"The most common qualities that I measure to determine pipeline health are its size and shape. When it comes to size, bigger isn't always better. I prefer to look at the quality of leads at every stage to prioritize the more desirable ones. For the pipeline shape, it's ideal to keep the pipe more like a pipe with the same circumference throughout the process. This is the ideal situation, but in reality, it usually resembles a cocktail glass tapered at the bottom. That means that as leads go further down the line, they're culled, and the number is pared down based on viability. In addition, I also like to measure the duration of the sales cycle and how much leads drag from one stage to the next. A healthy pipeline moves leads along as quickly as possible."