Executive Pipeline Development Techniques

At Champions of Change Coalition, we’ve set out to tackle one of the toughest challenges in corporate Australia: building CEO pipelines that reflect the full depth of talent and experience across our communities. More women are participating in the Australian workforce than ever before, and unlike previous generations, many are maintaining strong career connections through different life stages.  Despite this unprecedented participation and depth of talent, women remain significantly underrepresented in the most senior leadership roles, including women from culturally and racially marginalised backgrounds and women with disability, who face additional and compounding barriers to accessing leadership positions.  These gaps point to much deeper issues at play including a candidate selection system that is too narrow in how it defines and recognises leadership potential.    “Securing your future leader: Building diverse and inclusive CEO pipelines” is a practical guide for Boards, CEOs, People & Culture leaders and recruitment advisers to build pipelines that are transparent, fair and future-fit. It includes:  • Transparent CEO capability and selection criteria with inclusive leadership embedded across all categories. • Practical tools for Boards, CEOs, People and Culture leaders and recruiters to broaden pathways and strengthen talent development and selection systems.  • The first collection of case studies from women CEOs, capturing candid insights into barriers, enablers and advice for future leaders.  • Guidance on setting up new CEOs for success, ensuring they are supported to lead both business performance and cultural change. Leadership strength and inclusive capability are now inseparable. The organisations that get this right will be the ones that stay ahead. Organisations that fail to build gender-equal diverse and inclusive CEO pipelines will find themselves short of choice, capability, and ultimately credibility.  This work began as an initiative of our Property Champions of Change Group and grew into a Coalition-wide collaboration. It’s grounded in research and deep listening, drawing on more than 40 interviews with CEOs, Directors, recruiters, Chief People Officers, and emerging women leaders. It is an easy, practical read, full of great tools that can be adopted, adapted, or built upon to help us collectively create a new standard of leadership. We’d love to hear your reflections: Download the resource: https://lnkd.in/g696qqem My heartfelt thanks to everyone across Champions of Change Coalition who contributed to this work — to our Members, CEOs, Directors, recruiters, People and Culture leaders, and the incredible women who shared their experiences so generously. You have created something both practical and powerful: a roadmap for the next decade of leadership. #InclusiveLeadership #FutureLeadership #GenderEquality #CEOPipelines #SystemChange 

𝘌𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘴: "We need pipeline and revenue NOW" 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺: - Longer sales cycles & lower win rates - Continuous decline in outbound responses - Unpredictable flow of inbound leads, many w/ low revenue potential - Other marketing leads w/o intent are difficult to turn into pipeline and win Sales is under pressure to deliver on targets, while marketing doesn’t have the same accountability. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺: - Marketing collateral is collecting dust - Reps tweak pitch decks, sprouting dozens of value propositions - "Can we interview customers?" "Let's not bother them, what do you need to know?" - "Who are ideal customers?" "5K+ employee companies w/ allocated budget for our product" - Suggests long-term programs, but gets shot down, "Just deliver the leads." They deliver the leads—then get blamed when the leads don't convert. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦: Sales loses trust that marketing can deliver real pipeline—and starts treating them as order takers (“I need this deck, can you make it pretty?”) 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦: 1. Break down accounts into three groups - DECLARED INTENT: hand raisers asking to learn more about the solution  - HIGH-ODDS ACCOUNTS: accounts with high likelyhood of becoming an opportunity this quarter - FUTURE PIPELINE: engaged Tier 1 and Tier 2 accounts with an indication of product need or a good relationshop 2. DECLARED INTENT - Automated qualification with account enrichment technology - Automated, immediate booking with the right AE to develop the deal KPIs: Won revenue, ACV and win rate. Time-to-value: how quickly does the buyer get the info they need and understand the value. 3. HIGH-ODDS ACCOUNTS 1:1 Account Development: - 1:1 account planning - Account research and buying center mapping - Expand the relationships with the buying center - Create personalised offers The goal is to book a discovery call with an AE (declared need). KPIs: account-to-pipeline ratio, pipeline velocity 4. FUTURE PIPELINE The goal is to nurture and develop relationships with multiple buyers, and qualify the need. - 1:Few programs with cluster-based content and messaging - Connect and engage with the buying center - Involve in cluster-based programs to create multiple meaningful touchpoints - Leverage these touchpoints to collect sales insights and close the blind spots (progressive profiling) KPIs: account-to-convo ratio, account penetration --- To accelerate revenue, you need multifunctional, lean teams that can deliver and iterate fast on relevant multi-channel cluster-based programs. P.S. If you happen to be near Antwerp, Belgium, on May 16th, join Andrei Zinkevich and me, at We Are Sales conference, where we'll break down this framework:  https://lnkd.in/enM699MH

