CRO Handover · 16 October 2026 · 2 min read
Page 3: Where next year's pipeline is meant to come from
You inherit two pipelines: the one in the CRM today and the one the plan says you'll build next year. Page three of the handover file checks both, because the first predicts the second.
By Jeremy Heap, Founder, RepAgentic
Most new CROs arrive with next year's number already agreed. The board has seen it. Behind it sit two pipelines.
Start with today's. Some pipeline is qualified: a real buyer, a real problem and a next step both sides have agreed. Some is there to keep the number looking healthy. You rarely need to dig far to tell the difference.
It matters early, because today's pipeline shows how the company qualifies. What you have today is what you'll get tomorrow. And the plan's conversion rates were probably measured on it, the pattern in Amazing pipeline, terrible win rates.
Then check the plan. Some are built from measured conversion, coverage and capacity. Others start with the number and work backwards until the maths fits. Both look the same in a spreadsheet.
Ask four questions in week one
- Which of the ten biggest opportunities have a next step the buyer has agreed?
- Which pipeline source carries the biggest share of next year's number?
- Has that source ever produced at that rate?
- How many of the reps the plan counts on are fully ramped today?
Vague answers won't show in the plan. They show at day 90, as a shortfall that is now yours. Assess today's pipeline first, then fix how pipeline is built, so tomorrow's is real.
Why this page follows the accounts you win
Pipeline built outside the segments that buy looks busy and rarely converts. Check the market, then the pipeline, then the maths.
Next, page four: how your sales development team is really paid.
Today's pipeline is the forecast for tomorrow's. Check it before you trust the plan.
Where this starts
Is the pipeline you've inherited real?
The free RepAgentic Outside-In Read reads your go-to-market from public evidence, places it on the four-band maturity scale and names the first thing to fix. Add your own view in eight quick answers, and your read shows where your view and the evidence disagree. Typically within one business day.