Key takeaways
- Coverage divides open pipeline by the target still to close.
- Only count deals with close dates inside the period.
- The right ratio depends on your own win rate, not a rule of thumb.
- Coverage measures supply; a forecast predicts outcome.
How is the pipeline coverage ratio worked out
The pipeline coverage ratio is the value of open deals expected to close in the period, divided by the part of the target still to close. Subtract deals already closed won from the target first, so the ratio reflects what is left to find.
For an invented example, a team with 200,000 left to close this quarter and 600,000 in open deals dated to close this quarter has coverage of three times. Change the period or the close dates and the ratio changes with them.
What does pipeline coverage hide
Pipeline coverage hides the quality of the deals behind the number. A healthy ratio built on early, stale or oversized deals can still leave a team short.
- Stage mix: early-stage deals count the same as late-stage ones.
- Stale close dates that slip every month without anyone noticing.
- One very large deal carrying most of the total.
- Deals that are dead in practice but still open in the CRM.
- Inflated amounts entered before pricing was discussed.
What coverage ratio should a sales team aim for
A sales team should aim for the ratio its own history says it needs, because no single figure holds across companies. Work it out from your win rate by value: if you have historically closed about one in every few units of pipeline value, you need roughly that many units for each one of target.
Recalculate it as the team, the market or the deal size changes. A ratio copied from another company's playbook says nothing about yours.
How is sales pipeline coverage different from a forecast
Sales pipeline coverage measures how much pipeline exists, while a forecast predicts how much of it will close. Coverage is a supply check; a forecast is a judgement about outcomes, deal by deal or by weighted stage.
Weighted pipeline sits between the two. It multiplies each deal by a probability, which tempers the raw total but still depends on honest stage and probability entries.
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- CapabilityProspecting & customer recordsDeals in the CRM (in Beta) carry amount, currency, close date and probability, with filters and saved views for keeping open deals in sight. There is no forecasting or revenue attribution.
- CapabilityOutreach contentWhen coverage looks thin, the assistants write new outbound messages and follow-ups in chat, saved as drafts in your connected Gmail or Outlook mailbox.
Common questions
Should pipeline coverage use weighted or unweighted pipeline?
Many teams track both. Unweighted shows total supply; weighted gives a more cautious view, provided probabilities are entered honestly.
How often should you check pipeline coverage?
Weekly during the period is common, with a look ahead at next period's coverage, because pipeline for next quarter has to be built this quarter.
What should you do when pipeline coverage is low?
First clean the pipeline so the number is real, then decide whether to add new deals through prospecting or move more existing deals forward.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
