Pipeline management skill

Pipeline Management

Overview

Most sales teams have CRM stages that describe rep activity, not buyer progress. Winning by Design's GTM Playbook Kit fixes this: every stage needs a Goal (what success looks like), In-Stage Actions (what the rep does), and Exit Criteria (evidence required to advance). Without all three, pipeline reviews degenerate into confidence theater.

This skill designs the full sales process — stages, SPICED fields per stage, conversion metrics, Bowtie handoffs to CS, forecast categories, and inspection cadences. Load gtm-system-architecture first if you have not scored the six WbD models. Load sales-enablement after this to build the playbook assets reps use at each stage.

When to Use

• "Design our sales process" or "build a GTM playbook"
• "Winning by Design sales process"
• "Define deal stages with exit criteria"
• "Set up SPICED in our CRM"
• "Improve forecast accuracy"
• "Build a pipeline review cadence"
• "Design SDR-to-AE handoffs"
• "Our pipeline is unpredictable — fix it"

Do not use for org design or compensation — use sales-team-building. Do not use for collateral creation — use sales-enablement after the process is defined.

Authoritative Foundations

• Winning by Design — GTM Playbook Development Kit. The core structure: Goal
  • In-Stage Actions + Exit Criteria per stage. A stage is not "Demo scheduled" — it is "buyer confirms solution maps to quantified pain" with evidence fields.
• Winning by Design — SPICED. Situation, Pain, Impact, Critical Event, Decision — required qualification dimensions captured progressively through Discovery and Solution stages, not dumped in one call.
• Keenan — Gap Selling. At Discovery/Solution stages, exit criteria should evidence Current State + Future State + quantified Gap (not rep confidence). Problem Identification Chart aligns product problems to discovery questions. Discovery stage gate: no advance on happy ears — buyer-stated impact required. Playbook → meeting-prep/references/keenan-gap-selling.md.
• Winning by Design — Bowtie. Revenue continues after Closed Won. Define handoff criteria from Sales → Onboarding (CS) with context package: SPICED summary, stakeholders, success criteria, and expansion signals.
• Mark Roberge — The Sales Acceleration Formula. Measure conversion rate between every stage. Inspect deals against exit criteria, not rep confidence.
• Miller Heiman — Strategic Selling. For enterprise deals, map buying influences (Economic Buyer, User Buyer, Technical Buyer, Coach) alongside stage progression.
• Andy Whyte — MEDDICC (MEDDICC.com). Seven qualification dimensions scored continuously on every deal: Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion, Competition. The MEDDICC scorecard drives go/no-go at stage gates — not rep confidence. "Always Be Qualifying" means re-scoring after every customer interaction.
• Force Management — MEDDICC Methodology. Original enterprise qualification framework (PTC/Force Management). Andy Whyte's scorecard operationalizes it for deal inspection and CRM fields.
• John McMahon — Inspection cadence. MEDDICC is the CRO's forecast language: weekly 1:1s inspect 2–3 deals with evidence per letter; slipping commits get role-play coaching (Stage 2 Capital demos). Board forecast uses commit / likely / upside tranches — each backed by MEDDICC proof and named mitigations. Pair Gap Selling at Discovery to block happy ears. Canonical → gtm-leadership/references/cro-enterprise-strategy.md.
• Joey Gilkey — Disposition Science. Six outcome buckets per completed conversation diagnose top-of-funnel list/message/rep problems before opportunities enter pipeline stages. Map Meeting Scheduled + Activated → qualified handoff; Not Now → nurture tier; Not Me/Referred → list rebuild signal. Requires 50+ completions. → references/joey-gilkey-bucketing.md
• Ryan Reisert — CRM Activity Buckets. Four contact-level stages (Uncontacted, In Cadence, Priority, Scheduled) for SDR daily workflow — distinct from Gilkey dispositions. Design CRM contact stages and SDR→AE handoff tiers at top of funnel. → references/ryan-reisert-cold-calling.md

SPICED + MEDDICC — complementary, not competing:

Layer	Framework	When	Purpose
Discovery conversation	SPICED (WbD)	Connect → Discovery	Uncover Situation, Pain, Impact, Critical Event
Deal qualification	MEDDICC (Whyte)	Solution → Negotiation	Score EB, Champion, Metrics, Competition with evidence
Both map to CRM	Shared fields	All stages	Impact → Metrics; Critical Event → Pain urgency; Decision → EB + Process

Use SPICED in early calls. Use MEDDICC scorecard from Solution stage onward and for any deal ≥$50K ACV. Never advance to Proposal without Champion named and Economic Buyer engaged (Whyte's rule).

