What is the sales pipeline? A sales pipeline describes an approach to selling, founded on the underlying principles of the sales process. It describes the individual steps salespeople take from initial contact with a potential customer, or prospect, to qualifying that prospect into a lead, and further validating that lead into a sales opportunity followed through the different stages until closed. All sales opportunities arranged along each of the sales steps that make up your sales process is what the sales pipeline represents. Here is a simple definition of a sales pipeline as found on Wikipedia. It is difficult to encounter a sales professional these days the has not heard of pipeline management. As common as the term may be, many sales organizations today are not making use of this powerful sales management methodology. Why is this? (more…)