What makes a strong pipeline?

Good morning! I’m back in San Diego for a few days this week. It was beautiful on Saturday. Checking out the view of the bay from the SD Convention Center with Luna, The Sales House Dog. Not thrilled about having her picture taken...

What makes a strong pipeline?I hear people in sales talk all the time about a “strong” pipeline.They typically are measuring strength as a function of quantity. ‘I have a lot of leads ipso facto I have a strong pipeline.’Which isn’t true. Strength of pipeline is a qualitative measure.A pipeline full of leads you can’t convert into paying customers is of little use.I’ve spent a lot of time recently with sales leaders and sellers whose win rates hover around 20%.Winning only 1 out of 5 of your most qualified opportunities is a sign of pipeline weakness.More importantly, it’s a definite sign of sales weakness. Which can directly be traced to poor execution in discovery, needs analysis and qualification.The size of your pipeline is just window dressing if you’re incapable of winning a sizable fraction of them.In fact, if your win rate is at 20%, or lower, then arguably the same revenue results could be generated without a sales team…Something for sellers and front line sales managers to ponder.Upcoming EventsAlso, coming up in the next couple months, I’m going to be speaking to various groups about using both Discovery and Qualification as tools to help you win more deals.If you work in any of these areas, come out and see me. Say hi!

• June 05 - I’ll be presenting to the Providence chapter of the AA-ISP. Register.
• June 06 - I’ll be presenting to the Boston chapter of the AA-ISP. Register.
• June 11 - I’ll be in Seattle for a panel and workshop for the local chapter of the AA-ISP. Register.
• July 09 - I’ll be presenting to the Los Angeles chapter of the Sales & Marketing Leadership Alliance. The topic will be a bit different. I’ll be speaking about “Can the B2B Salesperson be Saved?” Register.

-Andy