Create and configure Impact Modeler pipeline models

Segment-specific custom metrics

Conversion rates, velocities, and deal sizes often vary for different activities. To improve the precision of your projections, you can define particular segments in your pipeline model and then set custom metrics for these segments.

You can define a unique segment by selecting up to three dimensions. Your segment criteria can consist entirely of list-type activity attributes, or a combination of attributes and a single activity type group. For example, this screenshot shows custom conversion rates for a segment. The segment is defined based on the activity types in the Tactic activity type group (as the primary dimension), and the products in the Product attribute (as the secondary dimension):

Whenever an activity matches a segment for which you have defined custom metrics, the pipeline model automatically uses these custom metrics (instead of the baseline metrics) to calculate pipeline projections.

Example 1: Custom conversion rates

The baseline conversion rate from the Inquiries stage to the next stage (MQL) is set to 10%:

There are also custom conversion rates for several segments. These segments are defined using two dimensions: the Tactic activity type group, and the Product attribute.

When an activity has a type belonging to the Tactic activity type group, the conversion rate used for pipeline projections is determined by the product assigned to the activity:

• For Enterprise Product, the custom conversion rate of 35% is used.

• For Mid-Market Product the custom conversion rate of 30% is used.

• For SMB Product, and for any other combination of a product and tactic for which no custom conversion rate is defined, the baseline conversion rate of 10% is used.

Example 2: Custom velocities

The baseline velocity from the Inquiries stage to the next stage (MQL) is set to 2 days:

There are also custom velocities for several segments. These segments are defined using a single dimension, the Lead Source attribute.

The velocity used for pipeline projections is determined by the lead source assigned to the activity:

• For Inbound, the custom velocity of 4 days is used.

• For Outbound, the custom velocity of 10 days is used.

• For Field Events / Trade Shows, the custom velocity of 14 days is used.

• For Referral /Partner, and for any activity which has no value for this attribute (or does not have the attribute), the baseline velocity of 2 days is used.

Example 3: Custom deal sizes

The default baseline deal size is set to $45,000:

There are also custom deal sizes for several segments. These segments are defined using three dimensions: the Target Customer Segment, Region and Product Tier attributes.

When an activity is assigned to the Enterprise segment, the deal size used for pipeline projections is determined by the region and product tier assigned to the activity:

• For North America, the custom deal sizes used are:

  • $125,000 for the Standard tier

  • $200,000 for the Premium tier

• For EMEA, the custom deal sizes used are:

  • $95,000 for the Standard tier

  • $165,000 for the Premium tier

• For South America, APAC, and any other combination of segment, region, and product tier for which no custom deal size is defined, the baseline deal size of $45,000 is used.

Create pipeline models

You can create a new pipeline model at any time:

• By default, new models start with empty settings, and you must manually configure all the model's parameters.

• You can also create a new model by copying an existing model. This copies all baseline and segment-specific performance metrics from the source model to the new model.

Activate, deactivate, and delete models

All new models are created in the Draft status, and are not yet available to be used by Impact Modeler. After you have configured a new model, you need to activate it to make it available for use. When a model is active, it can be used to generate projections in the Impact section of the activity details panel.

If there is more than one active model, the Impact > Planned tab displays a menu that allows users to switch between available active models:

When there are multiple active models, you can choose which model is selected by default in this menu.

If a model should no longer be used for projections on new activities, you can deactivate it.

Deactivating a model removes it as a selectable option from the menu on the Impact > Planned tab on activities. To maintain historical data, a deactivated model remains selected on all activities where it was previously selected. If needed, users can switch any activity on which a deactivated model is selected to any currently active model.

If a model is unused and is no longer needed, you can delete it.

Rename models and set the default model

You can rename your existing models at any time, including if they are already in use.

If you have multiple active models, you can set which model is used by default for projections on all newly created activities. This is useful if you create new model iterations for each planning cycle: set the new model as the default when the planning process begins to ensure it is used on all newly created activities from that point onward.

Configuration overview

To use a pipeline model to generate impact projections, you need to configure its parameters. The setup process consists of the following steps:

1. Set up pipeline structure: Define the stages of your demand generation funnel.

2. Set up baseline performance metrics: Specify the typical conversion rates and velocities between the stages, and the baseline deal size.

3. Optional: Set segment-specific custom metrics: Specify custom conversion rates, velocities, and deal sizes to use for specific segments instead of the baseline metrics.

4. Optional: Configure per-stage revenue projection: Choose if you want the model to generate pipeline value projections at intermediate stages of the funnel.

Set up pipeline structure

The stages of your demand generation funnel form the foundation of the pipeline model. The model's default funnel contains two stages:

• The starting or "top of funnel" stage. The default name for this stage is Source.

• The ending or "bottom of funnel" stage. The default name for this stage is Won.

Between these two default stages, you can add as many additional stages as you need. You can name your funnel stages (including the two default stages) however you like. For example, a typical demand generation funnel consists of around five stages, and might look like this:

1. Inquiries

2. Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

3. Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)

4. Opportunity

5. Closed/Won

Add funnel stages to a model

1. In the Activities section, click Settings to open the Activity Configuration page.

2. Click Measures > Impact Modeler to open the Impact Modeler settings page.

3. Optional: The system automatically displays the settings for the default model. To configure a different model, click Models, then click on the model you want to configure in the Models panel.

