Target plan and coverage
Use this skill when a rep or a manager needs to know whether the next three months are covered: Monday planning, a monthly review, or any "are we going to hit it" question. Produces a per-month table for Month 0, +1 and +2 with target, booked revenue, the 80/55/35 booked benchmark, the gap, qualified pipeline and the 3x coverage verdict, plus where to focus. Also use for "pipeline coverage", "target plan", "booked versus target", "gap to target", "am I on track for next month", "Monday coverage run".
Tony DowlingDirector, CONVRGApplies when the question is forward: not "how did last month go" but "is the next quarter covered". Produces one verdict (on track, at risk, off track), a three-month table, and 2 to 4 lines on where this rep should spend the week.
The play
- Scope. Which rep, which anchor month. Default to the requester's own book and the current month. Month 0 is the anchor, +1 and +2 follow.
- Quotas. Read monthly rep quotas from the client's targets document in the client brain (one row per rep per month). Not there: HubSpot. Neither: ask. State the source of every figure in the output.
- Booked revenue. Read actual contracted revenue per rep per month from the client's revenue-position document in the client brain. Do not infer booked revenue from HubSpot stages, however confident the stage names sound. No document: ask for it to be uploaded; do not substitute pipeline.
- Open pipeline. Pull open HubSpot deals per rep by close date for each of the three months, with stage, amount and close date.
- Qualified pipeline (Stage 2+). Count only stages HubSpot's forecast configuration treats as comfortably forecast. Not configured: use the stage definition in the client spreadsheet. Neither: ask. A deal is Stage 2+ when a presentation has happened and pricing is on the table; nothing earlier qualifies.
- Per month compute Booked, Target, Booked % and the benchmark: Month 0 needs 80% booked, +1 needs 55%, +2 needs 35%. Maths and a worked case in references/coverage-math.md.
- Gap = benchmark amount minus Booked, floored at zero. Booked at or above the benchmark: mark the month "on track" and move on.
- Required coverage = 3 × Gap in Stage 2+ pipeline closing in that month. Compare with actual Stage 2+ pipeline. Report ratio and surplus or shortfall.
- Coach. Which month is most at risk, and is it a booked shortfall or thin pipeline? Coverage exists but is not booked: accelerate late-stage deals. Coverage short: generate new Call 1s this week. Give 2 to 4 bullets, specific to the deals and the numbers.
Edge cases: no deals for a rep in a month is a critical gap, not an error. Duplicate quota or booked rows: use the most recent. Deals missing amount or close date: list under "needs cleanup", excluded from the maths. On the scheduled Monday run, produce one summary per rep, led by a roll-up of which reps are most at risk.
What good looks like
- First thing I check that most people skip: whether "booked" came from the revenue-position document or from a HubSpot stage called something like "Verbal". Booked is contracted cash. Everything else is pipeline, however warm.
- Second tell: whether Month +2 was looked at at all. Most reviews stop at the current month, which is the one month nobody can still change much.
- The mediocre version: a current-month forecast with a weighted pipeline number, no booked line, one coverage figure for the whole quarter, and advice to "keep pushing".
- I know the output is right when each month has its own verdict and the coaching names which deals to accelerate or how many Call 1s to book, not "build pipeline".
- I know it has landed when the rep's Monday commitments match the month this review flagged.
Rules
- MUST take booked revenue from the revenue-position document, never from CRM stages.
- MUST state the source of every quota and booked figure.
- MUST apply 80/55/35 to Month 0, +1, +2 in that order.
- MUST require 3x the gap in Stage 2+ pipeline, closing in that month.
- NEVER count a deal as Stage 2+ unless a presentation has happened and pricing is on the table.
- NEVER treat a rep with no deals in a month as an error. It is the finding.
references/coverage-math.md
Coverage maths
The three-month horizon
| Month | Booked benchmark | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Month 0 (current) | 80% of target booked | Only 20% of the month can still come from pipeline; anything less means the month is already lost or already lucky |
| Month +1 | 55% booked | Half the month should already be contracted cash with four to eight weeks to go |
| Month +2 | 35% booked | A third contracted; the rest is what this quarter's Call 1s are for |
Per month
Booked % = Booked ÷ Target
Benchmark amount = Target × (0.80 | 0.55 | 0.35)
Gap = max(0, Benchmark amount − Booked)
Required coverage = 3 × Gap
Coverage ratio = Stage 2+ pipeline closing in month ÷ Gap
Status = on track if Gap = 0
= covered if ratio ≥ 3
= at risk if 1.5 ≤ ratio < 3
= off track if ratio < 1.5
Stage 2+ pipeline means deals where a presentation has happened and pricing is on the table, with a close date inside the month. Pipeline closing in a different month does not count toward this month.
Source order
| Figure | First | Then | Then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quota | Targets document in the client brain | HubSpot target or goal property | Ask |
| Booked | Revenue-position document in the client brain | Ask for the upload | Never pipeline |
| Stage 2+ definition | HubSpot forecast configuration | Stage definition in the client spreadsheet | Ask |
Duplicate rows for the same rep and month: most recent wins.
Worked example
Rep: one account manager. Targets document: £40,000 a month. Revenue-position document: Month 0 booked £34,000, +1 booked £18,000, +2 booked £6,000. Stage 2+ pipeline by close month: £10,000, £28,000, £30,000.
| Month | Target | Booked | Booked % | Benchmark | Gap | Stage 2+ | Required 3x | Ratio | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M0 | £40,000 | £34,000 | 85% | 80% | £0 | £10,000 | £0 | n/a | on track |
| M+1 | £40,000 | £18,000 | 45% | 55% | £4,000 | £28,000 | £12,000 | 7.0x | covered |
| M+2 | £40,000 | £6,000 | 15% | 35% | £8,000 | £30,000 | £24,000 | 3.75x | covered |
Verdict: on track. Where to focus: M+1 has the cover but is not booked; the week's job is to close two of the £28,000, not to prospect. M+2 is covered on paper; check the three largest deals really have pricing on the table.
Change one number: M+2 Stage 2+ at £9,000 instead of £30,000. Ratio 1.1x, off track. The coaching flips: this week is five new Call 1s, because nothing in the pipeline can be accelerated into a month that has no pipeline.
Output layout
Verdict: [on track | at risk | off track] Rep: [name] Anchor: [month]
| Month | Target | Booked | Booked % | Heuristic % | Gap | Stage 2+ Pipeline | Required 3x | Coverage Status |
Where to focus
- [2 to 4 bullets naming the month, the cause, and the move]
Sources: quota from [source]; booked from [source]; Stage 2+ per [source].
Needs cleanup: [deals missing amount or close date, by name]