Advisory Pipeline

An opportunity connects a household account to a named Relationship Owner and a business subject. The record carries an expected close date, an expected value in USD and a recorded win probability. Together with its stage, those details let Sales Manager review the open advisory book and ask what evidence supports the next move.

The lifecycle runs through New, Qualified, Proposal and Negotiation before a Won or Lost outcome. Qualification and proposal preparation use the conversation evidence attached to the opportunity. A household review can support that relationship work while retaining its own assessment and decision. Completing an assessment does not itself establish that the customer accepted an engagement.

• Ownership and scope. Relationship Owner works assigned opportunities within the authorized organization. The household account and responsible team member stay visible when Sales Manager examines the pipeline. A change of owner needs a deliberate handoff of the open conversation and its supporting evidence.
• Expected value. Keep the expected value and close date grounded in the advisory discussion. The open weighted forecast multiplies each expected value by its recorded probability percentage, divides by 100 and sums the results. Opportunities marked Won or Lost leave that open forecast; entries without a probability need attention before comparison.
• Customer outcome. A win needs verified customer acceptance evidence and the actual win date. A loss needs a reason the manager can read. Closing preserves the previous expected value and the relationship activities, so the team can understand the outcome without reconstructing the conversation.

Agree what qualification means for the firm’s advisory work and which documents support a proposal. Give Relationship Owner a clear rule for choosing an expected close date and recording probability. Discuss whether expected value represents an anticipated engagement amount or another consistent business measure; use the same definition across the pilot book.

Choose the evidence that demonstrates customer acceptance and identify the separate system responsible for any billing. Closing the advisory opportunity creates no invoice, payment or financial posting. If finance needs the accepted engagement, define and test that handoff through the connections plan.

Take a fictional household considering an expanded advisory engagement. Relationship Owner records the discussion as a meeting activity, qualifies the opportunity and attaches the material used to prepare the proposal. Sales Manager opens the opportunity from the stage board and checks that the expected value and close date agree with the conversation.

Rehearse both outcomes. In the accepted case, attach the customer’s acceptance evidence and record the win date before closing. In the declined case, keep the loss reason and retain the original expected value. Inspect the open forecast afterward: neither closed opportunity should remain in its total. The customer outcome analysis can still show both records and their supporting context.

• My Advisory Opportunities — Review the open conversations assigned to the signed-in advisor, with expected close dates and values.
• Advisory Stage Board — Discuss open opportunities by stage without losing the household or responsible owner.
• Open Advisory Pipeline — Compare expected value and probability across the authorized advisory book.

Read opportunity to proposal and customer outcome for the evidence expected at each handoff.