Smash or PassPipeline addition

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It Doesn’t matter if you’re just starting your first ever sales job, a battle-worn rep turning up at a new company, a sales leader parachuted in to fix a team, or you’ve simply had a quarter so bad you’d rather not talk about it over a beer or ever again… the 30 60 90 still works.

Most people think of it as an onboarding plan. “New job, new me, here’s my tidy little spreadsheet.” But honestly, it’s more versatile than that. You can apply it to a brand-new role or to your current pipeline when you need to hit the big red reset button.

Think of it as spring-cleaning your sales process. Chuck out the dusty old opportunities that are clearly going nowhere, shine up the accounts that might still have life in them (Smash or Pass pipeline edition), and give yourself 90 days to get the machine running properly again.

Some of you will shout, “I don’t have three months to start  fix this!” Fair enough. But this isn’t about waiting nine months for glory. It’s about structuring your short-term and long-term moves so you actually know what you’re working with.

So here’s a true story that shows you how important Pipeline Smash or Pass is!

I once turned up in a new sales leadership role and was assured we had “more than enough pipeline” to hit target for the year. Music to my ears. We were sitting on about four times the quota in the CRM, which on paper looked bulletproof. But when I actually dug in, I realised most of it was make-believe. Deals endlessly kicked down the road. Stages nudged forward in hope, not reality. Basically, a graveyard dressed up as a pipeline.

So I went through it with a fine-tooth comb and slashed around 60% of what was there. Painful? Yes. Depressing? Absolutely. But it was the best thing I could have done in those first 30 days. Because now I knew what I was really up against, instead of fooling myself with fantasy pipeline maths. Better an ugly truth than a pretty lie, right?

That’s exactly why the 30-60-90 rule works. It forces you to stop guessing, cut the fluff, and face the reality of your territory and your deals.

Here’s how to structure it.

The First 30 Days: Foundations and Fast Wins

The first month is about getting your bearings without getting lost in planning purgatory.

Audit your patch.
What’s actually in your territory?
Where’s the white space, and which accounts are already covered?
You’d be surprised how often salespeople discover “their accounts” are basically the same four whales that everyone else is chasing.

Do a bit of CRM archaeology.
Dig around like an amateur Indiana Jones, which accounts are genuinely warm? Who opened an email six months ago and never got followed up with?
Re-engaging these is often the quickest way to book early meetings.

Go for quick credibility wins. Aim to put points on the board. Even one or two short-cycle deals or meetings with friendly accounts can buy you the space to go after the bigger prizes. No one ever complained about the rep who brought in revenue in month one, even if it wasn’t a million-pound deal.

And of course, do your homework. Product knowledge, competitor intel, customer stories. You’ll learn fastest by being in conversations, but you don’t want to be caught flat-footed either.

Top Tip: Use Google notebookLM to create quick digestible content.

Review checkpoint: At the end of 30 days, ask yourself, have I proven I can land quick wins and do I understand the lay of the land? If yes, time to scale. If not, adjust before you double down.

The Next 30 Days: Build The Engine

Now you’ve done your warm-up laps, it’s time to get the machine running.

Start outreach at scale. This means structured cadences across calls, emails, LinkedIn. Not spray and pray, but consistent, targeted outreach that compounds.

Segment your accounts. Stack-rank them not just by revenue potential, but also by speed to close. Big accounts are exciting, but a fat pipeline of endless 12 month deals will sink you if you’ve got no short-term action. It’s often the mid-sized biotech that signs in weeks that pays your bills, while the Big Pharma deals keep your name on the board's lips.

Multiply your pipeline. A good rule is three to five times your target. If your quota’s half a million, you need at least one and a half million in play. Anything less and you’re basically betting your house on one horse.
Use this tool to help HIT YOUR QUOTA FORMULA

Sharpen your plays. By now, you’ll have had some reps in the field. Refine your talk tracks, demos, and objection handling. If a story works with three customers, chances are it’ll work with thirty more.

And keep feedback loops tight. Share progress with your manager/team, pinch ideas from the top performers, and course-correct as you go.

Review checkpoint: At day 60, ask yourself, Is my engine actually running? 

Do I have enough pipeline, and do I know which plays are working? If not, fix the leaks before you pour in more fuel.

The Final 30 Days: Acceleration And Ownership

This is where you prove you’re not just new anymore. You’re a rep who drives revenue.

Pressure-test your pipeline. Which deals are moving, which are stuck, and which should be put out of their misery? Don’t hoard dead opportunities. They just clutter your brain and your CRM.

Pick a closing focus. Identify one or two deals you can realistically close in this window. Even modest closes at this stage prove you’re converting, not just prospecting.

Develop a territory strategy. Present a clear forward plan. Show you’ve thought beyond the quarter. Which accounts are strategic, which are tactical, and what does your rhythm look like? This is how you graduate from “newbie” to someone who owns their patch.

Establish your cadence. Prospecting blocks, meeting rhythm, pipeline reviews. By 90 days you should feel like you’re running your own system, not just being carried along by luck.

And this is the credibility moment. This is when your manager and your team should look at you and think, yep, they’re driving revenue.

Review checkpoint: At 90 days, ask yourself, am I closing, and do I have a repeatable rhythm? If yes, you’ve landed. If not, don’t panic, but be honest, adjust, and reset for the next 90.

Wrapping It Up

So that’s the 30 60 90. Not just a shiny framework for people starting new jobs, but a proper reset button you can hit whenever you need to get things moving again.

Do you already run something like this?
Or fancy some help putting one together?

We run sessions that walk you through how to build your own 30 60 90, whether it’s for an interview, a fresh start in a new role, or just hitting the reset switch on a dodgy quarter.

There’s a link below if you’d like to book a pipeline review call and talk through how to structure your plan.
We are always happy to jump on and help you map it out.
https://calendly.com/d/cw3q-pkh-yxr/pipeline-reveiw

1. Lead Generation: We’ll build target lists, write scientifically relevant messaging, and send messages on your behalf to book qualified sales meetings with biotech and pharma companies.

2. Training for Reps: A skill development platform for life science sales reps who want to improve their sales skills, exceed their quota, and take the next step in their career.

3. Training for Teams: If you want to upskill your team around prospecting, driving to close, key account management, AI, or any other topic, we can put together a training plan specific to your organization’s needs.

4. Strategy Call: Need more than training? Want help implementing and executing your sales strategy? In a 30-minute call, we will assess your company’s current situation and identify growth opportunities.