Sales pipelines are like the fairytale Goldilocks and The Three Bears. This one is too fat, this one is too skinny, and the rarest one of all, this one’s just right!
Why does this happen with pipelines, and as a sales coach, what can you do about it? Let’s discuss developing better pipelines by improving your coaching skills, which will increase sales within your organization and build better habits for today and the future.
Common Sales Pipeline Problems That Impact Your Ability to Increase Sales
Just to set the stage for this, here are two problems that we see consistently with most pipelines, typically housed in CRMs:
- Validity: Valid opportunities are opportunities in the sales pipeline that are supposed to close at an identified close date and do close by that date.
Example: January pipeline shows that of the 12 opportunities, Opportunities A, B, C, and D will close by April 1. On April 1, Opportunities A, E, and F closed, and E and F were not entered until March 31st. The pipeline is not valid. The producer probably sandbagged until the end of the quarter or is not entering opportunities regularly as they should. - Credibility: Credible opportunities mean that the value of the opportunities reported to close in the sales pipeline in 90 days actually do close at that value.
Example: Joe indicates that by April 1 he will close $50,000. On April 1, he has closed $30,000 which equals 60% credibility.
Now, let’s continue with the sales pipeline analogy to the fairytale of Goldilocks and The Three Bears.
Fat Sales Pipeline Issues That Hurt Sales Performance
Having a “fat pipeline” usually results from an overly optimistic relationship manager. They call on a prospect and come back thinking something like, “We really hit it off. They really liked what we can do. We have a lot we can help them with.”
Another cause for a fat pipeline is that it feels like comfort food. A salesperson’s pipeline has X amount in it, and they feel pretty good about it. They are thinking, some of it has to close, doesn’t it? This type of thinking gives them great comfort.
Sales pipelines need two things:
- The proper number of prospects given the salesperson's ability to win business or close ratio
- It must be properly staged and built with qualifying milestones
Here is where a sales leader plays a critical role. The coaching skill of asking great questions of your salespeople is essential. Tone and tonality are important, and you must ask questions that are both direct and helpful.
Questions like:
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What did you hear the customer say that led you to believe they would be a great customer for us?
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When you asked them about the impact of not fixing this problem, what did they say?
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Who else in their organization will be impacted if they switch providers?
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What did they say when you asked about their decision making criteria?
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When is the last time they chose a supplier that wasn’t the lowest cost?
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How much is in their budget to make this problem go away?
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When you asked them, “How do you envision working with us?” what was their response?
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How did they choose their current provider?
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Never ask your salespeople, “How’d the call go?” It’s a waste of time.
As a coach, practice and strive to be great at asking questions. By asking powerful, thought provoking questions, you are coaching your salespeople. The questions listed above are also the types of questions they should be asking the prospect.
Your coaching session is very similar to a sales call. Be curious, and when you coach your people, keep this in mind: “Am I asking questions, or am I making statements?”
By asking great questions of your team, you find out where your people need help. If you hear your salesperson say, “I didn’t ask that question” during your pipeline discussions, you need to find out if they are unable to ask those questions. They may need more sales training. If they are unwilling to ask those questions, you need to have a different coaching conversation.
Skinny Sales Pipeline Problems That Limit Growth
There are two main reasons that a relationship manager might have a “skinny pipeline.” They are getting beat up if something doesn’t close, or their activity isn’t where it needs to be.
As a leader, you should consider: “When a piece of business doesn’t close, what does your lost business conversation sound like?” This involves a post call debrief, which is essential for improving sales performance.
There is no sin in losing a sale. The only mistake is if nothing is learned from it. Don’t let one loss beat your salesperson twice.
A couple of quick questions:
“What did you learn?”
“How will you get better because of it?”
“What will you do differently next time?”
The other reason for a skinny pipeline is lack of activity. As a coach, what sales activities are you tracking, how frequently are you measuring them, and are you allowing excuses for poor effort?
Salespeople fail for two reasons: lack of effort or lack of execution. You need to find out which it is and coach accordingly.
Building a Sales Pipeline That Helps You Increase Sales
These types of pipelines are the rarest of all because they require the salesperson and manager to have a strong and open relationship while staying committed to their sales process and understanding the metrics needed to win business.
Salespeople must understand their late stage win ratio. If their late stage win ratio is 50% and their monthly goal is $100,000, they need to have at least $200,000 in late stage opportunities each month.
“Just right” sales pipelines occur because the salesperson is finding opportunities on a regular basis. They understand prospecting is an ongoing activity. They are consistently making calls, asking for introductions, and networking.
It’s healthy to have a regular pipeline clean out. Opportunities should move through the pipeline or move out of the pipeline continuously. If a salesperson wants to cling to an opportunity and defend keeping it, it is probably because they have nothing else to replace it.
Coach them, encourage them, and challenge them about their sales pipeline to help them improve opportunities and increase sales.
Our free prospecting eBook is a valuable resource to share with your team. It provides practical, real-world strategies to help sales professionals improve conversations, overcome objections, and build a more consistent prospecting approach.
Inside, your team will learn how to maximize first calls, handle stalled opportunities, ask better questions, and develop a structured prospecting plan. It also covers key habits and techniques used by top performers to generate introductions, leave effective voicemails, and create more meaningful sales conversations. Download it now!
