Pipeline and sales process: win more of what you already quote

What the workstream is

It has three parts, run in order:

1. Pipeline clean-out. Every open quote or proposal older than its normal decision window gets a deliberate next step: a call, a revised option, or a polite close-out. Dead quotes are marked dead, so the pipeline stops lying about what is coming.
2. Sales routine rebuild. First-reply speed, proposal format, follow-up rhythm, and a short reason code for every lost deal.
3. One new channel. Once win rate and cycle length are moving, we test a single new source of opportunities with tracking from the first day.

Who it is for

Businesses that quote or propose before a sale: contractors and home-service firms, professional practices, equipment dealers, agencies and business-to-business service companies. It suits teams where the owner still writes many of the quotes, and teams where two or three salespeople each follow up in their own way.

What is included

• Stalled-quote recovery list, ranked by value and age, with a script or message template for each type.
• Reply-time standard. A target for how fast new enquiries get a human answer, and a cover plan for evenings, weekends and lunch.
• Proposal template with options, clear scope, the next step and a decision date.
• Follow-up rhythm. Typically day 2, day 7 and day 14 after a quote, each touch adding something useful.
• Lost-deal reason codes so patterns show up within weeks rather than years.
• One-channel test plan, with a budget ceiling, a tracking method and a stop rule.

Timeline

Pipeline clean-out runs from about day 11 to day 25, alongside the pricing work. The routine rebuild runs from day 25 to day 55, with coaching sessions for whoever writes quotes. The new-channel test, if the ledger supports one, starts around day 50 so there are at least five weeks of data before the final readout.

A worked example

A firm sends 90 quotes a month, wins 30% and takes an average of 32 days to close. A review shows only 40% of quotes get any follow-up. Moving that to 90% with a fixed day-2, day-7 and day-14 rhythm might lift the win rate to 35%. That is four or five more wins a month. At a $3,000 average sale, it is $13,500 more revenue a month, before anyone buys a single new lead.

If the same routine also cuts the cycle from 32 to 26 days, cash arrives sooner, which matters as much as the total for a business that pays staff weekly.

How results are measured

We track opportunities, win rate, days to close, and share of quotes with at least two follow-ups. Lost-deal reasons are counted each fortnight. The new channel is measured on cost per qualified opportunity and cost per win, never on clicks.

What your team does differently afterwards

By day 90 the people who quote should be working from a shared list of open opportunities, each with a next step and a date. New enquiries get a human reply within the agreed standard. Lost deals get a reason code. And the owner can open one sheet and see the pipeline's value without asking anyone.

Mistakes to avoid

• Buying leads to cover a slow follow-up. It is the most expensive fix there is.
• "Just checking in" messages. Each follow-up should answer a question, offer an option or set a date.
• Letting the pipeline fill with dead quotes. A pipeline nobody prunes makes forecasting impossible.
• Testing three channels at once. You won't know which one worked.

The arithmetic is explained in the revenue velocity guide, and the backlog work starts from the leak diagnosis. To talk through your pipeline, call, text or email.