Signals: Indicators of Pipeline Performance, Explained

What Are Signals?

Signals are specialized tags you can apply to grader questions that identify specific performance dimensions or quality indicators for your pipeline records. When you tag questions with signals, PipeAI generates signal-specific grades (like A-, B+, or C) for each record you grade, providing additional perspective beyond the overall grade.

Signals provide deeper insights into specific quality dimensions, appear as badges on grading results, and include grader-level statistics showing averages. With no limit to how many signals you can create, they enable more sophisticated decision-making by:

• Helping you create targeted action rules that respond to signal-specific grades
• Identifying trends in your pipeline's strengths and weaknesses
• Allowing prioritization based on dimensions that drive success
• Visualizing performance across key business dimensions

Signals are created in Organization Settings → Graders tab. Within your grader, simply turn Signals on and tag questions with them from the Questions tab. Questions can be tagged with none, one, or multiple signals, and signal grades are automatically calculated based on tagged questions without affecting the overall grade.

Powerful Signals to Consider

Below are examples of signals commonly used across various deal-making contexts, from sales to venture capital and private equity.

1. Revenue Potential

Measures the potential revenue size or deal value. High Revenue Potential signal grades might trigger action rules that route opportunities to senior sellers or warrant greater resource investment.
Example Questions:

• "What's the expected deal size?"
• "What's their annual budget for this solution?"

2. Profitability

Assesses how profitable the deal is likely to be. Helps teams prioritize deals that will deliver the highest margins and avoid resource-intensive low-margin opportunities.
Example Questions:

• "Will custom work be required?"
• "What's the expected implementation cost?"

3. Pipeline Velocity

Indicates how quickly a deal is likely to move through your pipeline. Helps forecast when deals will close and prioritize opportunities that can close quickly.
Example Questions:

• "What's their decision timeline?"
• "Is there a forcing function driving this purchase?"

4. Strategic Alignment

Evaluates how well the opportunity aligns with your strategic goals. Ensures resources are directed toward opportunities that advance larger strategic objectives.
Example Questions:

• "Is this a target industry for us?"
• "Could this become a reference customer?"

5. Competitive Position

Measures your competitive advantage in the deal. Identifies opportunities where you have the strongest chance of winning.
Example Questions:

• "Are we the incumbent provider?"
• "How many competitors are being evaluated?"

6. Decision Authority

Assesses access to and engagement with decision-makers. Highlights deals where you have the necessary relationships to navigate the buying process effectively.
Example Questions:

• "What's our relationship with the economic buyer?"
• "Have we confirmed the decision-making process?"

7. Solution Fit

Evaluates how well your offering matches the prospect's needs. Identifies opportunities where your solution provides the best value.
Example Questions:

• "How many requirements does our solution meet?"
• "Is our solution proven for this use case?"

8. Customer Success Potential

Measures the likelihood of successful implementation and adoption. Helps avoid deals that might lead to implementation failures or low adoption.
Example Questions:

• "Does the prospect have implementation resources?"
• "Is there executive sponsorship?"

9. Expansion Potential

Assesses the opportunity for account growth over time. Identifies accounts with strong lifetime value potential beyond the initial deal.
Example Questions:

• "What's the total addressable opportunity?"
• "Are there additional departments we could serve?"

10. Risk Profile

Evaluates various risk factors associated with the opportunity. Helps identify high-risk opportunities that may require special handling or risk mitigation strategies.
Example Questions:

• "Are there any legal concerns?"
• "What's the financial stability of the prospect?"

Best Practices for Using Signals

1. Start with a few key signals that directly impact your business decisions
2. Align signal selection with team objectives to ensure everyone understands their importance
3. Review signal performance regularly to refine which questions are tagged with which signals
4. Create balanced coverage by ensuring each signal has multiple questions contributing to its grade

Use signals in team discussions to develop a common language around deal quality dimensions