A pipeline is not a funnel
The terms are used interchangeably, but they aren't the same. The funnel describes aggregate market behavior — how many come in, how many move forward, how many buy. The pipeline describes the concrete opportunities that exist right now, with a name, a value and a stage.
The funnel is analysis; the pipeline is operations. You optimize the funnel and you work the pipeline.
What makes a pipeline reliable
An inflated pipeline is worse than an empty one: it drives bad decisions that look like data.
- Objective criteria for moving to the next stage, not a feeling of progress
- An estimated close date that gets reviewed, not locked in at the initial optimism
- Hygiene: opportunities stalled for several cycles need to come out or move back
- A realistic value, not the best possible scenario