02 Sales
Scorecard
Sales Pipeline Health Check
Score your sales pipeline across five areas in one sitting, see exactly where opportunities are leaking, and leave with a prioritised 90-day action plan you can start on Monday.
How to use this tool. This scorecard is for owners and sales leads who want an honest read on how reliably their pipeline turns enquiries into paid work. It takes about 45 minutes. You will finish with a score out of 100, your weakest area identified, and a 90-day action plan with owners and dates.
Why it matters
Most small and medium businesses do not have a lead problem first. They have a leakage problem: enquiries that go unanswered for days, quotes that are never followed up, and opportunities that live only in someone's head. A pipeline is simply the list of potential jobs and where each one stands. When it is healthy, you can predict next quarter's revenue with reasonable confidence. When it is not, you find out about a gap only when the work runs out.
This check shows which part of your sales process is costing you the most, so you fix that first rather than everything at once.
How the scorecard works
- Gather your evidence. Open your CRM or spreadsheet, your last 10 quotes, and your calendar. Score what you can show, not what you intend.
- Score each statement from 0 to 4 using the scale below. Where you are unsure, pick the lower score.
- Total each area. Each of the five areas has five statements, so each area is out of 20.
- Add the five area totals. The grand total is out of 100, so it doubles as a percentage.
- Rank the areas, read the band, and build your plan. Work on the weakest area first.
If you have a sales team, have two people score separately and compare. Differences of two points or more on a statement are worth a conversation.
The scoring scale
| Score | Meaning | Test |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Not in place | We do not do this |
| 1 | Ad hoc | Happens occasionally, depends on who is doing it |
| 2 | Partly in place | Happens for some opportunities, not written down |
| 3 | Mostly in place | Happens most of the time, documented or habitual |
| 4 | Fully embedded | Happens every time and I can show you the evidence |
The scorecard
Area 1: Lead flow
| # | Statement | Score (0 to 4) |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | We can name our top three sources of enquiries and roughly what share of work each brings. | |
| 1.2 | We have a written description of our ideal customer and job type, and we screen enquiries against it. | |
| 1.3 | Every new enquiry gets a response within one business day. | |
| 1.4 | Outbound emails and SMS go only to people we have consent to contact, name our business as sender and include a working unsubscribe. Calls to individuals are checked against the Do Not Call Register. | |
| 1.5 | We estimate we have enough qualified opportunities open to cover the next three months of target revenue. | |
| Area 1 total (out of 20) |
Area 2: Qualification and stages
| # | Statement | Score (0 to 4) |
|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | Every opportunity sits in a defined stage (for example enquiry, site visit, quoted, negotiating, won, lost). | |
| 2.2 | We confirm need, budget range, decision maker and timing before investing time in a detailed quote. | |
| 2.3 | We have a clear rule for declining work that does not fit, and we use it. | |
| 2.4 | Every opportunity has one named owner. | |
| 2.5 | Every opportunity has an estimated value and an expected decision date. | |
| Area 2 total (out of 20) |
Area 3: Quoting and proposals
| # | Statement | Score (0 to 4) |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | We send quotes within a turnaround time we have set and communicated. | |
| 3.2 | Our quotes use a standard template showing scope, exclusions, price, validity period and next step. | |
| 3.3 | For larger quotes we talk the customer through the proposal rather than only emailing it. | |
| 3.4 | We know our quote-to-win rate for the last six months, even as an estimate. | |
| 3.5 | We record the reason when we lose a job. | |
| Area 3 total (out of 20) |
Area 4: Follow-up and momentum
| # | Statement | Score (0 to 4) |
|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | Every open quote has a next step with a date attached. | |
| 4.2 | We follow up each quote at least three times, by more than one channel, before treating it as cold. | |
| 4.3 | Stalled opportunities (say, no movement in 60 days) are reviewed and either revived or closed. | |
| 4.4 | We review the pipeline weekly at a fixed time with the people who own opportunities. | |
| 4.5 | After a win, we ask for a referral, review or introduction within 30 days. | |
| Area 4 total (out of 20) |
Area 5: Data and forecasting
| # | Statement | Score (0 to 4) |
|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | All opportunities are recorded in one place (your CRM or a spreadsheet), not in inboxes or memory. | |
