A Full vs Effective Pipeline
A full pipeline doesn't guarantee results. An effective one does. This video breaks down the difference most leaders overlook.
Don't forget to check out last week's top tip: Fix Your Pipeline - Honest Forecasting!
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If you prefer to read - here is the transcript:
I'm not sure if you know this, but only 28%-29% of opportunities in your pipeline are going to close. Most people confuse having a full pipeline to having an effective pipeline. And that means that, you know, 70% of your opportunities are never going to close.
Now, let's be fair. Half of them are probably great quality opportunities where you do have a chance to close and you're talking to the right people and maybe you're qualifying correctly. But probably half of them, half of that 70%, are never going to close. They are people who are using you for pricing against the competition, or there are people who are never going to make a decision, or there are people who are deciding between buying or building, or there are people who are in decision making capacity, but we haven't worked through that full qualification.
Smart sellers don't mistake a full pipeline for having an effective or a high quality pipeline. And so take a look at those deals where they likely are going to close. Be really honest with yourself and ask, do we have access to all of the stakeholders and the decision makers? Do we truly understand and know why they are moving forward? Do we know who the competition is? Have we quantified value and had the customer also agreed that there is value? Do we know what the path forward is and does it make sense?
You know, I often ask myself this: if I was the buyer, would I do this? Would it make sense to me?
And for those where maybe you don't feel like it’s a high quality lead, go back to the customer and try to get that information. And if you can't, maybe it's time to fish or cut bait. I would much rather you have a smaller pipeline with time and a room to fill it with good quality of opportunities, and of course, spend more time with your highest probability or best quality leads, than for you to be wasting time on poor quality leads that are never going to close.