Sales stages are critical

The best (some would say “only”) way for your organization to accurately predict the future is through your pipeline. In order to be remotely accurate, it is imperative to include four things: Total Deal Value (typically 12-month deal value for SaaS or services companies); Sales Stage; Probability; and Close Date. In order to refine accuracy, sales stages should be set, tied to probability, and marked by specific gates and rigorously enforced. Ethan Zoubek wrote a really good article on the topic. I strongly recommend it.

You can take a deeper look at my selling methodology below. Of course, this is customized for each company I support.

Also, check out this article on qualifying Opportunities.