Having a solid pipeline generation plan is essential for driving sustainable growth and keeping opportunities flowing.
In this article, we’ll dive into key strategies to boost pipeline creation, sharing practical tips to help you achieve long-term success in sales and business development.
What is a Pipeline Generation Plan?
A pipeline generation plan is basically a roadmap for finding, nurturing, and turning leads into customers. The goal? To keep a steady flow of qualified opportunities that can turn into sales.
Creating a solid pipeline plan means knowing your audience, understanding their needs and challenges, and figuring out how to connect with them at every stage of their buying journey.
It also involves regularly checking in and tweaking the plan to make sure it’s working and driving consistent growth.
Why You Should Use a Pipeline Generation Plan?
Forbes found that companies with clear sales processes and pipeline plans see 27% more revenue growth compared to those without. It’s pretty clear—a solid pipeline generation plan can do wonders for your business, including:
Keep the leads coming in
With a solid plan in place, businesses can keep a steady stream of qualified leads and opportunities flowing. This makes it easier to forecast, plan ahead, and set realistic sales goals you can actually hit.
Boosting Efficiency and Results
A clear process makes it easier for businesses to focus their efforts on generating and converting leads, leading to better results and smoother operations. It also helps spot any gaps or bottlenecks in the pipeline, so you can quickly make adjustments and keep things running at their best.
Boosted Conversion Rates
By connecting with potential customers at different stages of their buying journey, businesses can build trust and credibility, making it easier to turn interest into action and see those conversion rates climb.
Understanding Your Customers' Needs and Challenges
Building a pipeline generation plan starts with digging into your potential customers' needs and challenges. This helps businesses craft messaging and strategies that really speak to those pain points and offer solutions that work.
Sustainable Business Growth
A solid pipeline generation plan keeps the flow of qualified leads steady, helping your business grow sustainably. Bringing in new customers while keeping the loyal ones around is the key to long-term success.
How to Create a Pipeline Generation Plan
Building a solid pipeline generation plan doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s how you can create a plan that keeps qualified leads coming in consistently for your business:
Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
Start by figuring out the key traits of your target audience. Know who your ideal customers are, what problems they’re dealing with, and how your solution can help solve them.
Set Clear Goals and Objectives
Decide what you want to accomplish with your pipeline generation plan. Maybe it’s bringing in more leads, boosting conversion rates, or breaking into new markets.
Do Your Market Research
Take a look at the competition and spot any trends or gaps in the market. This will help you position your products or services better and uncover new opportunities to explore.
Create Focused Messaging
Craft messages that connect with potential customers wherever they are in their buyer’s journey. Speak to their pain points and show how your solution makes a difference.
Pick the Best Channels
Don’t spread yourself too thin—focus on the channels that work best for your audience. Think about where your ideal customers spend their time online and what platforms suit your pipeline generation ideas.
Is it social media? Email campaigns? Paid ads? Maybe even good ol’ networking events. Experiment with a few options and double down on the ones that bring in quality leads consistently. Remember, it’s all about meeting your prospects where they already are.
Set Up a Lead Scoring System
Use a lead scoring system to rank prospects based on their actions and traits. This helps your sales team focus on the top leads and close the best opportunities faster.
Build and Improve Your Content Strategy
Your content strategy plays a crucial role in pipeline generation activities by driving engagement and attracting leads. Start by creating high-quality, valuable content that addresses the needs and challenges of your target audience.
Monitor and Measure Results
Use analytics tools to keep track of how well your pipeline generation plan is performing. Regularly review key metrics like lead volume, conversion rates, and sales cycle length, and tweak your strategies as needed.
Bring Sales and Marketing Teams Together
One of the best ways to supercharge pipeline generation in sales is by breaking down the silos between your sales and marketing teams. These teams should work together, sharing insights and data to target the right prospects with the right messaging. Marketing can align campaigns to attract qualified leads, while sales can share what works and what doesn’t in real conversations.
Adjust and Improve Over Time
Keep analyzing your data and collecting feedback to improve your pipeline generation plan. Use insights to make smarter decisions and adapt your strategy to stay ahead in a changing market.
Pipeline Generation Plan vs Traditional Lead Generation
Aspect
Pipeline Generation Plan
Traditional Lead Generation
Focus
Long-term strategy for nurturing leads through the sales funnel
Short-term goal of quickly capturing leads
Approach
Multi-touchpoint and personalized engagement
One-dimensional and often generic outreach
Alignment
Close collaboration between sales and marketing teams
Limited coordination between teams
Content Strategy
Insight-driven, targeted, and educational content
Often broad or promotional content
Lead Qualification
Proactive lead nurturing and scoring
Reactive with basic qualification methods
Measurement
Tracks metrics across the entire sales funnel
Focuses mainly on initial lead volume
Sustainability
Designed for long-term relationship-building
Often transactional and short-lived
Using Yess to Supercharge Your Pipeline Generation
Yess is a pipeline collaboration platform that helps sales teams work together to win deals. Here's what it does:
Map Your Best Path to Win - Yess shows you who in your company has the strongest connection to each prospect, whether through past experience, mutual connections, or expertise. No more guessing who can help you land that meeting.
Get Executive Help Without the Hassle - When cold outreach fails, Yess lets you bring in executives or experts easily. You write the message, they approve with one click. No more awkward asks or long waits.
Run Multi-Person Outreach That Works - Instead of just one rep reaching out, Yess helps coordinate outreach from multiple team members to multiple people at the target account. Your technical expert talks to theirs, your CEO connects with their CEO, and deals move faster.
Make Pipeline Generation a Team Sport - Stop hitting quota alone. Yess makes pipeline generation a group effort, tapping into your company’s network and expertise to open doors and close deals faster.
Yess connects to tools like Outreach or SalesLoft and adds the collaboration you need to break into tough accounts. No more spray and pray—just smart, coordinated outreach that gets results.
The Power of Multi-Touchpoint Engagement
Building a strong pipeline generation strategy is all about creating meaningful connections with prospects through multiple touchpoints. Engaging across channels like email, social media, phone calls, and even in-person events helps you deliver a consistent and dynamic experience that builds trust and interest.
By staying active on these touchpoints, you keep your messaging clear and show your value at every step of the sales funnel. This not only builds stronger relationships but also increases your chances of conversions by keeping your brand top of your mind.
