The Problem With Most Pipeline Reviews
A typical pipeline review follows a predictable and largely useless format: the sales manager asks 'where are we on this deal', the rep summarises what has happened, and the meeting ends with a list of things the rep will do that they were already going to do. No risks are surfaced, no strategies are challenged, and no deals actually accelerate. The meeting feels productive because it generates activity, but it does not change outcomes.
The Right Questions to Ask
A pipeline review that moves deals asks fundamentally different questions than a status update. Instead of 'what is the status?' ask 'what has to be true for this deal to close this month?' Instead of 'are they still interested?' ask 'who else in the organisation needs to be involved and have we met them?' Instead of 'what is the next step?' ask 'what is the prospect's specific reason to move forward now rather than next quarter?'
Deal Scoring: Separating Real Pipeline From Wishful Thinking
Every sales team has deals that live in the pipeline long past their viable lifespan. A deal without a specific next step agreed by the prospect, a defined decision timeline, and an identified economic buyer is not real pipeline it is a hope. Implementing a simple deal scoring framework that requires evidence of these three elements before a deal counts in forecast dramatically improves forecast accuracy and focuses coaching on deals that can actually close.
Frequency and Format
Pipeline reviews should happen weekly for deals expected to close in the current quarter, bi-weekly for the next quarter's pipeline, and monthly for deals beyond that. The format should be consistent: review each deal against three questions (what is the next step, when is the decision, who is the economic buyer), identify the two or three deals where the manager can add value through an introduction, a reference, or a strategic conversation, and leave with a list of manager actions not just rep actions.
The Manager Role: Coach, Not Commentator
The most common failure mode in pipeline management is a sales manager who observes and reports but does not intervene. Effective pipeline management requires the manager to take specific actions: making introductions into stuck accounts, joining calls where the rep is struggling to access the economic buyer, challenging deal assumptions before they result in a lost deal, and recognising and reinforcing the behaviours in deals that are progressing well.