--- title: Four Problems In Your Pipeline | The Sales Blog description: These are some of the most common problems you should look for in a pipeline review. image: https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_178021229.jpg --- ### [Now booking SKO meetings for 2026/27! 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One reader wrote to me to ask me about problems they should look for in their [pipeline](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwilkZqe-439AhXrkIkEHU5zCY0QFnoECAgQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesalesblog.com%2Fblog%2Ffilling-the-pipeline&usg=AOvVaw0a5VWW93gdBQ-sc7kErswx) meetings. 1. **No New Opportunities**: Part of the rhythm of business when it comes to sales is the time it takes to create and win new opportunities. The opportunities you create this week will be won (or lost) at some point in the future. The time it takes is different for different industries and different businesses. But one thing is always true: if you don’t create opportunities now, there will be some point in the future when you don’t have the new business you need. The more weeks without new opportunities, the worse your future. This problem is only remedied through [prospecting](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2015/10/09/the-reason-you-produce-inconsistent-sales-results/). 2. **No Real Opportunities**: An opportunity only exists if the prospective customer is engaged with you in an initiative to change. There are a lot of people inside your prospective client companies who are willing to speak with you. There are some sales organizations with products and services that are so interesting, that their prospects will always take a meeting to learn what’s new. But the willingness to meet doesn’t mean that the prospective client has the necessary willingness to change. If there is no [compelling reason to change](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2015/08/24/this-should-be-keeping-you-up-at-night/), there is no opportunity. A lot of people need what you feel and can’t—or-won’t buy it. 3. **Retreads**: I’ve seen “opportunities” that have lived in pipelines so long that the salesperson’s child started and graduated from high school without the deal being won. If this was the company’s natural deal cycle, that would be fine, but it wasn’t. Salespeople who don’t have new or real “opportunities” tend to go back over or conversations that they’ve had with prospects who will give them time. If the same “opportunity” comes up over and over again with no real movement, [it’s a lead](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2012/05/02/its-a-lead-not-an-opportunity/). 4. **Too Long In Stage**: Some deals take time to mature. A few deals will be progressing even when the deal lives in a stage for longer than normal. But most of the time, a deal that is in a stage for too long is stalled. The deal may be stalled because something changed on the customer’s side. Or, more often than not, the salesperson hasn’t gained the commitments they need to move the opportunity forward. Every opportunity in the pipeline should have a next action that is a commitment that the prospect has made that results in moving forward. A deal without a commitment is stalled, or approaching a [stall](http://thesalesblog.com/blog/2014/05/21/4-reasons-your-deal-stalled/). These are some of the most common problems you should look for in a pipeline review.   ###### Tags: [Sales](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/sales) [2015](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/2015) Post by [Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/author/anthony-iannarino) on November 4, 2015 Written and edited by human brains and human hands. ![Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/ai-blog-profile-crop.jpg) Anthony Iannarino is an American writer. He has published daily at [thesalesblog.com](https://www.thesalesblog.com) for more than 14 years, amassing over 5,300 articles and making this platform a destination for salespeople and sales leaders. Anthony is also the author of four best-selling books documenting modern sales methodologies and a fifth book for sales leaders seeking revenue growth. His latest book for an even wider audience is titled, The Negativity Fast: Proven Techniques to Increase Positivity, Reduce Fear, and Boost Success. Anthony speaks to sales organizations worldwide, delivering cutting-edge sales strategies and tactics that work in this ever-evolving B2B landscape. He also provides workshops and seminars. Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn, X or Youtube. You can email Anthony at [iannarino@gmail.com](mailto:iannarino@gmail.com) [Follow me on my website](https://www.thesalesblog.com/anthony-iannarino) [Follow me on Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/thesalesblog) [Follow me on LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/iannarino/) [Follow me on Twitter ](http://www.twitter.com/iannarino) [![AISA-square-ad-SKOs-26-27](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AISA-square-ad-SKOs-26-27.jpg?width=400&height=400&name=AISA-square-ad-SKOs-26-27.jpg)](https://www.thesalesblog.com/authority) [![ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1.jpg?width=318&height=179&name=ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1.jpg)](https://www.thesalesblog.com/free-cold-calling-video) ![salescall-planner-ebook-v3-1-cover (1)](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/salescall-planner-ebook-v3-1-cover%20(1).jpg?width=768&height=994&name=salescall-planner-ebook-v3-1-cover%20(1).jpg) ### Free Sales eBook: Sales Call Planner Planning your sales call improves the likelihood of making a successful call, and it demonstrates to your dream client your professionalism. 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What we’re doing right now **is working**, even in this challenging economy. **Would you like some help?** [![Solve for Sales](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035) ### Join my Weekly Newsletter for Sales Tips Join 100,000+ sales professionals in my weekly newsletter and get my *Guide to Becoming a Sales Hustler* eBook for FREE! --- ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org/", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Anthony Iannarino" }, "dateModified" : "2023-02-11T5:19:25 PM", "datePublished" : "2015-11-04 22:27:21", "description" : "These are some of the most common problems you should look for in a pipeline review.", "headline" : "Four Problems In Your Pipeline", "image" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 16, "url" : "https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/2922376/Image/favicon.ico", "width" : 16 }, "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/four-problems-in-your-pipeline", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "name" : "Four Problems In Your Pipeline", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 24, "url" : "https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/2922376/TSB/images/TSB%20Logo%20Dark.svg", "width" : 228 }, "name" : "The Sales Blog" } } ```