Let me tell you something that nobody wants to admit:
Most sales pipelines are a joke.
They're full of zombie deals that will never close, inflated probabilities, and reps who are "90% sure" about opportunities they haven't talked to in three weeks.
The result? You have no idea if you're going to hit your number until the last week of the quarter. Your forecast is a guess. And your board meetings are... uncomfortable.
Here's the thing: it doesn't have to be this way.
I've built predictable pipelines at multiple companies - from startups to enterprises generating $100M+ in ARR. And I can tell you exactly how to do it in 90 days.
Why Most Pipelines Are Broken
Before we fix it, let's talk about why your pipeline is probably a mess right now.
Three reasons:
1. No Clear Definition of "Qualified"
Your reps are adding every conversation to the CRM. Someone downloaded a whitepaper? Opportunity. Someone agreed to a demo? Opportunity. None of those are real opportunities.
2. No Stage Discipline
Your deals sit at "Discovery" or "Demo Complete" for months because no one knows what it actually takes to move to the next stage.
3. No Real Forecast Hygiene
Your forecast meetings are reps saying, "Yeah, I think this one closes this month" based on nothing but vibes and wishful thinking.
The 90-Day Pipeline Transformation
Phase 1: Week 1-2 → Audit & Define
Phase 2: Week 3-4 → Build the Framework
Phase 3: Week 5-6 → Train & Implement
Phase 4: Week 7-12 → Optimize & Scale
Phase 1: Audit & Define (Week 1-2)
Pull every deal in your pipeline and ask:
- When was the last activity? (If it's been 30+ days, it's dead)
- Who's the champion? (If you can't name them, it's not real)
- What's the next step? (If there's no mutual action plan, it's stalled)
- What's the close date based on? (If it's "hoping to close by Q4," it's fake)
Be ruthless. You're going to kill 30-50% of your pipeline. That's the point.
A clean pipeline with 20 real deals is infinitely better than a bloated pipeline with 100 zombie opportunities.
Define "Qualified" (MEDDIC Framework)
An opportunity is qualified when you can answer YES to all of these:
- ✅ Metrics: Can you quantify the problem in dollars or risk?
- ✅ Economic Buyer: Have you talked to the person with budget authority?
- ✅ Decision Criteria: Do you know how they're evaluating solutions?
- ✅ Decision Process: Do you know their timeline and approval process?
- ✅ Identify Pain: Have they articulated why they need to solve this NOW?
- ✅ Champion: Do you have an internal advocate selling for you?
If you can't answer all six, it's not qualified yet. Period.
Phase 2: Build the Framework (Week 3-4)
Define clear stage definitions with exit criteria. You can't move a deal to the next stage until you've met the exit criteria for the current stage. No exceptions.
Example stages:
- Discovery: MEDDIC questions answered
- Technical Review: Demo done, champion confirmed, stakeholders identified
- Business Case: Pricing discussed, ROI built, economic buyer engaged
- Proposal: Proposal sent and reviewed with all stakeholders
- Negotiation: Legal/procurement engaged, close date committed
Real Example: My Results at Whip Around
The situation: 200+ "opportunities" in Salesforce, no qualification criteria, 15% win rate, no predictability.
What I did:
- Week 1-2: Audited pipeline, killed 60% of deals
- Week 3-4: Defined MEDDIC qualification, built stage definitions
- Week 5-6: Trained team, ran live deal reviews
- Week 7-12: Weekly pipeline reviews, tracked leading indicators
Results after 90 days:
- Pipeline coverage: 2x → 4.5x quota
- Win rate: 15% → 38%
- Average deal size: +22%
- Forecast accuracy: 40% → 85%
That's the power of a disciplined pipeline.
The Metrics That Matter
Pipeline Coverage: 3-5x quota
Win Rate: 30-50% of qualified opportunities
Average Sales Cycle: Track and reduce over time
Stage Velocity: How long deals sit in each stage
If pipeline coverage drops below 3x quota, you have a problem. If your win rate is below 25%, you're qualifying bad deals.
Common Mistakes
Mistake #1: Not Disqualifying Fast Enough
Reps hate killing deals. They think, "Maybe this one will come back." It won't. Disqualify fast.
Mistake #2: Letting Reps Self-Report Stages
Require manager sign-off to move from Discovery → Business Case and beyond.
Mistake #3: Ignoring Leading Indicators
Track activities, meetings, and qualified opportunities weekly.
Mistake #4: Not Killing Zombie Deals
If a deal hasn't had activity in 30 days, it's dead. Mark it lost. Move on.