Pipeline Check

You sure that's enough pipeline?

Plug in your own numbers to find out.

Example numbers. Type yours over them.

Useful?

What 3X actually assumes

Three times the number in qualified pipeline is the coverage rule most sales organizations plan to. Almost nobody asks where it came from.

It came from a win rate. If a third of the qualified pipeline due in a period closes, 3X covers the number exactly. So 3X is a 33% win rate written down without saying so. A team that wins 20% of what it qualifies needs 5X. A team that wins half needs 2X. Planning to 3X with a 20% win rate is hopium with a spreadsheet.

The other assumption is the word qualified. Coverage counts pipeline that would survive a hard question about the customer, the money, the person you're talking to, the path to a purchase order and the reason it happens now. Everything else in the CRM is a conversation. That's why the verdict above ends by sending you to Deal Check: the multiple is only as good as the deals inside it.

Where the rest realistically comes from

Being short on pipeline doesn't automatically mean everybody needs to prospect harder. First figure out where the missing pipeline is supposed to come from: new accounts and new buying centers, existing customers and adjacent requirements, partners who own relationships and vehicles you don't, and executive plays that open doors a rep can't. You're probably leaning too hard on one of them and ignoring another.

The full table, 10% to 50% win rates →

Mark Flournoy

Made by Mark.

I carried a number, managed the people who did, and spent six years leading federal partner sales teams at AWS. I make these because they're the things I wish we'd had. Most of it is free; when a problem needs more than a check, I work with managers and teams directly.

Ask MarkAbout Mark

Questions

Where does 3X pipeline coverage come from?
3X assumes you close about a third of the qualified pipeline that's due in the period. It's a win rate in disguise. If your qualified win rate is 20%, you need 5X. If it's 50%, you need 2X. The benchmark is only right for teams that happen to win a third of what they qualify.
How is the verdict calculated?
Required pipeline is the number still to find ÷ your qualified win rate, or × 3 if you leave win rate blank. The verdict is your pipeline as a share of that: covered at 100% or more, close from 75%, at risk from 50%, short below. Opportunities are the gap ÷ your average deal size, rounded up.
What counts as qualified pipeline?
Pipeline you expect to close in the period and can defend: the customer has said they want it, the money has a name, you have reached someone who can act, you know how they buy, and something forces action now. That's what Deal Check tests one deal at a time.
Does anything I enter leave my device?
No. Every tool runs in your browser. No account, no CRM connection, no API call. The site counts page views with Google Analytics and never sends your answers or your numbers. Nothing else leaves the page unless you choose to share a result.