Advertising Sales Pipeline Template
A sales pipeline should show what is happening with each opportunity and what needs to happen next. A list of names and estimated dollars is incomplete if nobody knows who owns the next action or when the buyer expects a response.
Download the sales planning workbook. The Pipeline tab includes editable opportunity fields and an open-value summary. It starts blank so illustrative records cannot be mistaken for real customers.
Use one row per opportunity
Record one buying decision in each row. If a business is evaluating one package with several components, that usually belongs in one opportunity. If it is considering independent projects with separate decisions, use distinct rows and descriptive opportunity names.
The worksheet includes business, opportunity, stage, proposed value, next action, due date, owner, last contact, and notes. The value is the proposed total for that opportunity in USD, not monthly recurring revenue unless the proposal itself is for one month.
Define stages by observable progress
| Stage | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Research | The business is being evaluated for fit |
| Contacted | An introduction has been made |
| Discovery | A substantive conversation is underway |
| Proposal | A specific recommendation has been presented |
| Decision | The buyer is considering a defined offer and next step |
| Won | The required agreement or approval is complete |
| Lost | The opportunity has ended without agreement |
| Deferred | The buyer requested a later time or a relevant delay is documented |
Sending an email does not prove discovery occurred. A verbal expression of interest does not necessarily mean an account is won. Adapt the definitions to your organization's actual approval process and keep them consistent.
Write a next action that someone can perform
“Follow up” is less useful than “send the requested audience information by Thursday” or “review the revised proposal with the owner on Tuesday.” Record the owner and due date with the task.
If there is no reasonable next action, decide whether the opportunity should be closed or deferred. Do not preserve an optimistic stage simply to make the pipeline look larger.
Read the totals correctly
The workbook's open proposed value includes numeric values for Contacted, Discovery, Proposal, and Decision rows. It excludes Research, Won, Lost, and Deferred. It is an unweighted view of possible business, not a revenue forecast or a probability-adjusted estimate.
An open opportunity with no value is counted separately as missing an amount. Entering zero means a known zero value; leaving the field blank means the value is unknown. Review incomplete records before using the total in planning.
Use dates consistently
Enter a real spreadsheet date in the due-date and last-contact columns. Keep the date connected to what the buyer agreed or what your internal task requires. Do not change a missed due date simply to make the record look current; complete or reschedule the task and record the reason.
The template contains 100 opportunity rows. If more are needed, extend the table and the summary ranges together, then verify the totals. A larger team may prefer a CRM with permissions and activity history, but clear definitions remain necessary in either system.
Review the pipeline regularly
Check overdue commitments, opportunities without next actions, decisions waiting on another person, and won accounts that need a production handoff. Review lost reasons separately from delayed decisions.
The follow-up email examples help with communication. The sales metrics guide explains why pipeline value, booked sales, and collected payments should not be treated as the same measure.