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Contents

1. Revenue systems

2. Builds

3. The operator

4. Writing

5. Journal

6. Resume

7. Appendix

238 wordsby CONNOR J. LAUGHLIN

Ghost pipeline detector.

Pipeline reviews stopped rewarding optimism once close-date drift and stage aging were instrumented.

Outcome

Designed the full-funnel KPI architecture from awareness through revenue and unit economics, the inspection layer inside the GTM infrastructure behind a nine-figure influenced pipeline.

Pipeline decay signalsThe three pipeline inspection screens as instrumented: deals whose close date keeps moving, deals aging past their stage definition, and deals with activity that never advanced them. All three report into one weekly review.CLOSE-DATE DRIFTSTAGE AGINGNON-ADVANCING ACTIVITYWEEKLY PIPELINE REVIEW
FIG_010 [ Pipeline decay signals ]Close-date drift, stage aging, and dead activity, each instrumented on its own and read together.

Three screens sit under the weekly pipeline review: deals whose close date keeps moving, deals aging past their stage definition, and deals with activity that never advanced anything. I built all three, plus the cadence that makes someone answer for what is on them.

The case

  1. 01The problem

    Executive reviews were full of optimism. Deal slippage, stage stalling, and rep activity gaps were hard to see until the quarter ended.

  2. 02What I built

    I built close-date movement tracking, stage aging, activity-to-opportunity ratios, rep accountability, and a weekly executive package that surfaced ghost pipeline in time to act.

  3. 03What changed

    Forecast calls stopped relying on rep optimism and started relying on what the system showed. Stale deals got worked or cleaned up. Real pipeline got attention.

  4. 04Why it mattered

    The three screens changed what the weekly review was about. Forecast accuracy is a CFO and CEO question, and the review started arguing about deals instead of about the number.

  5. 05What it proves

    Three inspection screens and the weekly cadence that makes someone answer for what is on them.

Proof

Chapter figures

KPI RevOps framework
Full-funnel. KPI RevOps framework. funnel, attribution, unit economics, pipeline movement.
executive reporting cadence
Board-ready. executive reporting cadence. CEO, CRO, and PE sponsor reporting.

Systems built

  1. Close-date movement tracking
  2. Stage aging and pipeline velocity
  3. Activity-to-opportunity ratios
  4. Weekly executive ghost-pipeline package
  5. Rep accountability and follow-through views

Chapter details

Scope
  • Close-date movement
  • stage aging
  • activity ratios
  • rep accountability
  • executive package.
Stack
  • CRM
  • Dashboards
  • SQL
  • BI
Governance
  • Versioned KPI definitions
  • weekly review cadence
  • access controls

Governance notes

  • System narrative is public, raw opportunity rows stay private
  • Reporting cadence formalized at weekly, monthly, and quarterly tiers
  • Rep-level views accessible only to managers and ops

In the interview

I built pipeline truth. The three screens surface a soft quarter while there is still time to work it.
Email Connor

Open to VP of Marketing & GTM, Head of GTM, VP Revenue Operations, and GTM engineering roles at AI-native B2B SaaS and PE-backed growth companies that build the tools of change. Chicago, hybrid or remote.