| 5.2 | Records are updated within 48 hours of any change. | |
| 5.3 | We know our average job value and average time from enquiry to decision. | |
| 5.4 | We produce a simple forecast each month and compare it with what actually happened. | |
| 5.5 | Customer information is stored securely, and only people who need it can access it, in line with our Privacy Act obligations. | |
| Area 5 total (out of 20) |
Area summary
| Area | Total (out of 20) | Percentage | Rank (1 = weakest) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Lead flow | |||
| 2. Qualification and stages | |||
| 3. Quoting and proposals | |||
| 4. Follow-up and momentum | |||
| 5. Data and forecasting | |||
| Grand total (out of 100) |
Your result
| Total score | Band | What it means | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 39 | Critical | Revenue depends on luck and memory. Opportunities are being lost regularly. | Build the basics: one list, a next step on every quote, a weekly review. Ignore everything else for 30 days. |
| 40 to 59 | Fragile | Some good habits exist but they rely on individuals. Results will swing. | Fix your weakest area first, then write down what already works so others can repeat it. |
| 60 to 79 | Solid | The pipeline works and is mostly predictable. Gaps are specific and fixable. | Target the two lowest statements in each weak area and start measuring win rate and cycle time. |
| 80 to 100 | Strong | Your process is disciplined and measurable. | Protect the routine, then test improvements: faster response, better qualification, higher referral rates. |
Whatever your band, any single statement scored 0 or 1 is a leak. List them all in the action plan below.
Your 90-day action plan
Choose no more than six actions in total. Start with your weakest area and your 0 and 1 scores.
| Phase | Statement number | Action | Owner | Due date | Evidence it is done |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days 1 to 30 | |||||
| Days 1 to 30 | |||||
| Days 31 to 60 | |||||
| Days 31 to 60 | |||||
| Days 61 to 90 | |||||
| Days 61 to 90 |
Worked example (fictional business)
Banksia Fit-Outs, a made-up commercial fit-out contractor with eight staff, scored itself honestly.
| Area | Total (out of 20) |
|---|---|
| Lead flow | 14 |
| Qualification and stages | 9 |
| Quoting and proposals | 12 |
| Follow-up and momentum | 6 |
| Data and forecasting | 8 |
| Grand total | 49 |
A score of 49 puts Banksia in the Fragile band. Follow-up was the weakest area: quotes went out on time, then nothing happened until the customer called. The owner chose three actions: add a dated next step to every open quote (days 1 to 30), hold a 30-minute pipeline review every Monday (days 1 to 30), and move all quotes from inboxes into a single spreadsheet (days 31 to 60). Reviewing Area 2 later would be sensible, but not until follow-up was running reliably.
What good looks like
A healthy pipeline is boring. Every opportunity has an owner, a value, a stage and a next step with a date. The weekly review takes 30 minutes because nothing is a surprise. You can say, within a reasonable margin, what revenue you expect over the next quarter, and you can explain why you won or lost your last five quotes.
Re-score every quarter. A rise of five to ten points is a good result. Do not chase a perfect 100, as the last few points are rarely worth the effort in a small business.
Common mistakes
- Scoring on intention. If you cannot show it, it is a 2 at best.
- Fixing everything at once. Six actions done beat twenty abandoned by week three.
- Treating the pipeline as the owner's private list. If only you can explain it, the business cannot sell without you.
- Counting hopeful enquiries as pipeline. An opportunity needs a real need, a decision maker and a timeframe.
- Skipping the lost-job reasons. They are the cheapest market research you will ever get.
- Buying software before fixing habits. A spreadsheet with a weekly review beats an unused CRM.
Put it to work this week
- Complete the scorecard today, using evidence from your last 10 quotes, and fill in the area summary.
- Block a recurring 30-minute pipeline review in the calendar, starting this week, with the people who own opportunities.
- Add a next step and date to every open quote, and follow up on any that are more than seven days old.
- Choose your first two actions for days 1 to 30 and enter them in the plan with a named owner.
- Set a calendar reminder for 90 days from now to re-score and compare.
Where Lotus helps
Lotus Strategic Services works with Australian B2B owners to turn a scorecard like this into a pipeline that runs reliably, including stage definitions, quote templates, follow-up routines and a simple forecast you can trust. We can review your results with you and pressure-test your 90-day plan. Book a free 30-minute discovery call at lotusstrategic.com.au.