gtminterview.com

Free tool

Pipeline forecaster

Enter the target and the open pipeline by stage. Coverage counts every dollar the same; the forecast weights each stage by how it has actually closed.

DiscoveryEvaluationProposalNegotiationSlipped from last quarter · optional

Starts on the worked question’s invented case: Ledgerwick, six weeks before quarter end. Add slipped deals as their own row if you count them apart.

Coverage
3.2×
Expected bookings
$1.56M
Gap to target
$443k
Coverage you’d need
4.1×
Expected bookings by stage, against the target

$1.56M of $2.0M, 78%. At this mix you’d need $8.22M of pipeline.

Pipeline and what it’s worth, by stage
Discovery$224k · 14%
Evaluation$418k · 27%
Proposal$495k · 32%
Negotiation$420k · 27%
Slipped from last quarter$0k · 0%

Proposal carries the most of the forecast: 32%.

How the forecast works

  1. Coverage. Coverage = open pipeline ÷ target still to close. It counts a dollar in discovery the same as a dollar in negotiation.
  2. Weighted pipeline. For each stage, multiply its pipeline by the share of pipeline at that stage that has closed in the same quarter before. Expected bookings are the sum.
  3. Gap. Gap = target − expected bookings. Say it while there is still time to act.
  4. Coverage you’d need. Blended close rate = expected bookings ÷ pipeline. Required coverage = 1 ÷ blended close rate. Below that, the pipeline won’t reach the target at the rates it has closed at before.
  5. Where the forecast sits. Each stage’s share of expected bookings, not of pipeline, shows which deals the number depends on.

On Ledgerwick’s case, $6.4M against $2.0M is 3.2× coverage. Weighted by stage, it is worth about $1.56M, 78% of the target, a gap of $443k. Its blended close rate is 24%, so it would need 4.1× coverage. Discovery is 44% of the pipeline but 14% of the forecast.

Practice a forecast call aloud with an AI interviewer on Socratify.

Last reviewed Nov 9, 2026