In today’s episode of the ‘Sales Samurai’ podcast, host Sam Capra, who helps marketing leaders in the retail space go beyond the sale/transaction, talks with guest Mr. Joe Barhoum, an Author, Consultant, and a Professor at the University of Portland. They are discussing pipeline versus pipe dream, and the four steps to “gut check” your opportunities and overall pipeline health.

Episode Highlights

• 01:15 – Sam enquires, is this the hardest thing for sales reps to truly understand pipeline and manage pipeline?
• 03:55 – When you start getting those complex deals that's where pipeline management gets a little bit challenging because there are so many moving parts, says Sam.
• 05:33 – It’s important to make sure that those opportunities in the pipeline are accurate, states Joe.
• 06:11 - What you should be doing, to be honest with your pipeline?
• 07:54 – You need to write all the deals that you have for the current, and the next quarter.
• 08:37 – Once you have written all the deals the first question is what are the problems that the buyer or the buyers said they need to solve.
• 10:53 - Why do you think you're going to win, write that down, and then the last step is to write down the two-three biggest risks associated with you winning the deal.
• 14:35 – Sam asks, how many buyers do we need to be involved with - single thread or multi-thread?
• 16:13 – If you get to a habit of being critical of your deals, you don't want to be critical of your sales all the time. 
• 23:00 – Joe highlights, if your only justification for winning is a good relationship then that's not enough, because even if you're liked and trusted, you can still lose.
• 26:20 – Joe points out that you shouldn't win a deal on accident.
• 30:50 – Sometimes even having two champions is not enough to win, states Joe.
• 32:00 – A champion is vital and what level of influence that champion has is the most important question, thinks Sam.
• 33:33 - If there's a risk that you can validate as a risk, you then have to understand what the likelihood of that risk to occur is. 
• 36:32 – Sam says the goal is to minimize as many of those risks as possible
• 39:28 - What are your thoughts on a mutual action plan and how it works with a more complex sale? Sam asks Joe.
• 41:58 – Joe feels that formalized buying which aligns with the formalized mutual action plan idea, it's going to become more common.
• 43:33 - How much trust you can build if you help a buyer become a better buyer?
• 45:37 – You have to understand that the buyer may not have tried to resolve the problem this way before.

 Three Key Points

1. All four steps allow you to play devil's advocate with your pipeline. The first step is to write down all the deals that you have for the current quarter and the next quarter; the second step is to what problems they want to solve so that you prioritize them. The third step is to write down your justification for why you expect to win, and the last step is to write down the two/ three biggest risks associated with you winning the deal.
2. If you're trying to figure out the priority, you also have to keep in mind that the priority kind of differs from person to person at the decision-making hierarchy. Of course, asking the right questions, so these things are important to you.
3. The questions you need to ask buyers are I want to make sure that we're the best fit for you. So, what are you seeing in us? What are you seeing in our technology that makes you feel comfortable? That’s a good question to ask it always have to do it.

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