How to Create a Revenue-Ready Sales Pipeline

It often begins with a well-intentioned RevOps leader whose reverse capacity model unexpectedly sets the year's targets... 🤦♂️ Year after year, I see the same mistake across organizations: a failure to incorporate business reality and 'time-to-impact' considerations into planning. Many organizations' planning cycles are built around their respective fiscal years, not around actual business cycles, seasonality, segments, and time-to-impact. Too many companies operate under the assumption that the year is a 'ready-set-go' race starting on January 1st. The problem? This approach is completely disconnected from the business reality that time takes time. Deep, I know. 🤣 In the B2B SaaS world, especially in the enterprise segment, sales cycles can be llooonnnngggg. Ignoring these planning realities often leads to misaligned strategies, missed opportunities, and missed targets. This realization hits harder now, as for the first time in over a decade and a half, I'm not involved in the whirlwind of planning for the upcoming year. I'm not sure whether to have FOMO, or be seriously relieved. 😬 Here's my typical process to ensure pragmatic planning alignment: ✅ Align all teams around the significance of 'time-to-impact' in planning. ✅ Begin by critically reassessing current capacity models considering the historical sales cycle durations and lead conversion durations. ✅ Review data on actual win rates, deal velocity, lead-to-revenue durations, and conversion rates and velocity by segment and source. ✅ Conduct regular, deep discussions with revenue teams to weave their front-line insights into our strategic approach. ✅ Ensure lockstep relationships across the entire organization and especially with finance to coordinate the nuances of long sales cycles. ✅ Revise capacity models to reflect these time elements, anticipating required production to ensure targets are met in the required period of impact. In other words, we may need to build qualified pipeline 6-9 months in advance of the needed impact period. ✅ Continuously review and recalibrate strategies in response to actual performance data and market changes. ✅ Ensure transparent communication with all stakeholders about strategy changes and their reasons. ✅ Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of strategies, remaining open to further adjustments. ✅ Share our successes and learnings to foster an environment of continuous improvement and strategic alignment. Ultimately, move to a dynamic forecasting model across the organization, such as rolling quarterly planning, that adapts to changes in sales cycles, market conditions, and business cycles...And PLEASE, whatever you do, don't take that capacity model as an absolute truth. 👀 I'm curious to hear from others: How do you ensure your planning incorporates business realities and real 'time-to-impact' considerations? #opentohelp #2024planning #givingthanks

"We've tried everything and nothing works." This CRO was frustrated. They'd hired expensive consultants, implemented new CRM systems, brought in sales trainers, and even replaced half their team. Revenue was still flat. Here's what I told him: "You're treating symptoms, not the disease." Most sales organizations approach revenue problems like isolated issues. Poor prospecting. Weak discovery. Long sales cycles. They try to fix each problem separately with point solutions. But revenue problems are systemic. Your prospecting problems create discovery problems. Discovery problems create qualification problems. Everything is connected. After working with 100+ revenue teams, I developed a systematic methodology that treats revenue generation as an integrated operating system. And I call it the The Revenue Engine OS. It has three core components… #1 Revenue intelligence Diagnose what's actually broken. Most leaders think they know. They're usually wrong. → Map real conversion rates by stage (not CRM fiction) → Identify pipeline velocity killers → Audit actual vs. intended sales process One client discovered their "discovery problem" was actually qualification. Reps advanced unqualified prospects who stalled later. #2 Performance engineering Build predictable systems, not hope based forecasting. → Design repeatable frameworks for each stage → Create coaching systems that improve results → Implement metrics that predict performance #3 Leadership enablement Transform managers from activity supervisors to performance multipliers. BTW. Here are some real results from orgs going through our Revenue Engine OS: Client A: 67% → 127% team quota (90 days). Client B: $15K → $85K average deal size (6 months). Client C: 11 → 6 month sales cycle, 18% → 31% close rate. Teams that win consistently don't have better people. They have better systems. Stop fixing random problems with random solutions. Start building a revenue engine that creates predictable growth. — Here's the thing. If you keep hiring the wrong people, no amount of training will fix it. But if you want me to personally diagnose what's broken in your hiring and development process, book a free diagnostic call below. I'll show you exactly what top performing teams do differently: https://lnkd.in/ghh8VCaf

Most companies are flying blind when it comes to revenue 📊 "Some months we're closing deals left and right, other months it's crickets. I never know what's coming next month." Every month I meet with business owners who tell me exactly this. Revenue unpredictability kills everything. You can't plan hiring, you can't forecast growth, and you definitely can't sleep well at night wondering where next month's revenue is coming from. Well here's the thing...it doesn't have to be this way. ➡️ THE SOLUTION: PIPELINE DRIVEN FORECASTING Stop guessing at your revenue and start building forecasts based on actual pipeline data. Think about that difference. Instead of hoping deals close, you're working with real data from real prospects. STEP 1️⃣ → STRUCTURE YOUR CRM Track each deal by stage, amount, and expected close date in your CRM system. See every deal needs to move through defined stages that actually reflect how your sales process works. You can't just throw deals in there and hope for the best. STEP 2️⃣ → EXPORT PIPELINE DATA Export your CRM data to Excel for revenue forecasting and analysis. You know what's amazing about this? You get complete control over how you manipulate and model your data. Plus Excel gives you that flexibility that most CRM reporting just can't match. STEP 3️⃣ → FORECAST REVENUE Use weighted pipeline data to predict future revenue with confidence. Apply probability percentages to each stage and calculate realistic monthly projections. That's pretty powerful when you think about it. ➡️ RECOMMENDED CRM TOOLS 🔵 Salesforce → Enterprise grade pipeline management for larger companies 🔴 HubSpot → All in one sales & marketing platform ⚫ Pipedrive → Simple, visual pipeline management for smaller teams Now you may be thinking which one should I choose? Well that depends on your company size and complexity, but any of these will work better than spreadsheets alone. ➡️ BEST PRACTICES FOR PIPELINE MANAGEMENT 📅 Keep data updated weekly 📊 Track conversion rates by stage 📋 Define clear stage criteria 📝 Review forecasts monthly ⚙️ Set up CRM automations 🗓️ Set realistic close dates The key is to export pipeline data monthly to maintain accurate revenue forecasts. This monthly ritual will completely change how you plan and operate your business. === I've seen this transform companies from reactive revenue planning to predictable growth patterns. Instead of crossing your fingers each month, you'll know exactly what's coming and can make strategic decisions accordingly. What's your experience been with pipeline management? Are you still flying blind or do you have a system that works?