VP of Sales: I'm cutting our pipeline in half next month. CEO: You want to REDUCE pipeline? Are you trying to miss quota? VP of Sales: I'm trying to actually HIT quota for once. CEO: We have 83 opportunities. $4.2M in pipeline. You want to kill half of them? VP of Sales: 61 of those deals are never closing. We both know it. But we keep them in the forecast because it looks good in the QBR. CEO: How do you know they won't close? VP of Sales: Because we have 9 months of data. Deals that don't meet our qualification criteria have a 4% close rate. The ones that do? 47% close rate. CEO: So you're just giving up on potential revenue? VP of Sales: No. I'm giving up on fake pipeline that wastes rep time. Right now my team spends 60% of their hours on deals that will never close. CEO: What changes? VP of Sales: New qualification criteria. If a deal doesn't have budget confirmed, pain quantified, and decision process mapped by week 2, we exit. Politely. Then we go find real opportunities. CEO: Competitors will steal those deals. VP of Sales: Let them. They can waste their time on tire kickers. We'll focus on the 22 deals that actually have a chance. CEO: The board will freak out when they see pipeline drop. VP of Sales: They'll stop freaking out when we start hitting forecast. Last quarter we had $6M in pipeline and closed $800K. That's embarrassing. CEO: One quarter. If this tanks, we revert. VP of Sales: Won't need to. Martinez just closed a $220K deal yesterday. Sales cycle: 31 days. We would've spent 90 days on it under the old model, trying to "nurture" it. CEO: What was different? VP of Sales: We almost disqualified them on the first call. No budget approved yet, but they went and got it approved within 48 hours. That's how you know it's real. PS: Your pipeline isn't too small. It's too polluted. Stop celebrating activity and start celebrating velocity. I'm Conor Paulsen & I help companies turn LinkedIn into a top revenue channel through a combination of organic content + outbound messaging. Follow me for more actionable LinkedIn sales tips & tricks.

There's one habit that separates struggling AEs from elite sellers: They treat executive meetings like product demos instead of strategy sessions. While average reps show features and ask basic questions, elite sellers arrive with insights that reshape how executives think about their business. Here's the exact 5-step intelligence framework that turns executives into champions: 1. Survey Their Current Team First Hit LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Filter for team members active in the past 30 days. Send tailored messages focused on outcomes, not features. Ask about pain points and advice for approaching their exec. Your exec opener: "After talking with 5 of your sales reps in the East, it sounds like AE-created pipeline is a big focus. What are the biggest risks you see to pipe build in the next 3-6 months?" 2. Analyze Their Customer Stories Study their case studies and customer logos. What problems do they solve? Who do they serve? What gets mentioned repeatedly - and what's conspicuously absent? Your exec opener: "You've got impressive logos - Gong, Salesloft, Drift all using your platform. Given that renewals are getting leaner across SaaS, what are the 2 biggest churn risks you're watching next quarter?" 3. Mine RepVue and Glassdoor for Team Intelligence 71% vs 21% quota attainment tells different stories. Use filters and search functions to find specific insights about team dynamics and performance gaps. Your exec opener: "Building pipeline has been brutal in 2025. How are you thinking about attainment risks in the next 3 months?" 4. Study Product Reviews for Competitive Gaps G2 and Capterra reviews reveal what customers love - and what they're missing. Look for gaps your solution fills. Your exec opener: "Your customers rave about functionality and ease of use on G2. The only complaint was insufficient CSM time. Is this a top risk you're addressing this quarter?" 5. Consume Their Content Podcasts, speeches, interviews. Find their personal stories and philosophies. Reference their own ideas to open conversations. Your exec opener: "You made a brilliant point about sales-marketing alignment on Kevin Dorsey's podcast. How do lead conversion issues and slower deal velocity rank as risks you're discussing with marketing?" — This level of preparation doesn't just impress executives. It positions you as a strategic advisor, not another vendor. Your first meetings will be 5x better because you're leading with insight, not interrogation. PS -Want these frameworks delivered weekly? Join 7k+ sellers in my newsletter - details in bio.

