Pipeline Change

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Link: Pipeline Change card

 

Overview

Change in open pipeline value for all opportunities with a close date in the timeframe selected, where the change occurred after the "since" date.

Why It’s Important

A lot of effort goes into building pipeline, so it's important to understand what happens to that pipeline. Looking at it on a quarterly basis means understanding how much pipeline is likely to close in the time period where it's currently forecast, which is important for understanding at what level the overall forecast should be projected and whether individual reps have sufficient pipeline coverage to meet their goals.

Who It’s Useful For

AEs and their managers, and AMs and their managers.

Definition

This card bridges the total value of open pipeline at the "since" date to the total value of open pipeline now, for opportunities closing in the selected time period. Each area of the waterfall is defined as follows:

  • Starting Pipeline: Total amount of open pipeline with a Close Date in the selected timeframe as of the "since" date selected. For example, if a customer with a calendar fiscal year selects "since 'Beginning of This Quarter'", it may show the pipeline value as of January 1st.

  • New: Total amount of open pipeline with a Close Date in the selected timeframe that was either created or transferred to the individual or team being evaluated after the since date.

  • Pulled In: Total amount of open pipeline that had a Close Date outside of the selected timeframe on the "since" date but that currently has a Close Date in the selected timeframe.

  • Increased Value: Amount by which open pipeline with a Close Date in the selected timeframe increased in value since the "since" date.

  • Closed Won: Total amount Closed Won in the selected timeframe between the "since" date and now. Note that this amount decreases pipeline value because Closed Won opportunities are no longer open pipeline once they shift to bookings. Note: This does not currently include pipeline that created and closed won in the current time period (e..g, "In Quarter"). The Bookings card is the most effective card for viewing that. 

  • Decreased Value: Amount by which open pipeline with a Close Date in the selected timeframe decreased in value since the "since" date.

  • Pushed Out: Total amount of open pipeline that had a Close Date in the selected timeframe on the "since" date but that currently has a Close Date outside of the selected timeframe.

  • Closed Lost: Total amount of pipeline that was open on the "since" date but Closed Lost in the selected timeframe between the "since" date and now.

What Data Is Used

All information comes from the Opportunity object in Salesforce. The Opportunity Owner tells us which reps owns the opportunity. The Close Date tells us in which time period the rep previously expected and currently expects the booking to come in. The pipeline value shown pulls the standard Amount field by default but can be updated to pull from a custom field in the Salesforce Data Settings or by notifying Atrium customer success.

Back of Card

The data on the back of this card shows, for each Opportunity included in the calculation, the areas of the waterfall where that opportunity is being included, the Opp Name, the initial and current amount, the initial Opp Stage, the Opp Source, the Opp Type, the Forecast Category, the Account Tier, whether the opp was sales-accepted as of the "since" date, the current close date, the current owner, and the date on which specific actions took place (e.g., when the pipeline was "pulled in").

How to Use It

This card is helpful in forecasting to understand how pipeline flows over the course of a month or quarter.

Important to Note

The Pipeline Change card is important in providing a full picture of open pipeline in a given timeframe, but there are a couple of instances where data can be confused if you are not reading the card correctly - 

    1. The opportunity stage filter, filters according to the opportunity stage on the since date. Deselecting specific opportunity stages will remove all opportunities in that stage on the since date, regardless of whether they advanced stages at a later date in the given timeframe.
    2. The Pipeline Change card is looking at changes to Open Pipeline. This means that the Pipeline Change card will exclude any opportunities that were created in a Closed state. 

In Summary

The Pipeline Change card's goal is to bridge the total pipeline from what was open in the first bar (the "since" date indicated in the top controls) to what is open now, where the Close Date either started or ended during the time period selected. What that means, when you're looking at a prior period, is that we're mostly telling you what happened to the pipeline that was already open at the since date (as there presumably isn't still open pipeline now for a period in the past). 

 Mainly, the question we are trying to answer for you is, "of the pipeline I walked into the quarter with, what happened to it?" 

 The one exception to pipeline needing to have been open at the start of the period is for Closed Won, however, since we think it's important for that number to match the amount that was actually Closed Won. This means for a prior period the "New" bar will show the amount that was both created and closed within the time period.

 For any other New pipeline created during that period, even if it initially had a close date within the time period, we aren't counting it since it was neither Closed Won, nor is it open right now. If you want to see the details of what happened to that pipeline, you can use the cards corresponding to each of the individual bars (New Pipeline Owned, Pipeline Closed Lost, Pipeline Pushed, etc.) to see the full picture of pipeline corresponding to each of those buckets, and use the filters on the left-hand panel to include or exclude pipeline that was not open at the start of the time period.