Fix a pipeline that stalled

Deals are sitting, the number is slipping, and nobody can say exactly why. Diagnose it in order.

4 steps, 64 questions underneath

1. 1
   Who you sell to

   Picking a customer worth chasing, and knowing early when a deal is not one.

   What is an ICP and how is it different from a persona? People use both words for the same thing. 4 → We have about fifteen customers and they are all different. How do I find an ICP out of that? 4 → How do I qualify a deal properly instead of just hoping the enthusiastic person can buy? 4 → Half my pipeline is outside our ICP because those are the leads that came in. Do I chase them? 5 → How do I get the team to actually use the ICP instead of nodding at a slide and then doing what they want? 4 → All 16 questions in Who you sell to →
2. 2
   Outbound that works

   Cold email, cold calls, LinkedIn, sequences and lists. How to start conversations with people who have never heard of you.

   I have never sent a cold email in my life. Where do I even start? 4 → I am a founder in India and my buyers are in the US. How do I get a stranger twelve time zones away to reply? 4 → My cold calls die in the first ten seconds. What do I actually say when they pick up? 4 → How do I build a target list that is worth working instead of scraping ten thousand random companies? 4 → When do I hire SDRs, and how many AEs can one SDR feed? 4 → All 16 questions in Outbound that works →
3. 3
   Running a sales process and closing

   Discovery, demos, qualification, champions, procurement and the last mile to a signature.

   I have a call booked with a real prospect tomorrow. What do I do on it? 4 → Founder-led sales sounds terrifying. Why can I not just hire a salesperson? 4 → How do I know if a deal is real or if I am being strung along? 4 → My demos go well and then the deal stalls. How do I stop that? 5 → How do I turn random wins into a sales process someone else can run? 4 → All 16 questions in Running a sales process and closing →
4. 4
   Forecasting and GTM metrics

   Pipeline coverage, stage conversion, CAC payback, magic number, and calling a number you can defend to a board.

   What is pipeline coverage and how much pipeline do I actually need to hit my number? 4 → How do I work out CAC payback when I do not have a finance team? 5 → What is the magic number and should I care about it at my stage? 4 → Which handful of GTM numbers should a first time founder actually track? 6 → How do I calculate conversion rates by stage, and what do I actually do once I have them? 4 → All 16 questions in Forecasting and GTM metrics →