Pipeline

CRM & Retention

Also: Sales pipeline · Revenue pipeline · Marketing pipeline

Pipeline value = sum of all active deals weighted by close probability

What it isAll potential revenue currently in progress

Measured byDeal count, value and stage

Why it mattersPredicts future revenue before it lands

Quick definition

Pipeline is the total value of deals or leads currently moving through your sales or marketing process, from first contact to closed revenue. It tells you what you could earn, not what you have earned.

Where it shows up in the data

Pipeline stages

The defined steps a lead moves through: awareness, consideration, evaluation, decision, closed. Each stage has a different conversion rate and time to close.

Weighted pipeline

Each deal multiplied by its probability of closing. A $100K deal at 50% probability contributes $50K to weighted pipeline. More realistic than total pipeline.

Pipeline velocity

How fast deals move through stages. Slow velocity means either the wrong leads are entering or something in the process is creating friction.

Pipeline coverage

The ratio of pipeline to target. If your target is $1M and pipeline is $3.5M, coverage is 3.5x. Below 3x is typically a warning sign.

What it actually means

Pipeline is the structured view of every potential deal or customer currently in your acquisition process, with each one assigned to a stage and a probability. In B2B contexts it is almost always tied to a CRM. In B2C contexts the equivalent is the acquisition funnel. The number that matters is not total pipeline value, it is the realistic, probability-weighted view of what will actually close.

Pipeline is a map of future revenue. Most businesses build it backwards — they generate leads without knowing how many they need.

How to calculate it

Pipeline coverage = Total pipeline value / Revenue target Weighted pipeline = Sum of (deal value x close probability) for all active deals

Worked example. Revenue target: $500K. Active deals: Deal A $200K at 70% = $140K. Deal B $150K at 40% = $60K. Deal C $100K at 20% = $20K. Weighted pipeline = $220K. Coverage = $450K total / $500K target = 0.9x (needs more pipeline).

The Australian context

Australian B2B sales cycles tend to be longer in professional services and government sectors. Pipeline that looks healthy in March can dry up completely in the December-January shutdown period. Build that seasonality into your pipeline targets.

Where people get this wrong

Counting deals that have not progressed in 90+ daysStale deals inflate pipeline and give false confidence. Age your pipeline and remove anything with no recent activity.

Using total pipeline instead of weighted pipeline for forecastingTotal pipeline assumes everything closes. Weighted pipeline accounts for reality.

Common questions

What is a healthy pipeline coverage ratio?

Most sales teams target 3 to 5x coverage. If your target is $1M, you want $3M to $5M in active pipeline to account for deals that fall through.

How is a marketing pipeline different from a sales pipeline?

Marketing pipeline tracks leads from first awareness to hand-off to sales. Sales pipeline tracks from that hand-off to close. They connect in the middle at the SQL or MQL stage.

Keep exploring

About New Rebellion

New Rebellion is a marketing intelligence consultancy. We build tools, score Australian businesses on how their marketing actually performs, and publish Debrief every day. This dictionary is part of how we work in the open.

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