Feeling the pressure to fill your pipeline with any lead just to make the numbers? It’s a recipe for disaster. Here’s why this tactic sets you up for failure.
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Recently, I had a conversation with a sales VP who was trying to justify the gunk and sludge and quite frankly, crap that was in his pipeline by saying that his team was desperate for leads to fill the pipeline with because there was pressure from upper management to have a full pipeline.
So I’ll just leave that with you for a minute.
Where on earth does that ever make sense? I don’t care how desperate you are for a pipeline buildout, where does it ever make sense to fill it full of whatever lead you could get your hand on, just to look like you’ve got a full pipeline? In my world, that was always a quick way for a sales VP to get fired.
It certainly is a quick way for you to not hit target, and it’s also a very fast way for you to lose sales reps.
And this is a conversation that doesn’t often get had.
But having your sales reps work on deals that are never going to close, having them fill their pipeline knowingly full of stuff that is a long shot or just you can’t win or don’t want to win, is a sure way to lose your sales reps, because nothing irritates them more than working on deals that aren’t going to get them paid. What a waste of time.
So don’t fall into this trap.
Have your sales reps only working on deals that you can and want to close.
Make sure that they’re well qualified up front for fit.
Make sure that they’re the right size, the right volume, the right value in the right industry, have the right executive sponsorship, the right support, and that you’re talking to the right decision makers.
But don’t no matter how much pressure you think you’re under from any manager, put deals in the pipeline just to pad your pipeline to make it look profitable.
Doing so is not going to end well for you.
It’s not going to end in anybody hitting their target, and it’s a sure way to ensure that nobody gets paid.
Don’t forget to check out: How NOT to Start a Meeting!