You can easily increase your productivity by 18% by just using a sales pipeline.

But a sales pipeline without pipeline generation is worth nothing.

Pipeline generation is essential for a sales pipeline because it gives a continuous influx of potential prospects, keeping the pipeline full and active.

In this article you will learn everything you need about pipeline generation, including what it is, how to monitor it, as well as the best practices.

What is pipeline generation?

Pipeline generation is managing a continuous flow of prospective opportunities or leads.

Pipeline generation shows you the total value of new opportunities generated within a time period.

Pipeline generation is key to profitable business since it tracks and nurtures the entire buyer’s journey, from awareness to the decision to purchase.


What is the buyer’s journey?

The buyer’s journey is the process by which a potential customer goes from initial awareness of your product or service to the final decision to purchase it.

Typically, a buyer’s journey is divided into 3 main stages:

  • Awareness stage,
  • Consideration stage,
  • Purchase decision stage.

Pipeline generation focuses on identifying and nurturing potential leads through the stages of the buyer’s journey.

By understanding where a potential customer is in their journey—whether they are just becoming aware of a need, considering options, or ready to make a decision—businesses can improve and personalize their pipeline generation strategy.

Pipeline generation allows you to effectively guide and support your inbound and outbound leads along their journey toward a purchase.

Pipeline generation is the essence of your business because it fills your sales pipeline with a healthy stream of high-quality prospects who will eventually become paying customers.

Pipeline generation vs. Lead generation

Pipeline generation and lead generation are related but distinct concepts within sales and marketing:

  • Lead Generation is the process of identifying and attracting potential customers or “leads” who have shown interest in your product or service. It focuses on the top-of-the-funnel activities designed to capture contact information and initiate engagement with prospects.

  • Pipeline Generation is the broader process of moving these leads through various stages of the sales funnel, from initial interest to closing a deal. It involves nurturing and managing these leads through the buyer’s journey. The goal of pipeline generation is a steady flow of potential sales opportunities to your sales funnel.
vs. Pipeline Generation Lead Generation
What? Advances lead through stages of the sales funnel. Identifies and attracts inbound and outbound leads.
Why? To nurture and convert leads into customers by moving them toward a purchase decision. To capture interest and initiate engagement with new prospects.
When? At the top of the sales funnel to gather new leads. During all sales process stages, particularly when leads need to be nurtured.


If you effectively implement your sales pipeline generation strategy, you can be sure to get a consistent flow of potential buyers.

At some point of the sales funnel, these potential buyers will make the decision to purchase your service or product.

Moreover, sales pipeline generation allows you to do three very important things:

  • forecast your revenue growth
  • enhance cash flow management
  • provide sales performance metrics

Meanwhile, lead generation mainly focuses on the number of leads present in the sales pipeline at a specific moment.

This is where pipeline generation proves crucial, as it enhances your understanding of customer behavior, especially when analyzed alongside other important metrics like the LTV/CAC ratio.

Pipeline generation: key benefits

The key benefits of pipeline generation include:

  1. Consistent Revenue Stream: Ensures a steady flow of potential customers to maintain sales growth.

  2. Accurate Forecasting: Improves ability to predict future revenue and sales trends.

  3. Better Lead Quality: Focuses on nurturing high-quality prospects ready for conversion.

  4. Enhanced Sales Efficiency: Streamlines sales processes and reduces time to close deals.

  5. Data-Driven Insights: Provides valuable data on customer behavior and sales performance.

The best practices for pipeline generation

Here is a list of best practices for pipeline generation:

  1. Targeted Prospecting: Identify and focus on specific audience segments that align with your product or service, using data-driven insights to find high-potential leads.

  2. Content Creation and Marketing: Develop and distribute valuable content tailored to different stages of the buyer’s journey to attract and engage potential leads.

  3. Use Tech Tools: Utilize CRM systems, marketing automation tools, and data analytics to streamline lead management and monitor pipeline progress effectively. The most efficient way is to utilize a sales engagement platform like lemlist that does everything in one place.

  4. Build Strong Relationships: Engage with prospects through personalized communication and follow-ups to foster trust and increase the likelihood of conversion.

  5. Collaborate with Marketing and Sales Teams: Ensure alignment and open communication between marketing and sales teams to create a cohesive strategy for moving leads through the funnel.

  6. Regularly Review Your Pipeline: Continuously assess and refine the pipeline process to identify bottlenecks, improve efficiency, and increase conversion rates.

  7. Employ a Multi-Channel Approach: Employ various channels such as social media, email, webinars, and events to reach and nurture potential leads from multiple touchpoints.

How do you track the pipeline generation process?

Typically, you use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to analyze, gather, and store all the customer data, including contact information, recent interactions, assets, purchases, and so on.

CRM is an excellent solution for tracking your pipeline generation because it helps you understand customer behavior at every stage of your buyer’s journey.

Learn more about the best sales CRM tools and software to use in 2024.

Tracking your pipeline generation process involves several key steps to ensure you have a clear view of how potential leads are moving through your sales funnel.

Here’s how you can effectively track your pipeline generation process:

  1. Define Key Metrics: Identify and monitor critical metrics such as lead volume, conversion rates, deal velocity, and average deal size to understand pipeline performance.

  2. Use a CRM System: Implement a (CRM) system to track interactions with leads, manage contact information, and visualize the entire sales pipeline.

  3. Set Up Sales Dashboards: Create dashboards that provide real-time data and insights into the pipeline’s status, helping you to quickly identify trends and areas for improvement.

  4. Segment Leads: Categorize leads based on stages of the buyer’s journey to tailor your tracking efforts and better understand pipeline movements.

  5. Feedback Loops: Establish feedback mechanisms with the sales team to gain insights into the effectiveness of the pipeline generation strategies and make data-driven decisions.

  6. Monitor Sales Activity: Keep track of sales activities such as follow-ups, meetings, and calls to ensure consistency and effectiveness in lead management.

  7. Automate at Scale for High Impact: If you want to make sure your pipeline generation actually gets you the desired results, you must know what you’re going to do with every lead that keeps landing in your sales pipeline.

    lemlist, the powerful sales engagement platform, allows you to not only get new valuable leads but also to engage your leads with the highest impact. That means automating your outreach at scale but making it personalized and human-like. With lemlist, you can find leads and reach out to them on multiple platforms like emails, calls, and LinkedIn.

Key takeaways

Pipeline generation maintains a healthy sales pipeline by ensuring a steady flow of potential leads.

This process involves continuously managing prospects to move them through the various stages of the buyer’s journey, from awareness to decision-making.

Unlike lead generation, which primarily focuses on collecting contact information and generating initial interest, pipeline generation emphasizes nurturing leads until they are ready to convert.

Key benefits of pipeline generation include consistent revenue, improved forecasting, and a focus on high-quality prospects.

It’s essential for understanding customer behavior and enhancing sales efficiency.

Best practices involve targeted prospecting, content marketing, using technology like CRM systems, and employing multi-channel strategies to engage prospects effectively.

To track your pipeline generation process, you have to:

  • set up sales dashboards,
  • segment your leads,
  • monitoring metrics such as conversion rates.

CRM systems are vital for storing and analyzing customer data, ensuring a comprehensive view of the sales process.

Automation tools like lemlist can further streamline these efforts by providing scalable and personalized outreach.

Overall, pipeline generation not only fills your sales funnel but also gives you insights for better revenue and strategic planning.