{"id":3921,"date":"2025-05-24T10:15:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T08:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bolder.se\/okategoriserad\/ratt-pipeline-gor-hela-skillnaden\/"},"modified":"2025-05-26T11:49:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T09:49:26","slug":"2cents-on-pipelines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bolder.se\/en\/insights-en\/2cents-on-pipelines\/","title":{"rendered":"2cents on Pipelines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having a clear, well-aligned sales pipeline is essential for success in B2B sales. An effective pipeline not only creates structure and predictability in your sales efforts but also enables better follow-up, coaching, and forecasting. But how do you determine the best type of pipeline and the specific stages it should include?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Start with your sales process<\/h2>\n

\u2026not with generic templates.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the biggest mistakes companies make is copying pipeline structures from other businesses or CRM systems. Instead, the pipeline should reflect your unique sales process \u2013 from first contact to closed deal \u2013 from both the seller’s and the buyer\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n

Tip: Map your sales journey step by step. Ask:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • What does a typical deal look like from initial contact to close?<\/li>\n
  • What internal activities are required at each stage (meetings, demos, quotes, negotiations, etc.)?<\/li>\n
  • What decision points occur on the buyer\u2019s side?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Define the main stages of the pipeline<\/h2>\n

    Your pipeline should include clear stages that represent a progression through the sales cycle. Each stage should correspond to a tangible event or milestone that indicates the deal is moving forward.<\/p>\n

    My personal view: Avoid using subjective stages, such as “how likely we think it is to close.” Gut feeling has its place, but it\u2019s highly individual. A pleasant meeting will almost always lead to an overestimated probability compared to a less engaging one \u2013 regardless of actual customer need or likelihood of signing.<\/p>\n

    Common B2B pipeline stages:<\/h3>\n
      \n
    • Prospect identified \u2013 potential customer, not yet contacted.<\/li>\n
    • Initial contact established \u2013 e.g., via phone, email, or meeting.<\/li>\n
    • Needs analysis completed \u2013 salesperson understands the customer\u2019s challenges.<\/li>\n
    • Solution presentation\/Demo \u2013 a tailored solution has been presented.<\/li>\n
    • Proposal\/Quote sent \u2013 a formal offer has been delivered.<\/li>\n
    • Negotiation \u2013 discussions around pricing, terms, and details.<\/li>\n
    • Closed-Won \u2013 the deal is signed.<\/li>\n
    • Closed-Lost \u2013 the customer chose a different solution or backed out.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Adapt the pipeline to different deal types<\/h2>\n

      \u2026if needed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      If you’re selling different types of offerings \u2013 e.g., small subscriptions vs. large system solutions, or outbound vs. inbound \u2013 it may be worth having separate pipelines or at least customized stages for each deal type.<\/p>\n

      That said: I personally believe you should aim for one pipeline, and only use multiple in exceptional cases.<\/p>\n

      Example:<\/h3>\n
        \n
      • A simple product with a short sales cycle may only require 3\u20134 stages.<\/li>\n
      • A complex consulting project might need more, including technical validation and legal review.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Define clear criteria for each stage<\/h2>\n

        To make your pipeline truly useful, each stage needs clearly defined criteria. This reduces subjectivity and ensures the entire sales team interprets each stage the same way.<\/p>\n

        Guideline: If it takes more than 1\u20132 sentences to explain a stage, it\u2019s too complicated \u2013 and opens the door to interpretation.<\/p>\n

        Checklist for each stage:<\/h3>\n
          \n
        • What must happen to move a deal to this stage?<\/li>\n
        • Who needs to act \u2013 the customer or the salesperson?<\/li>\n
        • What evidence (e.g., email confirmation, meeting notes, activity logs) proves the step is complete?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>
          <\/span><\/div>

          Here you see an example of a pipeline. As you can see, each step is a clear milestone. As you gain a better understanding of your pipeline, the steps and their weighting are adjusted.<\/p>\n<\/div>

          Use pipeline stages
          \nto build a weighted forecast<\/h2>\n

          One of the greatest benefits of a well-structured pipeline is that it enables a weighted sales forecast \u2013 an estimate of how likely each deal is to close, based on its current pipeline stage.<\/p>\n

          How to do it:<\/h3>\n

          1. Assign probabilities to each stage.<\/h4>\n

          These should reflect your historical conversion rates. For example:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • Needs analysis: 20%<\/li>\n
          • Demo: 40%<\/li>\n
          • Quote sent: 60%<\/li>\n
          • Negotiation: 80%<\/li>\n
          • Closed-Won: 100%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            2. Calculate the weighted value of each deal.<\/h4>\n

            Multiply the deal\u2019s potential value by its stage probability.<\/p>\n

            Example:<\/h4>\n

            A deal worth 500,000 SEK in the “Quote sent” stage (60%) gives a weighted value of:
            \n500,000 x 0.6 = 300,000 SEK<\/p>\n

            3. Sum all weighted deals in the pipeline.<\/h4>\n

            This gives you a forecast for upcoming revenue \u2013 not only total, but also broken down by month, rep, segment, or product.<\/p>\n

            So if your target for the month is 10 USD, your weighted forecast should show 10 USD. That gives you a clear view of how much pipeline volume you need to, hopefully, reach your goal. Okay, I know, it’s not quite that simple, but if you start from this point, you can learn over time how the weighted pipeline relates to the actual result. Once you gain this insight, it becomes significantly easier to work towards the budget.<\/p>\n

            Adjust for deal type and complexity.<\/h2>\n

            Some deals (e.g., long, strategic accounts) may require customized probabilities or be forecasted separately.<\/p>\n

            Involve the sales team<\/h2>\n

            Buy-in is everything. A pipeline created in a vacuum will not be used. By involving the sales team in the design, you ensure the model reflects reality \u2013 and that the team feels ownership.<\/p>\n

            Tips:<\/h4>\n
              \n
            • Run workshops with sales reps and managers.<\/li>\n
            • Review real-life deals and test how they fit into the proposed pipeline.<\/li>\n
            • Adjust where the model doesn\u2019t align with reality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Test and improve<\/h2>\n

              A pipeline is a living tool. After implementation, it should be tested, monitored, and refined. It\u2019s common to discover, after a few months, that some stages are unnecessary or unclear.<\/p>\n

              Track and analyze:<\/h3>\n
                \n
              • Where do deals get stuck most often?<\/li>\n
              • How long is the cycle per stage?<\/li>\n
              • How do pipelines differ between sales reps or customer segments?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                Conclusion<\/h2>\n

                A well-designed pipeline is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It must reflect your unique sales process and be tailored to your products, target audience, and sales strategy. By involving your sales team, defining clear stages, and continuously improving the model, you create a pipeline that\u2019s not just used \u2013 but drives real results.<\/p>\n

                Need help mapping your sales process or designing the right pipeline?
                \nFeel free to reach out \u2013 we can build a structure tailored specifically to your business.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crm-en","category-insights-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bolder.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bolder.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bolder.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bolder.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bolder.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3921"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/bolder.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3963,"href":"https:\/\/bolder.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921\/revisions\/3963"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bolder.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bolder.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bolder.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bolder.se\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}