Prerequisites

• CRM configured (HubSpot, Salesforce, or Attio)
• Average ACV and sales cycle length known
• ICP defined (icp-scoring or gtm-context)
• Motion selected: transactional, consultative, or strategic (icp-targeting-tiers)

Step-by-Step Process

Phase 1: Motion Selection (WbD by ACV)

ACV Range	Motion	Typical Stages	Cycle
<$5K	Transactional	4–5 stages, self-serve assist	Days–2 weeks
$5K–$50K	Consultative	5–7 stages, SDR optional	2–8 weeks
$50K+	Strategic	7–9 stages, multi-thread required	2–6 months

Pick one motion per segment. Do not run enterprise stages on SMB deals.

Phase 2: Stage Design (GTM Playbook Kit)

For each stage, document all three components:

Component	Definition	Bad Example	Good Example
Goal	What buyer + seller achieve at this stage	"Have a call"	"Pain quantified with business impact"
In-Stage Actions	Rep activities that advance the buyer	"Send follow-up"	"Run SPICED discovery, document Impact $"
Exit Criteria	Evidence required to advance (CRM fields)	"Rep feels good"	"Impact field populated, EB identified"

Consultative motion — reference stage map:

Stage	Goal	Key Exit Criteria (Evidence)
1. Target	Account fits ICP	ICP score ≥ threshold, verified contacts
2. Connect	Interest established	Reply received, Situation documented
3. Discovery	Pain + Impact quantified	SPICED: Pain, Impact, Critical Event captured
4. Solution	Solution validated	Demo complete, requirements confirmed, Champion named
5. Proposal	Commercial terms presented	Proposal sent, Decision Process mapped
6. Negotiation	Terms + procurement engaged	Redlines resolved, EB engaged, MEDDICC complete
7. Closed Won	Contract executed	Signed agreement, handoff package to CS
8. Closed Lost	Learning captured	Loss reason, competitor, stage-of-death

Strategic/enterprise additions: add Technical Validation and Security Review stages between Solution and Proposal. Require multi-thread map (multi-thread-orchestration).

Phase 3: SPICED Field Mapping

Map SPICED dimensions to stages — capture progressively, not all at once:

SPICED	Captured By Stage	CRM Field Examples
Situation	Connect → Discovery	current_tools, team_size, process_today
Pain	Discovery	primary_pain, pain_owner
Impact	Discovery	impact_annual_cost, impact_metric
Critical Event	Discovery → Solution	why_now, deadline_date
Decision	Solution → Proposal	economic_buyer, decision_process, criteria

Disqualification rule: No Critical Event by end of Discovery → downgrade to nurture or Closed Lost. No deal urgency = no deal timeline.

Phase 4: MEDDICC Scorecard (Andy Whyte)

Score each dimension 0 (unknown), 1 (suspected), or 2 (confirmed with evidence). Re-score after every meeting. Load meeting-prep for discovery questions and sales-coaching for manager-led deal reviews.

Letter	Dimension	Confirmed (Score 2) Requires	CRM Field
M	Metrics	Buyer-defined KPIs with baseline and target	success_metrics, metric_baseline
E	Economic Buyer	Named person with budget authority; met directly	economic_buyer_name, eb_engaged_date
D	Decision Criteria	Documented evaluation criteria (incl. yours)	decision_criteria
D	Decision Process	Mapped steps, dates, approvers	decision_process_steps
I	Identify Pain	Quantified pain + cost of inaction	identified_pain, cost_of_inaction
C	Champion	Power + influence + personal win + sells internally	champion_name, champion_test_passed
C	Competition	Named competitors, status quo, build-vs-buy assessed	competition_landscape

Andy Whyte — Champion test (all four required):

1. Has power to influence the decision (not just enthusiasm)
2. Has a personal win if the deal closes
3. Can articulate the problem without your help
4. Has committed to sell internally when you are not in the room

Stage gate minimums (consultative $5K–$50K):

Advance To	Minimum MEDDICC Score	Hard Requirements
Solution (from Discovery)	6/14	Pain=2, Metrics≥1
Proposal	10/14	Champion=2, EB≥1, Decision Process≥1
Negotiation	12/14	EB=2, Decision Criteria=2
Commit forecast	13/14	All dimensions ≥1, no zeros on E/I/C

Enterprise ($50K+): add Paper Process (legal_review_steps, procurement_contact) and require multi-thread map before Proposal (multi-thread-orchestration).

Go/No-Go: Score <6 at Solution stage → nurture. Score <10 at Proposal → do not send proposal. Score drops week-over-week → manager deal review within 48 hours.

Phase 5: Conversion Metrics (Roberge + WbD)

Define target conversion rates between stages. Measure monthly:

Conversion	Formula	Healthy Range (Consultative)
Target → Connect	Connects / Targets worked	15–25%
Connect → Discovery	Meetings held / Connects	40–60%
Discovery → Solution	Demos / Discoveries	50–70%
Solution → Proposal	Proposals / Demos	40–60%
Proposal → Closed Won	Wins / Proposals	25–40%

When a conversion drops >10 points below baseline, inspect exit criteria — reps are advancing deals without evidence, or the stage Goal is wrong.

