (or create-and-close pipeline).
Where is my pipeline coming from?
What are the sources and channels of my pipeline, and who is generating it in terms of taking a lead and working it through qualified stages.
Do I have the people capacity to generate my pipeline goals?
Similar to sales rep quota capacity, you need to understand the available capacity to work and generate qualified pipeline – whether it is generated by SDRs (including tracking the effectiveness of any AI-based lead-gen or SDR agents), sales reps, or a partner team.
What is the quality of my pipeline?
Each combination of where the pipeline is coming from has a win rate, velocity, and ASP. KPIs from a SDR working inbound marketing pipeline are different from the KPIs for a sales rep focused on outbound to generate pipeline. Efficiency of pipeline from a cost perspective must also be considered.
How does pipeline support forecasting?
Integrating pipeline KPIs into your forecast cadences will provide more accurate forecasts and better insights into risk. Pipeline KPIs should also have shared ownership with Marketing – both should be operating from the same set of data and “truth” when it comes to end-to-end pipeline forecasting and reporting.
There are many factors and assumptions that go into developing a pipeline generation plan that link top-of-funnel marketing programs to middle-of-funnel prospecting and development to pipeline creation. The plan includes not just how much pipeline is needed at various points in the fiscal year, but when and how it will be generated based on sales velocity, conversion rates, and efficiency.
Stay tuned from details on each of the above in the next few weeks. In the meantime, you can always catch a demo of Revcast for tracking these types of KPIs in one central place and making sure they connect with your revenue plan’s real-time performance.
Happy Wednesday!
