Your Pipeline Is Leaking — Here's How to Fix It

Most sales teams lose 40-60% of their pipeline to preventable causes. This guide helps you identify exactly where deals are dying and what to do about it.

The Pipeline Health Diagnostic

Run this diagnostic quarterly:

Stage Conversion Analysis

Stage	Entry Count	Exit Count	Conversion	Benchmark
Lead → Qualified	100	35	35%	30-40%
Qualified → Demo	35	25	71%	65-75%
Demo → Proposal	25	15	60%	55-65%
Proposal → Negotiation	15	10	67%	60-70%
Negotiation → Closed Won	10	6	60%	50-65%

If any stage is below benchmark, that's your leak.

The 5 Most Common Pipeline Leaks

Leak 1: Unqualified Leads Entering Pipeline

Symptom: High volume at top, massive drop at qualification Fix: Tighten lead scoring criteria, implement BANT qualification

Leak 2: Stalled Deals in Mid-Pipeline

Symptom: Deals sitting in Demo/Proposal for 2x average Fix: Implement 14-day stage limits with automatic escalation

Leak 3: Ghost Proposals

Symptom: Proposals sent but no response Fix: Never send a proposal without a scheduled follow-up meeting

Leak 4: Single-Threaded Deals

Symptom: Deals die when one contact goes dark Fix: Require 3+ contacts per opportunity before advancing past Demo

Leak 5: Discount-Driven Closes

Symptom: Win rate is fine but ASP keeps dropping Fix: Train on value selling, implement discount approval workflows

Pipeline Velocity Formula

Pipeline Velocity = (Opportunities x Win Rate x Average Deal Size) / Sales Cycle Length

To increase velocity, improve any of the four variables. The highest-leverage move is usually reducing sales cycle length.

Forecasting Accuracy Framework

Use weighted pipeline with stage-based probabilities:

Discovery: 10%
Qualified: 25%
Demo Complete: 40%
Proposal Sent: 60%
Negotiation: 80%
Verbal Commit: 95%

From the LeadFinder Sales Team — manage your pipeline with AI-powered deal scoring.

Sales Pipeline Optimization: From Leak to Machine