Sales
Pipeline Coverage and Forecast
Compare open pipeline with your target, weight it by stage probability and see how much pipeline you still need to build.
- Time: 10 minutes
- With: Sales managers, sales ops, founders
- You get: Forecast versus target and the pipeline you still need
How to use this worksheet
- Enter the target for the period and what you have already closed.
- Optionally enter your win rate on qualified opportunities: it sets the coverage you really need.
- List open pipeline per stage with a win probability from your own history.
- Read forecast, coverage and the pipeline gap. If coverage is low, build pipeline now.
Target and closed revenue
Use the same period for all numbers.
Open pipeline by stage
Total value and win probability per stage. Use probabilities from your history.
Prompts
Ask yourself
- Do your stage probabilities come from data or from the CRM default?
- How many deals have not moved in 30 days?
Forecast and coverage
Before you finish
- Stage probabilities come from closed deals, not from guesses.
- Stalled deals are removed or discounted.
- Coverage is judged against your own win rate.
Reading coverage
Pipeline coverage is open pipeline divided by the target still to reach. A common rule of thumb is three to five times, but the number you need is one divided by your win rate: at a 25% win rate you need four times.
Weighted pipeline is only as good as its probabilities. Check them against what really closed, and be sceptical of deals with no recent activity.
Recommended reading
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- The Sales Acceleration FormulaMark Roberge
Data-driven sales hiring, training and management from HubSpot's early growth.
- The Qualified Sales LeaderJohn McMahon
A CRO's playbook for qualifying deals with MEDDPICC and coaching teams to forecast honestly.
- Predictable RevenueAaron Ross & Marylou Tyler
How specialised roles and a clear process built a repeatable outbound pipeline.