Time-in-stage limits: Discovery >21 days without Critical Event = stalled. Alert + manager review. Proposal >30 days without EB engagement = at risk.

Phase 6: Bowtie Handoffs

Sales process does not end at Closed Won. Define handoff packages:

Handoff	From → To	Package Contents	SLA
MQL → SDR/AE	Marketing → Sales	Source, campaign, SPICED Situation	24 hours
SDR → AE	SDR → AE	SPICED summary, meeting notes, next steps	Same day
AE → CS	Sales → Onboarding	Full SPICED, stakeholders, success criteria, contract scope	Before kickoff
CS → AE (expansion)	CS → Sales	Usage signals, expansion trigger, champion status	On signal

Load gtm-system-architecture for the full Bowtie (Onboarding → Adoption → Expansion → Renewal) and CS stage design.

Phase 7: Forecast Categories

Stage Group	Forecast Category	Confidence
Target, Connect	Pipeline	10–20%
Discovery, Solution	Upside	30–50%
Proposal, Negotiation	Commit	70–85%
Closed Won	Won	100%

Commit deals require all Exit Criteria for Proposal stage met — not rep optimism.

Phase 8: Deal Inspection Cadence

Weekly pipeline review (60 min):

1. New deals entered — exit criteria met for current stage?
2. Stalled >14 days — which SPICED/MEDDICC dimension is missing?
3. Commit at risk — what changed since last week?
4. Missing next steps — action assigned with date
5. Close date pushed — pattern or one-off?

Deal review questions (never "how do you feel?"):

• "Walk me through each SPICED field — what's the evidence?"
• "Who is the Economic Buyer and when did you last speak to them?"
• "What is the Critical Event date and what happens if they miss it?"
• "What would cause this deal to die?"

Load sales-coaching for REKS-based manager coaching on process adherence.

Output Format

GTM sales process document containing: motion selection rationale, full stage table (Goal + Actions + Exit Criteria), SPICED/MEDDICC CRM field map, conversion metric targets, time-in-stage rules, Bowtie handoff specs, forecast categories, and weekly inspection agenda.

Use templates/output-template.md for the deliverable structure. Run scripts/check-output.py on the finished document before delivery.

Quality Check

Before delivering, verify:

• Every stage has Goal, In-Stage Actions, AND Exit Criteria — not just a label
• Exit criteria are evidence fields in CRM, not subjective judgments
• SPICED dimensions mapped to specific stages with disqualification rules
• MEDDICC scorecard defined with 0/1/2 scoring and stage gate minimums
• Champion test (Whyte) documented with four criteria
• SPICED + MEDDICC field mapping shows no duplicate/conflicting CRM fields
• Conversion rate targets defined between each stage pair
• Time-in-stage limits set with alert thresholds
• AE → CS handoff package defined (Bowtie continuity)
• Forecast categories tied to exit criteria, not rep confidence
• Weekly inspection agenda uses SPICED/MEDDICC questions

Common Pitfalls

1. Stages named after rep activity. "Demo scheduled" is an action, not a stage goal. Fix: name stages after buyer outcomes; actions live inside the stage.

2. SPICED collected once, never updated. SPICED fields go stale. Fix: require re-validation at Proposal stage; Critical Event dates must be current.

3. No conversion metrics. You cannot diagnose a broken process without stage-to-stage rates. Fix: baseline conversions, review monthly.

4. Handoff to CS is an email. CS starts blind, churn risk spikes. Fix: structured handoff package with SPICED summary and success criteria.

5. Too many stages. More than 9 stages creates CRM friction without accuracy gains. Fix: consolidate admin-heavy stages; keep 5–7 for consultative.

6. Process without enablement. Reps know the stages but lack talk tracks. Fix: load sales-enablement to build playbook assets per stage.

Execution Artifacts

• references/framework-notes.md — WbD Playbook Kit, SPICED, Bowtie, MEDDICC, Gap Selling anchors
• templates/output-template.md — copy-paste sales process deliverable
• scripts/check-output.py — validates required sections in finished output
• references/cro-enterprise-strategy.md — McMahon QBR inspection checklist, three-view forecast (Pattern 31)
• references/cold-calling-experts-index.md — Phone bucketing router (Gilkey vs Reisert)
• references/joey-gilkey-bucketing.md — Disposition Science → pipeline tiers
• references/ryan-reisert-cold-calling.md — CRM Activity Buckets

Related Skills

• gtm-system-architecture — Six-model audit and Bowtie architecture
• sales-enablement — Playbook, battlecards, talk tracks per stage
• sales-coaching — REKS (Jacco van der Kooij), MEDDICC deal reviews, JOLT coaching, 1:1/call rubrics
• meeting-prep — SPICED/MEDDIC discovery question banks
• multi-thread-orchestration — Enterprise buying committee mapping
• crm-integration — CRM field and stage configuration
• gtm-metrics — Pipeline dashboards and conversion reporting
• buyer-indecision — JOLT for Proposal+ stalls ("think about it", FOMU)