Definition
Pipeline hygiene is the quality and accuracy of pipeline data, including stage updates, close dates, and qualification criteria.
How to use it
- Clean pipeline improves forecast accuracy and capacity planning.
- Enforce stage exit criteria and stale deal cleanup policies.
Common mistakes
- Letting deals sit without activity and inflating pipeline size.
- Allowing inconsistent stage definitions across teams.
Why this matters
This term matters because small changes compound in SaaS metrics. Use consistent definitions by cohort and segment so you can diagnose retention, payback, and growth quality.
Practical checklist
- Write a 1-line definition for "Pipeline Hygiene" that your team will use consistently.
- Keep the time window consistent (weekly/monthly/quarterly) when comparing trends.
- Segment results (channel/plan/cohort) before drawing big conclusions from blended averages.
- Sanity-check with a related calculator from the same category on MetricKit.
- Read the related guide (e.g., Sales ops metrics hub: quota, pipeline, win rate, and capacity planning) for context and common pitfalls.
Where to use this on MetricKit
Calculators
- Price Increase Break-even Calculator: Estimate the maximum churn (immediate or ongoing) a price increase can tolerate before it destroys revenue.
- Retention Curve Calculator: Model a simple cohort retention curve (logo retention) and translate it into expected revenue and gross profit over time.
- Two-stage Retention Curve Calculator: Model a retention curve with different churn rates for early months vs steady-state, and estimate expected value over time.
- Revenue Retention Curve Calculator: Model GRR and NRR over time from monthly expansion, contraction, and churn assumptions (existing cohort only).
- Unit Economics Dashboard Calculator: Compute a unit economics snapshot: gross profit LTV, CAC payback, LTV:CAC, and break-even targets from a few inputs.
Guides
- Sales ops metrics hub: quota, pipeline, win rate, and capacity planning: A practical hub for sales ops planning: quota attainment, pipeline coverage, required pipeline, sales capacity with ramp, and OTE math.
- Pipeline coverage and sales cycle math: set realistic targets (and avoid sandbagging): A practical guide to pipeline coverage: connect quota, win rate, sales cycle length, and CAC/payback constraints to set realistic growth targets.