Visualising Your Sales Pipeline
A sales pipeline is a visual representation of where every potential deal sits in your sales process. For home improvement companies selling windows, doors, and conservatories, a well-managed pipeline is the difference between guessing and knowing your revenue forecast.
Building Your Pipeline Stages
Every glazing company's process is slightly different, but a typical pipeline looks like this:
Stage 1: New Enquiry (100 leads)
Raw leads from all sources. Not yet contacted or qualified.
Stage 2: Contacted (75 leads)
First contact made. Customer has confirmed interest.
Stage 3: Appointment Booked (50 leads)
Survey or sales appointment scheduled.
Stage 4: Appointment Completed (40 leads)
Rep has visited, surveyed, and pitched.
Stage 5: Quote Issued (35 leads)
Formal quotation sent to customer.
Stage 6: Negotiation (20 leads)
Customer considering, possible price discussion.
Stage 7: Won (12 leads)
Order confirmed, deposit received.
Stage 8: Installation Scheduled (10 leads)
Survey complete, materials ordered, date booked.
The Conversion Funnel
In the example above, from 100 enquiries you get 12 sales — a 12% enquiry-to-sale conversion rate. But the interesting insights come from looking at each stage transition:
- 75% contact rate (are you reaching people quickly enough?)
- 67% appointment booking rate (are your office team selling appointments effectively?)
- 80% sit rate (are appointments being confirmed properly?)
- 87% quote rate (are reps pitching at every appointment?)
- 57% negotiation rate (are quotes competitive?)
- 60% close rate from negotiation (are reps handling objections well?)
Each percentage represents a lever you can pull to improve overall results.
Pipeline Health Metrics
Pipeline Value
Total value of all deals at each stage. This is your revenue forecast — weighted by typical conversion probability at each stage.
Pipeline Velocity
How quickly do deals move through your pipeline? Slow-moving deals at the quote stage might indicate pricing issues or poor follow-up.
Stage Duration
How long do deals typically spend at each stage? If "quote issued" to "decision" averages 14 days, any deal sitting there for 21+ days needs intervention.
Win/Loss Ratio
Of all deals that reach the quote stage, what percentage do you win vs lose? And crucially, why do you lose — price, product, timing, or competitor?