The ratio of total open pipeline value to a revenue target for a given period, used to assess whether there's enough opportunity volume in progress to realistically hit that target, accounting for the fact that not every opportunity in the pipeline will close.
Why it matters
Because not all pipeline converts to closed revenue, a business typically needs pipeline coverage well above 1x its target (often 3x or more, depending on typical win rates) to have a reasonable chance of hitting the number — coverage below that threshold is an early signal that more top-of-funnel generation is needed.
In a sentence
"We're sitting at 2.5x pipeline coverage against next quarter's target, which is below our usual 3x benchmark — marketing needs to generate more qualified opportunities."
Related terms
- Often confused with: Win rate (coverage is about the volume of opportunity relative to a goal; win rate is about what percentage of that opportunity actually converts — both affect whether a target gets hit, but they're measuring different things).