---
name: sales-pipeline-management
description: Design, audit, and improve sales pipeline stages, qualification, CRM hygiene, forecasting, deal reviews, pipeline coverage, stage exit criteria, sales metrics, opportunity management, and revenue operating cadence. Use when Codex is asked about pipeline health, sales process, forecast accuracy, deal stages, CRM fields, sales dashboards, or funnel bottlenecks.
---

# Sales Pipeline Management

## Core Workflow

1. Identify the sales motion, ACV, cycle length, buyer type, CRM, team roles, and forecast cadence.
2. Map actual buyer/seller behavior into pipeline stages with clear entry and exit criteria.
3. Define qualification standards: fit, pain, urgency, authority, budget/value, process, risk, and next step.
4. Audit pipeline health by stage conversion, aging, next steps, close dates, coverage, source, deal size, and forecast category.
5. Separate pipeline creation, pipeline progression, forecast inspection, and coaching.
6. Produce CRM changes only when they reduce ambiguity or improve decision quality.

## Freshness Rule

Verify current CRM documentation before recommending platform-specific field names, forecasting behavior, AI scoring features, automation rules, or dashboard configuration. Keep strategic pipeline design separate from vendor UI details.

## Operating Principles

- Stage names should describe verifiable deal progress, not seller optimism.
- Every open opportunity needs a real next step, owner, buyer contact, close rationale, and risk note.
- Forecasts should distinguish committed deals from upside and early-stage pipeline.
- Pipeline reviews should coach deal strategy and inspect data quality, not become status theater.
- Metrics should surface bottlenecks by segment, channel, rep, stage, and source.

## Deliverable Shape

- Current pipeline diagnosis
- Recommended stage model
- Entry/exit criteria
- Required CRM fields
- Forecast and review cadence
- Dashboard metrics
- Coaching questions
- Cleanup actions

## References

- Read `references/pipeline-management-checklist.md` when designing, auditing, or cleaning a sales pipeline.