CST Pipeline Management & Forecasting Flashcards

When a sales team's win rate drops while pipeline volume stays constant, a CST trainer should FIRST investigate:

Answer: Deal qualification standards to determine if unqualified deals are entering the pipeline

A falling win rate with stable volume often signals that qualification rigor has slipped and poor-fit deals are consuming rep time.

The MEDDIC qualification framework adds which important component not found in BANT?

Answer: Economic Buyer and Decision Criteria identification

MEDDIC adds Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, and Champion — Economic Buyer identification is a key differentiator from BANT.

A CST trainer is teaching deal review meetings. The MOST effective format for a pipeline review is:

Answer: Manager interrogates each deal against stage-exit criteria and next-step commitment

Reviewing deals against stage-exit criteria with clear next-step commitments transforms pipeline reviews from status updates into coaching opportunities.

Which technique BEST helps a rep identify whether a deal is truly progressing or just 'sitting' in the pipeline?

Answer: Tracking whether the prospect has taken a defined next action since the last touch

Prospect-side action is the most reliable signal of forward momentum — deals where only the rep is active tend to stall.

A CST trainer notices reps pad their pipelines with unlikely deals near quota attainment time. This behavior MOST undermines:

Answer: Forecast accuracy and resource planning decisions made by leadership

Pipeline padding creates false forecast signals that cause leadership to misallocate resources and make poor hiring or investment decisions.

To train reps on pipeline management best practices, a CST trainer should primarily use which type of scenario?

Answer: Real or realistic pipeline reviews from the reps' own territory data

Using reps' own pipeline data makes training immediately relevant and applicable, accelerating behavior change.