Stop Chasing Ghosts: The High Cost of Unfocused Sales Pipelines

#The 90/10 Pipeline Problem: Are Your Reps Chasing Ghosts?

It’s a well-worn principle, but its application in B2B sales pipelines is often stark: a small fraction of deals typically drives the vast majority of revenue. In many teams, fewer than 10% of opportunities in an active pipeline account for over 90% of the eventual closed-won value.

Yet, how much time does your sales team spend evenly distributed across the entire pipeline?

Why Focus Is So Hard

The challenge isn't identifying this disparity after the quarter closes; it's operationalizing the focus during the quarter. Why do teams struggle?

• Data Overload: Critical signals are buried in CRM notes, call logs, and email chains.
• Inconsistent Qualification: Gut-feel or superficial criteria guide attention.
• Lack of Predictive Insight: Difficulty distinguishing deals that feel promising from those likely to close.
• FOMO: Most reps (and often their leaders too!) chase momentum — always working the "hottest" deal instead of the highest-value one. This reactive loop leads to pipeline chaos.

Moving Beyond Activity Metrics to Outcome Focus

Measuring success by calls or meetings can mask deep inefficiencies. The real leverage comes from answering:

“Which specific deals, if actioned correctly today, have the highest probability of contributing significantly to our target?”

That requires proactive prioritization.

A Quick & Dirty Fix: The Simple Deal Score

The least thing a company can do is lead scoring. We’ve spoken to over 200 sales and RevOps professionals — almost none of them use a quantitative method to prioritize time.

Conceptually, everyone agrees it’s a good idea. But in reality? Gut feeling rules.

Recently, we spoke with Rayson who is leading RevOps at Packmatic. Since joining the company, he developed a basic formula combining qualitative and quantitative deal indicators:

Deal Score = Deal Size × Stakeholder Buy-in × Urgency × Fit

The information is collected through a simple form that has to be filled after each interaction. Each factor is assessed 1–5. This forces discipline, and reps quickly learn which deals deserve attention. It’s not perfect, but better than nothing — and better than chasing every deal equally.

#The Impact of Intelligent Prioritization

Focusing effort isn't just about efficiency; it directly impacts revenue. We saw this clearly when helping a tech-enabled firm struggling with pipeline predictability. Prioritization helped them shorten sales cycles, boost conversions, and reduce team burnout.

Want to dive deeper? How this team transformed results through AI-driven prioritization.