Most CEOs will tell you talent retention is their biggest challenge, but that's only half the truth. Lack of succession planning is the real culprit. Our latest CEO Survey revealed that 37% of leaders struggle with retention, and many admit they lack robust succession plans. Here’s the risk: if the next generation of leaders isn’t ready to step up, even the most successful firms could face a leadership void in the years ahead. I’ve seen it firsthand. Many firms are so focused on today’s hiring shortages that they overlook the long game. The lack of a sophisticated succession plan is a major risk. Here are four strategies for building a stronger leadership bench: 1. Spot hidden talent Look beyond titles. Your next great leader is the manager quietly solving problems behind the scenes. Creating opportunities for these individuals to step into higher-stakes roles can reveal untapped potential. 2. Build leadership DNA into culture Succession planning isn’t just an HR exercise. It involves embedding mentorship, collaboration, and growth into the everyday fabric of your firm. Leaders should be intentional about sharing their knowledge. 3. Adapt to new generational needs The workforce is changing. Younger leaders expect different things from their careers, like flexibility, purpose, short-term incentives and opportunities for impact. 4. Create a continuous development pipeline.   Leadership development shouldn’t happen only in reaction to immediate needs. Introduce leadership academies to prepare future leaders at different career stages. Incorporate real-time feedback, coaching, and self-assessment tools into development plans. I’ve learned that succession planning is less about replacing people and more about future-proofing your culture. I'd like to hear about any succession planning strategies that you have in place.

Most first-time AEs think success is about closing skills. After building Seamless and working with countless sales teams, I can tell you it's not. The top 1% do 5 things differently from day one: 1.) Own Your Pipeline (Never Wait for Leads) Block 60-90 minutes every morning before email for pure prospecting. Not admin. Not follow-ups. New pipeline creation. Build your ICP flow: industry/size/initiatives → target accounts → specific contacts by role. Keep a written queue of your next 30 prospects so you never waste time wondering who to call. Most AEs wait for marketing to deliver leads. Marketing gives you 30 conversations a month. Let's say you need 200 for quota. The top 1% self-source the other 170 systematically. 2.) Your List Is Your Bank Account The results you want are fueled by the list you build. Define ICP with surgical precision: specific industries, size ranges, current initiatives, technology stack. Build separate lists by department and role. Verify every contact. Tag for future one-click campaigns. Use tools to track intent signals and job changes automatically. Most AEs spray and pray. The top 1% know that a cleaned, verified list of 500 perfect-fit contacts beats 5,000 randoms. 3.) Attack Job-Change Windows (The 100-Day Budget Rule) Track every champion who switches companies. Set alerts. Hit them at day 30, 60, and 90 in their new role. Why? Executives deploy most of their annual budget in the first 100 days. They need quick wins to prove themselves. This is also your churn prevention system. When your champion leaves their current company, assume you have 30 days to lock in their replacement or lose the account. 4.) Follow-Up Is Where Fortunes Are Made Most AEs give up after two touches. Deals typically close after multiple touches. Build sequences that add unique value: touch 1 is pain/proof/ask. Touch 2 shares a competitor case study. Touch 3 sends a 90-second Loom showing their specific use case. For executives: three sentences max. "Saw you're expanding to APAC. CompetitorX cut expansion costs 40% with us. Worth 15 minutes next Tuesday/Wednesday?" Voicemail: 8-14 seconds, one hook, callback number. Stop after message 3. 5.) Run Your Desk by Math, Not Hope Write your funnel on paper: Contacts → Conversations → Meetings → Opportunities → Closed Won. Now do the math backward. If you need $500k in quota with $50k average deals, you need 10 wins. Work backward through your actual conversion rates to find your daily number. Most AEs discover they're off by 10x. Track this weekly. When conversion drops at any stage, you know exactly what to fix. Your results are inputs times math. Nothing else.

Executive Talent Acquisition Series: Building Long-Term Pipelines In executive search, urgency is real - but foresight is everything. This week, I’m spotlighting the power of long-term talent pipelines. Because the best time to start building relationships with future leaders isn’t when a role opens - it’s months (or years) before. Here’s what best-in-class executive TA teams do to stay ahead: - Market mapping: Continuously scan the landscape for emerging talent, not just known names. - Relationship-first sourcing: Engage executives early, offering insights and value - not just job descriptions. - Strategic forecasting: Partner with business leaders to anticipate leadership needs based on growth, succession, and transformation. - Candidate care: Maintain warm pipelines through regular check-ins, thought leadership, and personalized outreach. At its core, pipeline-building is about readiness. It’s how we ensure that when the moment comes, we’re not starting from scratch - we’re activating relationships we’ve nurtured with intention. “Executive hiring isn’t just about filling roles. It’s about cultivating possibility.” Next week, I’ll explore the value of in-person interviews—not just as a tool for assessment, but as a powerful way to deepen understanding and begin building trust with future leaders. #ExecutiveSearch #TalentPipelines #LeadershipHiring #StrategicImpact #TAChampions #FutureReady #CandidateEngagement #TeamCVS