What is Pipeline Contribution?

Pipeline Contribution quantifies the percentage of sales pipeline value that originates from marketing efforts (e.g., paid campaigns, SEO, content, webinars).

Formula:

Pipeline Contribution (%) = (Marketing-Sourced Pipeline Value ÷ Total Pipeline Value) × 100

This metric focuses on opportunity-stage deals, not just leads or MQLs, providing a clearer view into revenue potential influenced by marketing.

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Why It Matters in B2B SaaS

• Connects demand generation with pipeline growth
• Helps marketing justify its revenue-facing role
• Identifies how well campaigns and channels generate qualified sales opportunities
• Promotes alignment with sales on pipeline goals and expectations
• Improves forecast accuracy by tracking opportunity-stage metrics, not top-of-funnel activity

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How to Measure Pipeline Contribution

1.Define a marketing-sourced opportunity

• Common definitions: first-touch by marketing, inbound form fill, or MQL that converts to opportunity

2.Ensure CRM alignment

• Marketing automation and CRM tools (e.g., Marketo + Salesforce) must track original lead source

3.Tag opportunities by source

• Attribute deals to marketing if it drove the initial conversion or a key touchpoint

4.Calculate total pipeline vs. marketing pipeline

• Total pipeline = sum of all open opportunities
• Marketing pipeline = subset where source = marketing

5.Segment by channel or campaign for deeper insights

• Identify which marketing investments create the most pipeline impact

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Best Practices

• Align on attribution rules across Sales and Marketing
• Combine with conversion metrics (e.g., opportunity-to-close rate) to assess pipeline quality
• Benchmark performance across time periods, personas, and regions
• Don’t conflate pipeline with revenue—track both to see the full picture