Are you thinking about pipeline generation the wrong way?

So many companies I speak with, and I’ve spoken to more than 150 of them in the last 18 months, tell me they need more pipeline. With a silo’d view in mind.  

“I just want to have more conversations with people” is a common theme I’m hearing.

Opening new doors is one thing but ensuring you control how long those doors are open before closing them (shortest amount of time possible) is an entirely different problem to solve for, being mindful of this will help you turn more conversations into deals.  

With this complexity in mind I firmly believe you need to put yourself in the shoes of your buyer and design an approach that is tailored for your buyer first and foremost and align your process / activities to that.  

To get there, let’s first think about your impact, what is the problem your product or service solves for. If someone were to buy what you offer, what is the value they can expect? Not what you suspect or what you did for another client, but quantifiable commercial value based on a set of benchmarks and use cases that deliver undeniable and differentiating results. 

This is usually a seemingly unrealistic milestone for your buyer to get their head around, so what are the steps your new customer should take to ensure they realise this value? What are the milestones or small successes along the way, they must do to realise overall success. 

Only once you’ve understood this can you articulate the value your solution delivers increasing your likelihood of turning a conversation into a commercial conversation that leads to creating an opportunity (aka pipeline). 

The easy bit is defining your ideal customer or partner and the size of your total profitable addressable market - LinkedIn is a great starting point for this. Which companies you should target and who are the ideal personas (titles) to target within them. Not just ideal but also, secondary and tertiary stakeholders, the people that will influence the decision and also the people that will influence your visibility within each of your target accounts (why? …think about the power of social influence for a second…).

And if you’ve defined the impact (aka value) and the path to value it’s easier to calculate the lifetime value of each new customer you win.  

So, apart from the obvious questions like:


  • What’s your ideal customer profile?
  • What’s your ideal partner profile?
  • What’s your profitable addressable market size?
  • What’s the lifetime value of each new client?


There are some poignant questions to consider first, when diagnosing your specific pipeline problem:


  • How do I want my buyer to feel?  …after all, Gartner and Forrester have found the deciding factor for buyers when choosing a solution, is the experience they receive. 
  • Where are they on their journey within the organisation? …are they new to the organisation, have they ever bought a solution as complex or of the same value? ..if not then don’t expect them to successfully buy yours.  
  • What are their ambitions / motivations / career objectives? …are they trying to secure a promotion, a bonus or simply compete with another team. 
  • Have they diagnosed the problem correctly? …and do they know how to define the criteria that the decision making unit will use to decide on which supplier can solve the actual problem. 
  • Do they understand how to build consensus with their stakeholders? …have they ever done it at their company before, is a business case required, who are the stakeholders.  


Having sight of this can help you develop pipeline more effectively. Beyond the initial conversation, what can you do to ensure you’re providing your buyer the best experience possible, that one that results in them buying your solution over the competition.  

Action: How do you map your approach and what content do you need to provide a differentiating experience for your potential customers.

Our world is changing at an unprecedented rate, our industry has seen more investment than ever before. Our mindsets have changed since the pandemic, our approach to work has changed. So must the way we develop pipeline. 

Since leaving the corporate world in 2020 I founded Supero. Our vision is to help MarTech companies accelerate growth and improve profitability. 

In 2022 we added a new string to our bow, we are pioneering a Social Selling & Influence program to enable our clients to bring consistency to pipeline growth and talent acquisition. It’s the only Social Selling & Influence program in the world to come with an official, globally recognised qualification from the Institute of Sales Professionals (ISP), delivered by me and my team at Supero, supported by our partner DLA ignite (#1 influencer in Digital Selling). 

For a friendly chat and to learn more DM me on LinkedIn or Twitter.com/Alex_Supero

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