Sales pipeline
Σύντομη απάντηση
A structured view of open opportunities grouped by stage, used to estimate future revenue and prioritise commercial effort.
Βασικά συμπεράσματα
- A verifiable customer action (requested a quote, confirmed budget)
- An estimated decision date
- A value updated after each negotiation
- A single opportunity owner
What it is
A sales pipeline is the list of open opportunities ordered by stages that describe how advanced the customer's decision is. Each stage has an observable entry criterion, not a rep's impression.
What a properly defined stage contains
- A verifiable customer action (requested a quote, confirmed budget)
- An estimated decision date
- A value updated after each negotiation
- A single opportunity owner
Why it matters
The pipeline is the only source a forecast can be built from. When stages are ambiguous, the weighted sum says nothing about next month, and stock, cash-flow and hiring decisions are made on intuition.
How CRMconnect helps
The pipeline module enforces exit criteria per stage, computes probability from real historical conversion, and flags opportunities stuck beyond the average stage duration.
Πραγματικό παράδειγμα
A distributor with 5 stages and 240 open opportunities cut reported pipeline value by 31% after introducing exit criteria - but 30-day forecast error dropped from 38% to 12%.
Ενημέρωση:
Συχνές ερωτήσεις
How many stages should a B2B pipeline have?+
Four to six. Beyond six, reps pick approximately and forecast accuracy falls rather than improves.
What is the difference between pipeline and forecast?+
The pipeline is the inventory of open opportunities; the forecast is the estimate of revenue closing in a period, derived from the pipeline by weighting.
What should I do with stalled opportunities?+
Flag them automatically once they exceed 2-3 times the average stage duration and force a decision: advance with evidence, or close as lost.
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Σχετικοί όροι
Sales forecast
The estimate of revenue closing in a period, computed from the pipeline by weighting on stage and real historical conversion.
ΠωλήσειςWin rate
The share of closed opportunities that were won - the main indicator of sales process and qualification quality.
ΠωλήσειςSales cycle
The average time from first qualified interaction to a signed order - the metric that determines how fast commercial effort turns into cash.
ΠωλήσειςLead scoring
Scoring leads by fit with the ideal customer profile and by behaviour, so the team works the highest-probability opportunities first.