What you'll get
- 4 copy-ready blocks
- Spreadsheet-ready
- 2 tables
- 6 min read
- Choosing which accounts to discuss
- The five questions
- Decision log (tab-separated, paste into a sheet)
- Review note (copy and fill in)
How to use it
- Step 1: Send the pipeline sheet round the day before. Each seller updates their own rows. Nobody updates a row during the review.
- Step 2: Copy the agenda in Part 1 into the calendar invite, so the order is known in advance.
- Step 3: Run the review in the order given. Use the five questions in Part 2 for every account you discuss, and no others.
- Step 4: Write each decision in the log in Part 3 as it is made. Send the note in Part 4 within an hour.
Most pipeline reviews fail in the same way. Each seller reads out their list, the others wait for their turn, and nothing is decided. This agenda fixes the order, gives every account the same five questions and ends with decisions written down. It runs in 30 minutes for up to six sellers.
Part 1: The running order
| Minutes | What happens | Who leads |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 3 | Read the summary row: accounts by stage, accounts that have not moved in 30 days, accounts resting on one person | Sales head |
| 3 to 8 | Wins, losses and anything parked since last week. One sentence each, with the reason | Sales head |
| 8 to 25 | Stuck and at risk accounts only. Three minutes each, five accounts at most | The account owner |
| 25 to 28 | Accounts that moved forward. Name the buyer action that moved them. No discussion | Sales head |
| 28 to 30 | Read the decision log aloud. Each decision has a name and a date | Sales head |
Accounts that are moving well are not discussed. That is the saving. A review that talks about every account spends most of its time on the ones that need nothing.
Choosing which accounts to discuss
1. Any account in Problem, Proposal or Decision with one person in conversation.
2. Any account that has not moved in 30 days and is not parked.
3. Any account where the champion has left or changed role.
4. Anything a seller asks to bring, up to two accounts each.If more than five qualify, take them in that order and carry the rest to next week.
Part 2: Five questions for every account
Ask them in this order. The seller answers each in one sentence.
The five questions
1. What did the buyer do since we last looked? (A reply, a call, a name given. Not what we sent.)
2. Who else at the company is involved, and who is missing?
3. What is the next step, who owns it and by what date?
4. What would make this account drop a stage?
5. What do you need from someone in this room?Question 1 is the one that changes the room. If the answer is nothing, the account is stuck, and the review says so plainly. Question 4 stops the review turning into a pep talk: the seller has to name the thing that would make them wrong.
Question 5 turns a read out into help. A senior introduction, a second pair of eyes on a message or a call prepared together all come from this question.
Part 3: The decision log
Keep one log. It is the only record of the review, and it is read at the start of the next one.
Decision log (tab-separated, paste into a sheet)
Date Account Decision Owner Due date Done (yes or no)A decision is something a person will do by a date. "Look at Calder Cold Chain" is a thought. "Ask Dana to get an introduction to the head of IT at Calder Cold Chain by Friday" is a decision.
At the start of the next review, spend two minutes on the open lines. A decision that is not done twice running goes back to the stuck list with a note on why.
Part 4: The note you send afterwards
Send it within an hour, to the whole team, while it is still fresh.
Review note (copy and fill in)
Subject: Pipeline review, [date]
Moved forward: [account, buyer action], [account, buyer action]
Won, lost or parked: [account, reason]
Stuck, with a decision: [account, decision, owner, date]
Dropped from the list this week: [account, reason]
Open from last week: [number] of [number] done.
Next review: [day and time].The last line matters. A team that sees how many decisions were finished last week acts differently on this week's.
Worked example (illustrative, not a real company)
Quaywise sells warehouse software. Sam Carter, head of sales, runs the Monday review for three sellers. All names are invented.
| Account | Why it was on the list | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Calder Cold Chain | One person in conversation, no movement in 30 days | Dana asks the planner for an introduction to IT by Friday |
| Harbour & Reeve | In Problem with two people, nothing booked | Sam joins the next call to meet the finance lead |
| Northfield Logistics | The champion has changed roles | Priya finds the new ops lead and writes by Wednesday |
Three accounts took 10 minutes between them, and the rest of the pipeline was not discussed. The following Monday, Sam reads the log first. Two of the three decisions are done. Northfield Logistics is not, and a note says the new ops lead is on leave until the 18th. The review moves its date, not its owner.
Five mistakes to avoid
- Updating the sheet in the room. The review then becomes data entry. Update the day before.
- Discussing every account. The ones that are working need nothing from the meeting.
- Asking for a forecast. Ask what happened. A forecast invites a guess.
- Letting decisions stay vague. Every line in the log needs a name and a date.
- Skipping the open lines. If last week's decisions are never read, nobody will finish them.
Why this works on named accounts
Common questions
How often should we run a pipeline review?
Weekly, on the same day and at the same time, for 30 minutes. A monthly review is too far apart to catch an account that has gone quiet, and a daily one turns into noise. If you have fewer than 15 accounts in play, every second week is enough.
Who should attend?
The sales head and every seller who owns an account on the stuck list. Anyone else can read the note. Fewer people in the room means more is decided.
Should this replace a forecast call?
No. A forecast is a different job, and it is owned by whoever reports to finance. This review feeds it, because the sheet it reads from is the same. Keep them apart so that neither turns into the other.
More from the Academy
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