Upgrade the quality of your pipeline, just like a top-tier baseball team upgrades its roster.
In baseball, Wins Above Replacement Player (WARP) has changed how teams evaluate talent. WARP measures how many more wins a player contributes compared to a replacement-level player — someone who could be easily swapped in from the bench, trades or the minors. It’s a way to capture real impact, cutting through surface-level stats like batting average or home runs.
Why does that matter? Because teams that prioritize WARP build more competitive rosters. They don’t waste time or payroll on players who can’t move the needle. They double down on those who consistently deliver real results.
Sales leaders can do the same.
Every sales team has “replacement-level deals" — opportunities that appear promising, but are fundamentally weak. Maybe the buyer isn't fully committed, the budget is shaky, or the timeline is vague. These deals consume time, energy and resources, but rarely close. And worse, they distort forecast accuracy.
Picture a rep managing ten deals. Three are replacement-level: low engagement, no clear decision-maker, no compelling event. Yet the rep keeps chasing them, hoping they’ll close. Meanwhile, the remaining seven deals — those with validated business cases, real sponsors and firm budgets — don’t get the attention they deserve. The result? Diluted effort, missed numbers and an unreliable forecast.
This is where Pipeline Grader becomes your sales team’s WARD (Wins Above Replacement Deal) calculator.
Pipeline Grader scores deals based on criteria that matter — behavioral markers of the prospect objectively indicating intent. It surfaces the strongest opportunities and flags those that are dragging down your pipeline. You’ll know which deals are worth doubling down on — and which should be disqualified or deprioritized. This is supplemented by an AI coach for enterprise sales that can flush out the nuances (based on 80 years of nuance interpretation) of your very particular fact pattern.
The impact? Focused reps. Higher win rates. Shorter sales cycles. More predictable revenue.
One company that implemented Pipeline Grader discovered that 25% of its pipeline was made up of replacement-level deals. By removing or sidelining those deals, the team focused on the remaining 75% — and saw a 30% higher close rate. Within one quarter, revenue increased 15%. Forecast accuracy jumped, too.
The takeaway is simple: stop settling for replacement-level deals. Use tools like Pipeline Grader to upgrade the quality of your pipeline, just like a top-tier baseball team upgrades its roster.
Ask yourself:
- What’s your team’s version of WARD?
- How many of your active deals are truly adding value?
- What would happen if your team focused only on those that could actually win?
Think like a GM. Evaluate your deals like assets. And build a sales engine that consistently delivers wins. Contact us and understand the immediate impact to your cash flow and value of the WARD approach. The analysis takes 5 minutes.
If you want to raise your sales team’s WARD score, email dave@moicpartners.com. Learn how you can be certain your pipeline is filled with top draft picks (apply here to improve your forecast accuracy).
