Guide
Sales pipeline management, step by step.
A pipeline is only useful if people trust it. This guide covers stages, win probability and the habits that keep a sales pipeline honest.
Set up
Build the pipeline in four steps.
- Name the stages
Use words your team already says, such as Qualified, Proposal and Negotiation.
- Set win probability
Give each stage a percentage so a weighted forecast has meaning.
- Define exit rules
Decide what must be true before a deal moves forward, such as a contact, a quote or a date.
- Review weekly
Look at stuck deals, deals with no recent contact and deals past their close date.
Example
Example pipeline stages.
| Stage | What must be true to leave it | Example win probability |
|---|---|---|
| Qualified | Budget, need and a decision maker are confirmed. | 20% |
| Proposal | A quote or proposal has been sent. | 40% |
| Negotiation | The buyer is discussing terms. | 70% |
| Closed won | The buyer accepted. | 100% |
Illustrative figures. Set yours from your own history.
Weighted
How a weighted pipeline is calculated.
Multiply each open deal's value by its stage probability, then add them up. A 10,000 deal in a stage with a 40% probability adds 4,000 to the weighted total. The result is an estimate, so compare it with what actually closes and adjust the percentages.
Forecast
Keep the forecast honest.
A forecast built from stage probabilities is a starting point. Revenue Intelligence adds a deal-health score, so a deal with no recent contact loses health points, with the reason shown. See how deal health works.
Habits
Habits that keep a pipeline honest.
Log the call, meeting or note the same day.
Mark lost deals as lost so the pipeline total is real.
Review deals whose close date has passed or keeps moving.
A late-stage deal with no recent contact deserves a closer look.
Your CRM
Pipeline tools in Veliq CRM.
Veliq CRM has configurable pipelines with a win probability per stage, a meeting scheduler, quotes by link, and a weekly pipeline digest in chat. See the sales CRM features.
Pipeline
Pipeline questions, answered.
Can I have more than one pipeline?
Yes. Pipelines are configurable, each with its own stages and win probabilities.
What is a weighted pipeline?
The total of each deal's value multiplied by its stage's win probability.
How many stages should a pipeline have?
Use as few as your real process needs, usually five to seven. Each stage should have a clear exit rule.
How often should I review the pipeline?
Weekly for stuck deals, and after every conversation for the record itself.