Andrew RadosevichStep 1: Map Your Current Conversion Rates
Pull data from your CRM for the last 6 months. Calculate conversion rate between each stage: Lead → Qualified, Qualified → Discovery, Discovery → Proposal, Proposal → Closed Won. Industry benchmarks vary, but if any stage shows less than 30% conversion, that's your primary leak. No CRM data? That's finding #1, you're flying blind.
Step 2: Identify the Leak Points
Common patterns: (1) High lead volume, low qualification rate = targeting problem (wrong ICP or channels). (2) Good qualification, low proposal rate = discovery process is weak (not uncovering real needs). (3) Good proposals, low close rate = pricing, competition, or trust problem. (4) Long cycle times everywhere = no urgency creation or follow-up discipline.
Step 3: The 30-Day Repair Plan
Week 1: Clean CRM data, define stage exit criteria, establish required fields. Week 2: Document lead qualification criteria (MQL/SQL definitions), set follow-up SLA. Week 3: Implement weekly pipeline review meeting, every deal, every stage, every week. Week 4: Review first month of clean data, identify remaining leaks, adjust. This isn't glamorous work. It's the work that makes everything else work.
Step 4: Build the Rhythm
A healthy pipeline requires a weekly pipeline review (a deal review, not a forecast meeting), consistent CRM updates, stage-appropriate follow-up cadence, and monthly conversion analysis. The goal isn't more leads. It is more pipeline velocity and higher conversion at every stage.
Common questions
How many deals should be in my pipeline?
Pipeline coverage ratio should be 3x your quarterly target. If you're targeting $500K/quarter, you need $1.5M in weighted pipeline. Less than 2x and you're at risk; more than 5x and you likely have stale deals polluting your data.
What's a good close rate?
Varies by industry and deal size, but for B2B professional services: 20–35% from qualified opportunity to close is healthy. Below 15% suggests qualification or proposal issues. Above 40% might mean you're not pricing aggressively enough.
How do I get salespeople to update the CRM?
Two approaches: (1) Make the weekly pipeline review the only place deals get discussed, no CRM update, no discussion. (2) Tie CRM data to something they care about (commission tracking, lead assignment). Enforcement through cadence works better than nagging.