Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Key Takeaways
- A disciplined, weekly-reviewed pipeline report gives business owners a clear, data-driven view of future revenue and potential shortfalls.
- By tracking, weighting and analyzing every sales opportunity, companies can focus efforts, improve performance, and consistently drive higher sales.
Rarely do I meet a business owner who isn’t looking to increase sales. There’s never quite enough work, right? The backlog only stretches so far — and beyond that lies the abyss.
The truth is, there’s no magic bullet for growing revenue. But there is one report you should be reviewing every single week that will dramatically help: the pipeline report. Do you have one? You should.
Why the pipeline report matters
Some of my clients track their pipeline in a simple spreadsheet, and that’s fine. But my best clients rely heavily on their CRM systems. Most CRMs come with a pipeline report built in, and the smart companies take the time to customize it to fit their business.
Successful owners and managers live and die by this report because it tells them their future. It identifies potential revenue shortfalls before they happen, highlights top performers and gives them the visibility to plan their marketing, spending, hiring and investment decisions with confidence.
Related: Want to Maximize the Sale Price of Your Business? Start with These 5 Value Drivers
What the report reveals
A strong pipeline report shows all potential revenue opportunities in play — every quote, bid, proposal, and estimate. It also includes prospects who haven’t yet received a quote but are moving in that direction. In other words, it’s a forward-looking snapshot of your business. It’s your revenue forecast in motion.
Building a strong pipeline report
Start with the basics. List every active opportunity with the company name, contact, description, estimated value, date created, expected close date and the salesperson or manager responsible for it. Don’t limit this to new prospects — include existing customers if they’re likely to buy more.
Next, assign a probability to each opportunity. Keep it simple. In my company, we give unquoted opportunities a 10% chance of closing. Once a quote goes out, that jumps to 50%. If it’s been sitting for more than 30 days with no movement, we lower it to 25% unless there’s a good reason not to. If it’s looking promising, we move it up to 75%. And once it’s closed but not yet invoiced, we assign it 95% . We review and adjust these numbers every week.
From there, calculate the weighted value of each opportunity by multiplying its value by its probability. When you total those figures, you’ll have a clear forecast of your likely sales over the next 30 to 90 days. This method works, and it works consistently.
Each opportunity should also include recent activities — calls, emails, meetings — and the next planned follow-up. Managers need to know who last communicated with a prospect and what comes next. While a spreadsheet can handle this manually, a CRM integrated with your email and calendar makes the process automatic.
Finally, organize the report by the age of the opportunity and by the person accountable. This allows managers to zero in on older or stalled deals and decide what to do — apply pressure, re-engage the prospect or remove the opportunity altogether.
Learning from lost opportunities
When an opportunity is lost, remove it from the active report but keep it in your database. Always record a reason — price, competitor, timing, or any other factor. Review these reasons quarterly. Patterns will emerge. You may find that a specific competitor is winning too often, or that pricing or communication needs improvement.
This analysis also helps you measure performance. Track each salesperson’s “batting average” — their closed deals compared to total opportunities — and you’ll quickly see who’s performing best and why. You can do the same for wins to identify what’s working and replicate it across the team.
How this drives sales
The power of the pipeline report is in its discipline. It keeps management aware of every opportunity, helps salespeople focus on the best ones, and prevents leads from slipping through the cracks. It shows where the business is heading, who’s driving it, and what adjustments need to be made now — not after the quarter has ended.
Related: Work Smarter and Boost Sales with These 5 Peak Season Tips
Make it a habit
If your company already uses a CRM system, make the pipeline report your top priority. Eliminate redundant spreadsheets and require all opportunities to be entered and updated regularly. Many businesses complain that their teams don’t fully adopt the CRM. Weekly pipeline reviews fix that problem fast.
My company has implemented hundreds of CRM systems across industries. The most successful owners and managers — the ones who consistently hit their sales goals — are those who commit to their pipeline report. They review it weekly, discuss it with their teams and use it to drive decisions.
Do the same, and you will increase your sales.
Key Takeaways
- A disciplined, weekly-reviewed pipeline report gives business owners a clear, data-driven view of future revenue and potential shortfalls.
- By tracking, weighting and analyzing every sales opportunity, companies can focus efforts, improve performance, and consistently drive higher sales.
Rarely do I meet a business owner who isn’t looking to increase sales. There’s never quite enough work, right? The backlog only stretches so far — and beyond that lies the abyss.
The truth is, there’s no magic bullet for growing revenue. But there is one report you should be reviewing every single week that will dramatically help: the pipeline report. Do you have one? You should.
The rest of this article is locked.
Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.