· Norm Strassner
How to Run a Weekly Pipeline Review in Under 15 Minutes
A weekly pipeline review is the single most valuable CRM habit for small business owners. Here's how to run one efficiently and what to look for.
The weekly pipeline review is the habit that separates businesses that manage their sales process from businesses that are managed by it. When you know exactly where every deal stands, what's moving and what's stuck, you can make decisions instead of reacting.
Here's how to run a useful review in 15 minutes or less.
When to Do It
Monday morning, before anything else. The goal is to start the week with a clear picture of where your pipeline stands and what needs to happen this week to move things forward.
Friday afternoon works too, as a planning session for the following week. Pick one time and make it a fixed appointment with yourself.
The Five Questions to Answer
Work through your pipeline view and answer these for each active deal or relationship:
1. Where does this stand? Is the stage accurate? If a deal has moved -- or stalled -- update it before you go any further.
2. What's the next action? Every active deal should have a clear next step and a due date. If there's no next action, that deal has no momentum.
3. Has anything changed since last week? Did they go quiet after being engaged? Did a new decision maker enter the picture? Update your notes.
4. What's blocking this? If a deal has been in the same stage for two or more weeks, ask why. Is it a prospect decision delay, an internal bottleneck, a price objection? Name the blocker so you can address it.
5. Should this still be in the pipeline? Not every open deal is a real deal. If something has been unresponsive for 60 days and there's no clear path forward, close it as lost and remove the noise. Clean pipelines are honest pipelines.
The 15-Minute Structure
- Minutes 1 to 3: Scan all open deals and update any stages that have changed
- Minutes 4 to 9: For each deal without a next action, set one with a specific due date
- Minutes 10 to 13: Identify your top two or three deals that need attention this week and flag them
- Minutes 14 to 15: Close any deals that are clearly dead and shouldn't be taking up mental space
That's it. Fifteen minutes, clear priorities for the week, no deals falling through because you forgot to look at them.
The Compounding Effect
Teams that do weekly pipeline reviews consistently close more deals -- not because the review itself closes deals, but because the review ensures that the right action always has a due date attached. Nothing goes unattended for more than a week.
ContactHoney's Kanban pipeline view makes this review fast. Every deal is visible. Every stage is a column. Updating a stage is a drag. It should take seconds per deal, not minutes.
Build the habit. The results follow.