Revenue operations

Definitions before dashboards

Most revenue reporting arguments are definitional. Write down and get agreement on, in one place:

• What each lifecycle stage means and the observable event that moves a record into it.
• What makes a lead qualified — and by whose judgment.
• When an opportunity is created, and what evidence is required.
• What each pipeline stage requires to be entered, stated as a buyer action rather than a seller feeling. "Prospect has confirmed budget" is observable; "showing strong interest" is not.
• What closed-lost means versus stalled, and when a stalled deal exits the pipeline automatically.

Without these, every number is negotiable and forecasting is a genre of fiction.

The handoff