Our sales team tracks total open pipeline value on the scorecard, but this number hides deals that have been stagnant for months. What weekly velocity metric should we track to measure active pipeline health and prevent stalled deals from inflating our forecasts?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Tracking total pipeline value on your weekly scorecard is a common trap. It gives your leadership team a false sense of security because the number looks large, but it often hides dead deals that have been sitting in your CRM for months. To run on accurate data, you need to track pipeline velocity.

The leading indicator to put on your scorecard is the weekly number of active deals with momentum. Define an active deal as any prospect in your pipeline that has had a documented, two-way interaction with a salesperson in the last fourteen days.

If a deal has had no activity for two weeks, it is cold. It should be removed from your active scorecard count and moved to a nurture campaign.

Additionally, track your weekly sales cycle duration, which measures the average number of days it takes for a deal to move from initial contact to closed-won.

By focusing on active deals with momentum and monitoring sales cycle duration, your sales leader can provide an honest, accurate forecast of future revenue. This prevents your team from relying on bloated, unrealistic pipeline numbers and ensures you have a predictable, repeatable sales engine that buyers will value.