Decoding the Sales Pipeline

A healthy sales pipeline is the key to hitting quota every quarter. But when you're juggling non-selling activities, chasing unqualified leads, and managing fragmented tools, pipeline building often takes a backseat. That's where the best sales teams separate themselves from the rest — they've decoded their pipeline process into a predictable, scalable system.

Whether you're an SDR building your first pipeline, a sales manager optimizing team performance, or a RevOps professional looking to maximize efficiency, understanding your sales pipeline isn't just helpful — it's essential. This guide breaks down exactly what a sales pipeline is, why it drives revenue growth, and how to build one that actually converts.

What is a sales pipeline?

The sales pipeline is the series of steps a seller takes to move a prospect from a qualified lead to a paying customer. It's a visual representation of where all your potential deals are in the sales process at any given time.

Think of it as a map of your sales process from the seller's perspective. Each stage represents a set of actions your sales reps need to complete to advance the deal. This provides a clear overview of viable opportunities with qualified prospects.

Why sales pipelines matter for revenue growth

A sales pipeline does more than just track deals — it gives you a clear view of your entire sales process. With a well-managed pipeline, you can accurately forecast revenue, identify bottlenecks before they become problems, and hold your team accountable to specific goals. It turns selling from a guessing game into a predictable, scalable system that directly impacts revenue.

Sales pipeline vs sales funnel: What's the difference?

It's easy to confuse a sales pipeline with a sales funnel, but they track two different things. A sales pipeline focuses on the actions a seller takes to move a deal forward. A sales funnel represents the buyer's journey and measures the conversion rates at each stage.

Think of it this way: your pipeline is what your reps do, and the funnel is how many prospects make it through.

Sales pipeline stages

While stages can vary by company, a typical B2B sales pipeline includes:

1. Sales prospecting: Identify the prospects that are the right fit for your business—people who actually need your solution and might become paying customers.

2. Qualification: Make sure you reach out only to qualified prospects, those who match your ideal customer profile and have a clear need and purchasing authority.

3. Relationship building: Contact and nurture a relationship with the prospect to understand their needs better and build trust.

4. Proposal: Send a formal proposal to the prospect, outlining the benefits of your product, the costs, and the expected ROI.

5. Closing: Negotiate terms and reach a final decision with the prospect. There are two possible results: closed-won or closed-lost.

Every sales manager or sales leader should spend time and resources on sales pipeline management. This requires:

• Implementing sales automation
• Providing the sales team with sales engagement tools
• Tracking the effectiveness of the sales pipeline with the right metrics and analytics for every step of the sales cycle
• Setting up each sales rep for sales success with training and coaching
• Rewarding great sales performance

How to build a sales pipeline

Here are three strategies sellers can use to build a strong sales pipeline.

1. Implement an omni-channel outreach

Align all your outreach channels to increase your conversion rate. Use every available channel to connect with your potential customer—calls, email, and social media. Then, make the experience consistent and complementary through all those channels.

When the messaging that a sales lead gets from your outreach is consistent and always focused on taking her through a particular journey, the chances of her becoming a customer increase dramatically.

2. Make multiple touch points

People rarely buy from you the first time you reach out. Research shows that you need around 8 touch points to make a B2B sale.

After a prospect enters your funnel, follow up through different channels. Send an email with useful information, then follow up with a call or a message on LinkedIn. Do whatever you have to do to get to a sales opportunity and reach your revenue goals.

3. Use outbound on inbound leads

Inbound leads are your hottest leads. Many companies rely heavily on content marketing, a type of inbound marketing, to attract leads to their site and build brand awareness.

Prioritize them and use outbound tactics (i.e., cold calling, direct messaging) to ensure you get ROI from your marketing campaigns. While inbound generates MQLs, your outbound efforts will convert them into SQLs, further qualifying them and moving them down the sales funnel.

Building your sales pipeline with Apollo

Apollo.io is the sales intelligence and engagement platform that simplifies your go-to-market strategy. Here's how it helps you build and manage your sales pipeline.

Prospecting with Apollo

Start your prospecting efforts with Apollo's Prospect Searcher, which gives you access to a database of over 275M contacts. Or, use the Apollo Chrome extension to find contact information and automate engagement directly within LinkedIn.

Qualifying Prospects with Apollo

Use over 65 advanced filters in our database to qualify prospects based on territory, company size, technology use, industry, and more. You can also create Personas to instantly find contacts who match your ideal customer profile.

Contacting and Following up with Apollo

Create and automate multi-step messaging sequences, use our international dialer for prospecting calls, and track engagement analytics to see what's working. Our platform provides the insights you need to improve conversion rates and be more successful overall.

• Create an email campaign and track open rates
• Create and automate follow-up sequences
• Set up job change alerts

Start building pipeline that converts

Decoding your sales pipeline is the first step toward building a predictable revenue engine. By defining your stages, focusing on the right activities, and using a powerful platform to manage it all, you can stop guessing and start selling with confidence. The right tools turn insights into action, helping you build and manage a pipeline that consistently delivers results. Ready to see how? Get Started

Frequently asked questions about sales pipelines

What does pipelining mean in sales?

Pipelining in sales is the ongoing process of adding new, qualified prospects to the start of your sales pipeline. It ensures you always have a healthy number of potential deals to work on, preventing the 'feast or famine' cycle where reps close deals but have no new opportunities to pursue.

What is the pipeline method of sales?

The pipeline method is a structured approach to selling that focuses on moving prospects through a predefined set of stages. Each stage has specific actions and exit criteria. This method provides clarity, ensures no steps are missed, and makes the sales process repeatable and scalable for the entire team.

How many prospects should be in my sales pipeline?

This depends on your sales quota, average deal size, and conversion rates. A common way to calculate it is to work backward: if you need to close 10 deals and your close rate is 20%, you need 50 qualified opportunities in your pipeline. You should always aim to have more opportunities than you need to account for deals that stall or are lost.

How often should I review my sales pipeline?

Sales reps should review their personal pipeline daily to plan their activities. Sales managers should conduct formal pipeline review meetings with their team weekly. These meetings are crucial for coaching, identifying risks, and ensuring accurate sales forecasting.

What's a good sales pipeline conversion rate?

Conversion rates vary widely by industry, deal complexity, and lead source. Instead of chasing a universal benchmark, focus on tracking and improving your own rates over time. A good goal is to consistently increase the percentage of leads that move from one stage to the next, which indicates a healthier, more efficient sales process.