Key takeaways
- A pipeline is only as good as the definition of who belongs in it.
- Each stage needs an exit criterion the buyer has met, not a feeling the seller has.
- Work backwards from your target, using your own past conversion between stages.
- Every open deal needs a next step with a date.
- Remove stale deals; a smaller honest pipeline beats a large hopeful one.
What is a sales pipeline
A sales pipeline is the set of open deals a team is working, organised by the stage each one has reached on the way to a decision. It shows what is likely to close, what is stuck and where more work is needed.
It differs from a sales funnel, which counts how many prospects move from awareness to purchase. The pipeline is the seller's view of individual deals; the funnel is the overall flow of buyers.
Which stages should a sales pipeline have
A sales pipeline should have five to seven stages, each ending in something the buyer has done. Keep the names plain and the exit criteria written down, so two sellers would place the same deal in the same stage.
The table below is a starting template for a B2B team; rename the stages to fit how your buyers actually decide.
How much pipeline do you need
You need enough pipeline to hit your target after the deals you will lose, which you work out from your own history. Divide the target by your average deal size to get the number of wins, then divide by the share of qualified opportunities you usually win.
Take an invented team with a quarterly target of £300,000, an average deal of £20,000 and a history of winning about one qualified opportunity in four. It needs 15 wins, so around 60 qualified opportunities in the pipeline, created early enough to close within the quarter.
Where does pipeline come from
Pipeline comes from four main sources: inbound interest, outbound prospecting, partners and referrals from existing customers. Most teams rely on one or two and should know which, because each needs different work.
- Inbound: buyers who found you through content, search, events or word of mouth.
- Outbound: accounts your team chose and contacted first.
- Partners: agencies, resellers or technology partners who introduce buyers.
- Referrals: happy customers who recommend you to peers.
How do you keep a pipeline healthy
Keep a pipeline healthy with a weekly review, a next step and date on every deal, and a rule for removing stale ones. A deal with no buyer activity for several weeks should be closed as lost or moved back to nurture.
Watch for deals that sit in one stage far longer than usual, close dates that keep slipping and stages with too few deals to feed the next one. Each tells you where to put effort this week.
How to build a sales pipeline, step by step
Set up the structure first, then fill it.
- Write down your ideal customer profile and the buyer roles you sell to.
- Define five to seven pipeline stages, each with an exit criterion the buyer meets.
- Work backwards from your target to the number of qualified opportunities you need.
- Choose your main sources of pipeline and assign an owner to each.
- Build target account and contact lists, then start outreach to book first meetings.
- Log every deal with its stage, value, next step and date in your CRM.
- Review the pipeline weekly, moving, fixing or closing deals as the evidence says.
A sales pipeline stage template
Adapt the names and criteria to your own sales process.
| Exit criterion | Owner | |
|---|---|---|
| Prospect | Account fits the ideal customer and a contact is identified | SDR |
| Meeting booked | Buyer has accepted a first meeting | SDR |
| Qualified | Need, buyer and timing confirmed in conversation | Account executive |
| Solution | Buyer has seen a tailored demo or proposal | Account executive |
| Commit | Buyer has agreed terms and a signing date | Account executive |
| Closed | Contract signed, or deal marked lost with a reason | Account executive |
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- CapabilityProspecting & customer recordsDescribe your ideal customer; your assistant finds matching companies, then the right people at up to ten of them. Deals then move across a board view in the CRM (in Beta).
- CapabilityOutreach contentPlan first-meeting outreach in the campaign builder, then find the generated emails saved as drafts in your connected Gmail or Outlook mailbox, ready to check and send.
- CapabilityResearch & analysisResearch each target account from its website and public sources before the first call, and read the answer with its inline citations and source list.
Common questions
What is the difference between a sales pipeline and a forecast?
The pipeline lists every open deal by stage. A forecast is your judgement of which of those deals will close in a period and for how much.
How often should you review a sales pipeline?
Weekly for the team, with each seller updating their deals beforehand. Leaders often add a deeper monthly review of sources and stage movement.
What tool do you need to build a sales pipeline?
A CRM with deal stages, values and next steps is enough to start. A spreadsheet works for a founder with a handful of deals but breaks down once several people share it.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
