1 min lesson
Keep the book sane
Talk this through in your own words. "It's mid-quarter. You're crushing your close rate but your pipeline coverage for next quarter has fallen below 2x. What does this tell you and what do you do?" Finish with the next move.
Step 1 of 2
Keep the book sane
- CRM hygiene is how a high-velocity book stays forecastable. Put a next step and close date on every open deal and update them weekly.
- Prioritize ruthlessly. The deals that deserve your hours have a real champion, quantified pain and a date. Everything else gets a holding pattern.
- Disqualify fast. A clean "not now" is worth more than a zombie deal you nurse for two quarters.
Interview move
If asked "how do you forecast?", describe your discipline rather than a tool. "I only commit deals with a confirmed economic buyer, a passed eval and a mutual action plan to a date. Everything else is best-case or pipeline. I'd rather give you a number you can plan on than one that flatters me, even when it's lower than I'd like." That answer signals the integrity and rigor a sales leader needs to be able to trust.