Solution Selling

Sponsor = initial contact on an opportunity and someone who can promote your solution internally to make a purchase. If they don’t have the authority or influence to make a decision, you need access to a Power Sponsor
Power Sponsor = the person who has the authority or influence to make a decision, even if it is not budgeted.
Buying vision = articulating “If you had the ability to… when… occurs, you believe you would be able to solve the problem.”
Pipeline Period (PP) = the period which the pipeline is being measured. This is generally quarterly but could also be monthly.
FC = Forecast Category
SS = Sales Stage
ECD = Expected Close Date

Sales Qualification Fields

ECD cannot be in the past
Opportunities with expected close date in current PP but are NOT part of Commit or Upside (or vice-versa - opportunities with close date in subsequent PP but are part of Commit or Upside in the current PP)
Opportunities in Commit or Upside FC for current PP but are not on the CRM at all
Opportunities in early stage SS (e.g. Plan, Create, Qualify) but are either a) expected to close in current PP or b) have a FC of Commit or Upside. This is still possible but we have to understand whether there is sufficient time in the current PP to deliver the sale.
ECD in the current PP should all have FC of Commit or Upside (and vice versa)
Worst Case Coverage > 1.
Best Case Coverage >> 1.

There is generally a correlation between ECD and SS. The closer the ECD, the later the SS and vice-versa. This doesn’t always have to be the case. For example if we know an opportunity is in contract negotiation but this process (along with the PO if one is required) may take time. Therefore, this opportunity could be SS Develop but with a close date in the next quarter.
There is always a correlation between ECD in the current PP period and the Commit and Upside values. See point 4 above under key metrics.

Actions completed to move to certain Sales Stage	Sales Stage post-actions	Sales Stage	% probability after moving to this sales stage
• Opportunity identified • Potential sponsor identified	PLAN	By ticking all the boxes, move to PLAN (0%)	0%
• Initial meeting established • Follow-up meeting set up to explore opportunity	CREATE	By ticking all the boxes, move to CREATE (10%) • If no follow-up meeting in less than one month, leave in PLAN	10%
• Pain admitted by sponsor • Sponsor has a valued buying vision • Sponsor agreed to explore • Sponsor granted access to power • Agreed to above in sponsor email	QUALIFY	By ticking all the boxes, move to QUALIFY (25%)	25%
• Access to Power Sponsor • Pain admitted by Power Sponsor • Power sponsor has a valued buying vision • Sponsor agreed to explore and has budget or can find budget • Evaluation plan proposed • Evaluation plan agreed upon	DEVELOP	By ticking all the boxes, move to DEVELOP (50%)	50%
• Evaluation plan underway • Preproposal review conducted • Asked for the business • Proposal/quote issued, decision due • Verbal approval received	PROVE	By ticking all the boxes, move to PROVE (75%)	75%
• Contract negotiation in process	CLOSE	By ticking all the boxes, move to CLOSE (90%)	90%
• Signed document or PO	WON	By ticking all the boxes, move to WON (100%)	100%

Closed/Won (W)

Orders already won. The opportunity has already been closed in the current quarter, the order has been processed, and the value is already counted in the quarterly bookings number.

Commit (C) aka Confident

The deal can be safely expected to close in the expected quarter. The targeted opportunity will close when it is expected but it will also close at the targeted value.
The only thing stopping that from occurring is unpredictable and exceptional events. Even the 10% that aren’t closing as predicted should only be experiencing a short delay, not a loss of a sale, if they were committed.

Upside (U) - aka Possible or Longshot

Deals with a possibility of closing within the quarter, but not yet committed.
Projected close date is in the relevant PP, there is a realistic outside chance that this opportunity will close at the targeted value this quarter, and the sales person is implementing a credible plan to achieve this that does not depend on a miracle happening.
This category can also occasionally be used for opportunities that have a most likely close date a quarter out, but where there is a credible chance (and a plan in place) to pull the deal forward.
In any given period, a minority of opportunities in this category are expected to close as planned - value and date. The opportunities in this category can act as a “reserve” for committed deals that unexpectedly or unpredictably fail to close.

Pipeline

Omitted

Worst Case = W + C. This is minimum revenue that can reasonably be expected to be generated. It is based on the accumulated deals Won and Commit deal values
Best Case = W + C + U. this is the most optimistic revenue that can reasonably be expected to be generated if all or most opportunity closure plans are perfectly executed. It is based on the accumulated Won, Commit, and upside deal values, with an evidence-based downwards adjustment. This does not include Pipeline or Omitted deals.