4. Under (1) Define stages and baseline metrics, click Edit Funnel Settings to show the funnel settings table.

5. To add a new stage, click Add Funnel Stage. A new row is added to the funnel settings table:

   

6. By default, newly added stages are named New Stage. To edit the name of a stage, click on its name under the Funnel Stage column. Type the name you want to use into the field, then click anywhere outside the field to finish editing.

7. Repeat steps 5-6 until you have added and named all the funnel stages you want to use.

8. To save and apply your changes, click Save changes.

Your changes to the model take effect immediately, and the funnel diagram is updated to reflect the new stages:

Set up baseline performance metrics

After you have set up the stages of your demand generation funnel, you can define the baseline stage-to-stage performance metrics. There are two metrics you need to define for each stage:

Baseline Conversion Rate

The average percentage rate at which leads move from one stage to the next. For example, if 100 unqualified leads typically generate 25 MQLs, that's a 25% conversion rate between those stages.

Baseline Velocity (Days)

The average number of days that a lead takes to move from one stage to the next.

You also need to set the global multiplier used for calculating pipeline and revenue amount projections. This is only set once for the whole model, not per stage:

Baseline deal size

The average amount of revenue generated when you close a deal and successfully convert an opportunity into a customer.

Set a model's baseline performance metrics

1. In the Activities section, click Settings to open the Activity Configuration page.

2. Click Measures > Impact Modeler to open the Impact Modeler settings page.

3. Optional: The system automatically displays the settings for the default model. To configure a different model, click Models, then click on the model you want to configure in the Models panel.

4. Under (1) Define stages and baseline metrics, click Edit Funnel Settings to show the funnel settings table.

5. Use the Baseline Conversion Rate and Baseline Velocity (Days) columns in the table to enter the performance metrics for each stage:

   

6. Under (2) Set baseline deal size, enter your average contract value amount into the Baseline deal size field.

7. To save and apply your baseline metrics, click Save changes.

Your changes to the model take effect immediately, and the funnel diagram is updated to reflect the metrics you set:

Optional: Set up segment-specific custom metrics

Baseline metrics are broad averages. If factors like conversion rate, velocity, and deal size vary significantly across your customer base, relying solely on the baseline metrics will limit the accuracy of your projections.

For more precise forecasting, assign custom metrics to specific segments. When an activity targets a defined segment (such as Enterprise prospects, which typically have slower velocities but larger deal sizes) the model automatically uses that segment's custom metrics instead of the baseline metrics.

In a pipeline model, you define segments using up to three dimensions. A dimension can either be an activity type group, or a list-type activity attribute (Drop-Down List or Multi-Select List). For each combination of values of the selected segments (such as activity types or attribute list options), you can define custom stage-to-stage conversion rates and velocities, as well as custom deal sizes.

Here are some examples of the types of segments you can define with different numbers of dimensions:

Example 1: One Dimension

You can create large-scale segments based on just one attribute.

Example segment dimension:

• Industry

Example dimension values:

• Healthcare

• Financial Services

Why:

Some industries have regulatory complexity that can significantly reduce velocity. For example, Financial Services and Healthcare can often have longer sales cycles due to regulatory compliance.

Example 2: Two Dimensions

You can combine two dimensions to define segments with more granularity. This is useful for dimensions that are strongly correlated in terms of their impact on the funnel.

Example segment dimensions:

• Product + Geography

Example dimension value combinations:

• Product A + North America

• Product A + APAC

Why:

Budgets and product-market fit can vary regionally. For example, a product might have a higher average deal size in North America, or prospects for the same product in APAC might take longer to go from SQL to Opportunity.

Example 3: Three Dimensions

If your organization has high-quality historical performance data and the ability to analyze it in depth, you can use up to three dimensions to capture the most granular scenarios.

Example segment dimensions:

• Product + Region + Channel

Example attribute value combinations:

• Product A (SMB) + North America + Paid Search

• Product B (Enterprise) + North America + Event

Why:

You might find that certain key attributes drive large variances in your demand funnel's metrics. For example:

• For an SMB-focused product in North America, digital ads might generate few MQLs from a lot of inquiries, but lead to short sales cycles for comparatively small deal sizes.

• For an Enterprise-focused product in the same market, in-person events like trade shows might drive much higher conversion rates and larger deal sizes than for the SMB-focused product — but these deals might also come with longer sales cycles.

Optional: Configure per-stage pipeline projection

By default, Impact Modeler projects revenue only for the final stage of the funnel (revenue generated by closed deals). If you want to see projections throughout the pipeline, you can optionally configure the model to calculate and show projections for other funnel stages as well.

For each stage where projection amounts are enabled, you can also set a custom label that reflects the terminology your organization uses for that stage, such as "Bookings".

When projections are turned on for a funnel stage, they are displayed on the details panel of all activities where Impact Modeling is enabled, on both tabs of the Impact section:

• On the Planned tab, the funnel chart displays a projected amount beside each stage where projections are enabled.

• On the Actual tab, the input table displays columns for recording stage-specific pipeline amounts.