The ten things you need to understand about a sales engine
ABC Company sells HR, payroll and benefits services to small businesses, against a $2.8M plan for 2026. Each of the ten pages below walks the same path: the question a leader can't answer yet, why it matters, what you have to collect, how it's computed, what ABC's own record shows, and what to do on Monday.
Your own history is the rulerEvery threshold is your own percentile and every multiple your own win rate. No industry benchmark appears anywhere.
Predictions are written down firstLeadership writes down what it expects before anything is computed. A gap found that way is a measurement, not an accusation.
Every finding carries a gradeA, B, or C for the strength of the evidence behind the method, and the number of records behind the result.
“Not computable” is an answerWhen the record is too thin, we say so. We never fill a gap with a borrowed number.
You can recompute every numberNothing requires taking anyone's word for it. The math is shown on the page.
The ten things
Scan → Diagnostic → Weekly rhythm → Closing the gapsA01 · THE SCAN
CRM Hygiene
Can you trust what your CRM says right now?10.9% of open deals pass all seven rulesC02 · THE SCANSales Conversion Rates
Where exactly do your deals die?More lost deals die before the needs audit than at any other step (844 deals)C03 · THE SCANPipeline Coverage Ratio
Is there enough pipeline to hit the number, by your math?Holding 1.95× against a required 7.4×B04 · THE DIAGNOSTICIdeal Customer & Segments
Who do you really win with?1–9 employees win most often (21.9%); 50–99 return the most per opportunityB05 · THE DIAGNOSTICChannel ROI
What is a lead from each source actually worth?Inside Sales: 24.6% of deals, 3.6% win rateA06 · THE DIAGNOSTICActivity Mix
What does a week of selling actually consist of here?35.2% of open deals have no activity loggedA07 · THE DIAGNOSTICThe Win-Signal Regression
Which of your beliefs about winning hold up?Client referral: 8.7× the odds of winningB08 · THE DIAGNOSTICForecast Integrity
Is the forecast evidence or optimism?16 of 267 open deals are greenA09 · THE WEEKLY RHYTHMThe Weekly Sales Scorecard
Does each seller know their number this week?3 of 9 sellers on pace for July revenueB10 · CLOSING THE GAPSThe Same-Story Test
Does everyone tell the same story?Four reports, four answers to “how many did we win?”Start here if you're building your first CRM
Every one of the ten depends on a few fields that have to exist from the first record. They can't be recovered later. The collection checklist lists them in the order to build them.