Glossary
Sales Pipeline
A sales pipeline is the set of stages a lead moves through on the way to becoming a customer, such as new, contacted, booked, proposal and won.
Example
A hot tub dealer's pipeline might run: new lead, showroom visit booked, visited, quote sent, sold.
How to read it
A pipeline is only as good as the follow-up behind it.
Why it matters
Seeing every deal by stage shows where they stall, so your team knows exactly who to follow up with next.
Common mistakes
- Letting deals sit in one stage with no next step.
- Too many stages that nobody updates.
- No daily routine for moving deals forward.
How to improve Sales pipeline
- Give every deal a next step and a date.
- Review stalled deals every day.
- Keep stages few and clear.
- Automate reminders so follow-ups happen on time.
Related: Sales team assistant
Related terms
Lead NurturingLead nurturing is the follow-up that keeps a lead engaged, through texts, emails and calls, until they are ready to buy.Speed to LeadSpeed to lead is how quickly your business responds to a new lead after they reach out.Conversion RateConversion rate is the percentage of people who take the action you want, such as filling in a form, booking or buying, out of everyone who had the chance.