Most salespeople think a full pipeline means they’re doing great.
It doesn’t.
A pipeline can be full and still dead.
It’s like having 50 deals in CRM but none moving, none closing, and no clue which ones are real.
That’s not progress. That’s clutter.
So let’s fix that.
Here’s how to know if your pipeline is healthy - and how to keep it that way.
1. Coverage: The Math Behind Predictability
If your quarterly target is 300,000,
and your average win rate is 25%,
you need 1.2 million in open pipeline.
That’s your baseline - 4× coverage.
It’s not random. It’s how you protect your number.
If you’re below 3×, you’re under pressure.
If you’re above 6×, you’re not qualifying properly.
You don’t need 100 deals.
You need enough qualified ones that can actually close.
Check your coverage every week.
Think of it like checking fuel before a long drive.
2. Movement: Deals That Don’t Move, Die
A healthy pipeline moves.
Deals stall when reps lose rhythm.
Here’s your movement test:
Does every deal have a next step?
Is that step scheduled?
Was the last touch within 14 days?
If any answer is “no,” that deal is fake progress.
Every Friday, run through your deals.
If it’s untouched, schedule a next action.
If there’s no buyer momentum, move on.
Static pipelines kill momentum. Movement wins.
3. Balance: Spread Across Stages
Most reps make one of two mistakes:
They have either too many new deals or too many late-stage ones.
Both are dangerous.
A balanced pipeline looks like this:
25% early stage (prospecting, first calls)
25% discovery
25% proposal
25% late stage
That means you’re feeding the funnel, qualifying, and closing - all at once.
If your CRM is 80% in proposal, you’re waiting instead of selling.
If it’s all in early stage, you’re busy, but not productive.
Aim for motion and mix.
4. Truth: The 4 Question Test
Most “deals” aren’t real.
They’re hopes, not commitments.
Run your top 10 through this test:
Do I know the economic buyer?
Do I understand the approval process?
Is there quantifiable pain?
Is there a next scheduled event?
If you can’t answer “yes” to all four, you don’t have a deal - you have a conversation.
Truth keeps your pipeline clean.
And clean pipelines make forecasting easy.
Habit: The Friday 10-Minute Audit
Healthy pipelines aren’t built in one sprint.
They’re maintained every week.
Here’s the habit I’ve used for years:
Every Friday, before closing your laptop, run this checklist:
Is coverage on track?
Any deal untouched for 14 days?
Any missing next steps?
Are close dates still realistic?
Is stage balance still healthy?
Fix what’s broken before the weekend.
It’s a 10-minute habit that prevents a quarter of chaos.
6. Know Your Numbers
Simple math saves your quarter.
Metric | Formula | Example |
|---|---|---|
Coverage | Target ÷ Win Rate | 300,000 ÷ 25% = 1,200,000 |
Deals Needed | Needed Pipeline ÷ Avg Deal | 1,200,000 ÷ 15,000 = 80 |
New Deals per Week | Deals Needed ÷ Weeks | 80 ÷ 12 = 7 |
If you don’t know these numbers, you’re guessing - and guessing doesn’t scale.
7. What to Do This Week
Try this:
Run your math.
Tag deals missing a next step.
Rebalance your stages.
Close 3 deals you’ve been “hoping” for too long.
Add 5 new accounts to replace them.
It’s boring. But it works.
Healthy pipelines come from weekly maintenance, not quarterly panic.
The Bottom Line
Pipeline health isn’t about how many deals you have.
It’s about coverage, movement, balance, and truth.
If you keep those four in check, your forecast becomes predictable - and predictable is powerful.
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