When I moved from manager to executive, the number one thing that I needed to work on was my forecasting ability. This included both long-term forecasting (>12 months) and short-term forecasting (<12 months).
In today's issue, I'm going to teach you how to get accurate short-term forecasts by holding regular pipeline reviews.
Pipeline reviews give you visibility into the health of the sales pipeline. Additionally, they are an excellent opportunity to coach reps individually.
Many people don't have a set process for pipeline reviews. Worse yet, they don't hold them at all. It's hard to keep a pulse on hitting your numbers without regular pipeline reviews.
When you consistently hold pipeline reviews, you'll get:
Here's how to do it:
Having a standard report ensures there is a set process to follow. Have the reps update the report before the meeting to maximize your time together.
The standard report should include the following items:
This is a great place to lean on tech. There are tons of great platforms to help. At a minimum, build the report in your CRM.
Meeting regularly is critical to make sure deals are moving through the pipeline. Additionally, you don't want to find out at the end of the month or quarter that you're far below your goal.
How frequently and how long you meet depends on a couple of items. Are you going to hold these individually or in a group setting? How long is your sales cycle?
I prefer to hold pipeline reviews individually on the 1st and the 15th for 30 minutes. The first meeting gives you an idea of what the rep expects to close for the month. The second meeting clearly shows how they'll close the month with enough time to make an impact.
Review each deal in the same way. This ensures the rep and the manager look at every deal objectively. It's very challenging to reamin objective without a process in place.
Start with deals that are marked "Commit." These are done deals, and we're just waiting on signatures. You'll fly through these.
From there, work up to deals marked "Best Case." The rep has confidence that these deals will close in that month (if it's SMB) or that quarter (if it's Enterprise). The bulk of your time will be spent reviewing Best Case deals.
It's important to look for balance across top-of-funnel, middle-of-the-funnel, and bottom-of-the-funnel deals. If you're not tracking this, a rep can have a great quarter only to follow it up with a terrible quarter. Sales is a game of consistency.
"When looking at the pipeline report, we should see accounts and opportunities across various stages of the sales cycle. This is a critical indicator of deal flow and pipeline balance can be a wonderful predictor of future closings – both short and long-term" - Mike Weinberg
Roadblocks and next steps are where the rubber meets the road. Start by reviewing the sales methodology criteria for each deal. This gets you up to speed on what's happened with the account.
Next, review the potential roadblocks on the account. We're looking for risks and obstacles blocking the deal from getting done. As managers, this is on us to help remove these roadblocks.
Examples include:
Document the action items the manager is responsible for.
Lastly, review the listed next steps. You will learn a ton about where each deal is based on the listed next steps. If everything sounds great, but the next steps are "reach out to the prospect sometime next week," then that deal is in flux. Use this as an opportunity to ask questions and get specific. Coach the rep on how to proceed and document the action items the rep is responsible for.
You've reviewed each deal and created a plan to remove roadblocks and take the next steps. Now, we need to put the plan into action.
My preferred method is creating CRM tasks right after the meeting. These are tasks for the rep and the manager. This ensures complete transparency and accountability in getting the action items done.
“Not following up with your prospects is the same as filling up your bathtub without first putting the stopper in the drain.” - Michelle Moore
Using this strategy to conduct pipeline reviews gives you a clear picture of the short-term numbers you'll hit. More than that, the reps see you're working in their best interests and helping them close deals. This builds a culture of trust.
