Pipeline Quality Metrics

Pipeline coverage is the most cited metric in sales forecasting and one of the least useful in isolation. "We have 4x coverage" means nothing if 40% of that pipeline is over-aged, 25% is stalled at the same stage for 60+ days, and 15% has no identified economic buyer. Quality-adjusted pipeline coverage is the metric that matters — and it requires you to discount pipeline by health indicators, not just add it by stage.

1. Age-Adjusted Coverage Apply a decay factor to pipeline based on how long an opportunity has been in a given stage. Stage 1 for 30 days: 100% value. Stage 1 for 60 days: 70% value. Stage 1 for 90+ days: 30% value. An "opportunity" that has been in discovery for 4 months is not a $200K pipeline item — it is a $60K pipeline item, at best.
2. Qualification-Adjusted Coverage Weight pipeline by qualification completeness. Deal with identified champion, economic buyer, decision criteria, and timeline: 100%. Deal with champion only: 60%. Deal with no confirmed stakeholders: 25%. Unqualified pipeline is not pipeline. It is a list of people you have talked to.
3. Conversion-Adjusted Coverage Apply historical stage-to-close conversion rates. If Stage 2 converts at 35% historically, a $500K Stage 2 opportunity contributes $175K in expected value to pipeline coverage. This is the most honest pipeline metric — it replaces hope with probability.