Katie Walsh

Typical KPIs like stage conversion rates, deal velocity, and pipeline coverage are useful signals, but they don’t always reveal why deals are slowing down and tend to be a lagging indicator. For example, a high volume of deals stuck in discovery might look like a stage conversion issue, but the real bottleneck could be reps not uncovering impact or not multithreading with the right personas. KPIs show where friction is, but not always the root cause.In SMB: Simplify the buying experience, remove ...Read More

KPIs alone don't improve forecast accuracy - disciplined pipeline management does. Most teams are drowning in metrics but can't predict what's actually going to close next month. The KPIs That Actually Matter for Forecasting: Stage progression velocity (how fast deals move, not just where they sit) Close date changes per deal (serial date pushers are red flags) Activity quality in late stages (are we still "checking in" or driving decisions?) DM direct involvement For Unpredictable Markets (like ...Read More

Champion Engagement Score Track how often your internal champion initiates contact vs. you chasing them. Champions who go quiet = deals that die. Most CRMs can't measure this automatically, but it's pure gold. Discovery Question Quality Not just "did they do discovery," but did they ask about budget, timeline, decision process, and consequences of status quo? You'd be shocked how many reps skip the hard questions. Proposal-to-Signature Velocity Everyone tracks overall cycle time, but the proposa ...Read More

Managing a remote or hybrid sales force really comes down to intentionality. I anchor everything in clarity.Clear expectations around goals, behaviors, and how work gets done matter even more in a remote environment. When reps know what “good” looks like; in pipeline health, deal execution, and customer outcome, performance becomes consistent regardless of location. I invest heavily in managers.Managers are the culture carriers in remote teams. I focus on developing them to be excellent coaches, ...Read More

The Framework That Works: Focus on leading indicators that reps can control, not just lagging outcomes they can't. Revenue Growth: Objective: Accelerate revenue growth in target segments KR1: Achieve $X ARR from X employee companies KR2: Increase average deal size by x% on enterprise deals KR3: Hit 105% of quarterly quota with 85%+ of reps at goal Pipeline Health: Objective: Build predictable, high-quality pipeline KR1: Maintain 4x pipeline coverage with 90%+ qualification accuracy KR2: Achieve ...Read More

Deal Concentration Risk and it's one of the most dangerous blind spots in pipeline management. The Problem: Teams hit their 3x or 4x pipeline coverage target, but 40% of that coverage comes from 2-3 massive deals. When one of those whales dies, you don't just lose the deal - you lose your entire quarter. The KPI Most Teams Miss: "Top 3 Deal Dependency Ratio" - What percentage of your forecast comes from your three largest deals? If it's over 30%, you're in danger. Why It's Deadly: Large deals ca ...Read More

Capture the reality, identify patterns, and turn insights into behavior change. If it doesn’t change how teams sell, it’s just reporting. First, I focus on getting clean, consistent inputs. Every deal is reviewed using the same core questions. Second, I separate deal-level learning from trend-level learning. At the deal level, managers use wins and losses as coaching moments: What would we repeat? What would we do differently next time? At the trend level, I look across deals to spot systemic th ...Read More

One that’s purpose-built, not stacked. Every meeting should earn its place by changing decisions or behavior. I’m ruthless about meeting intent. Forecast calls exist to assess risk and make decisions, not to restate numbers everyone can already see. Pipeline reviews are about deal strategy and gaps, not updates. If a meeting doesn’t require live discussion, it shouldn’t be a meeting. I separate inspection from coaching. Forecast calls are short, structured, and focused on commit accuracy and ris ...Read More

I think about AI in sales leadership as an accelerant and the foundation has to be trust. We use AI to help reps and managers see patterns faster, coach more consistently, and reduce busywork, not to micromanage or “catch” people doing something wrong. Being clear about intent upfront is critical to earning adoption. I’m thoughtful about where AI is applied. For call reviews, AI helps surface themes, talk ratios, missed questions, competitive mentions, so managers can focus their time on coachin ...Read More

The ones who have a high learning velocity, resilience, and customer curiosity. I hire for how people think, not just what they’ve sold. Top AEs show strong problem-solving skills, ask thoughtful questions, and can explain why a deal moved or stalled — not just what happened. They’re coachable, reflective, and comfortable being uncomfortable. Those traits matter more than years of experience in a fast-moving sales environment. Second, I look for evidence of ownership.The best reps take responsib ...Read More