Coaching Sales Reps on Pipeline Prioritization

Pipeline Prioritization is a critical process for a Sales Manager to coach their reps – see “Sales Coaching on Pipeline Management and Sales Forecasting“.

Here is what Sales Manager should coach reps to start by looking at these key factors in their pipeline:

1. Opp Age or Duration in Stages = length of stay (red flag if ~ length for Lost Deals)
2. Opportunity Size vs. Won Deals Size (look at Lost Deals)
3. Expected Opp $Value Changes – frequent changes in opportunity $ amount aka “expected deal value”
4. Time Slippage – frequent changes or pushes of “projected close dates”
5. Engagement – if the buyer is taking more meetings (3-5, not just 1) and it they engage and come through on their micro-commitments then the Opp should be prioritized

Also – a few extras for advanced Pipeline Prioritization coaching:

1. Unusual or unexpected Non-Linear Stage Leaps
2. Pipeline Velocity aka Pipeline Turnover = “length of your selling period” / length of stay in the stage
3. Negative Velocity at later stages

 

For more details and identifying “Pipeline Red Flags” – see this prior article “Sales Management: Pipeline “Red Flags” that Sales Managers Must Assess With their Reps“.