Pipeline scrubbing is a working session where every open opportunity gets a verdict. It is not the meeting where deals get coached. It is the meeting where value that does not describe a live buying process leaves the forecast, either through removal or through a reset that the buyer has actually confirmed.
The test is narrow on purpose. ORM treats a change in stage, close date, or amount as meaningful activity on a deal. Logged calls and emails are cheap to produce and tell you little. If none of those three fields has moved inside the window that deals like this one normally take to close, the record is a candidate for the scrub regardless of how busy the activity feed looks.
What a scrub decides
Every deal leaves with one of four outcomes. There is no fifth option where a deal stays and nothing changes.
| Outcome | Trigger | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Keep | Stage, close date, or amount moved inside the expected window | Nothing |
| Reset | Timeline moved and the buyer confirmed a new date | Close date and amount revised on the record |
| Nurture | Real account with no active buying process | Deal leaves the active forecast |
| Closed lost | No path forward and no buyer response | Reason code recorded at the point of close |
Scrub by value, not by deal count
Rank the scrub list by dollars. One stale $400,000 opportunity distorts the quarter more than forty stale $5,000 opportunities, and a scrub that works down an alphabetical list burns its hour on records that never mattered.
The size of the problem is usually larger than leadership expects. Across ORM's customer base, more than 10% of open pipeline has gone twelve months without a touch by the stage, date, or amount standard. All of that value still counts at full weight inside pipeline coverage, which is one reason a healthy looking ratio fails to predict the quarter and why the 3x coverage rule breaks down.
Rules that keep a scrub honest
- Require a buyer event behind every reset. A rep who cannot name the procurement review or budget release behind a new close date does not get to keep the date. - Scrub before the period starts, not after it ends. ORM customer data shows only 20% of pipeline carrying an in-quarter close date on day one closes inside that quarter, so the starting position deserves the scrutiny. - Preserve history. Correct records going forward and leave the archive intact. Bulk edits that rewrite past values break the pattern forecast accuracy depends on. - Fix the intake, not only the backlog. A pipeline that needs a heavy scrub every quarter has a qualification problem, and cleanup alone will not touch it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between pipeline scrubbing and a pipeline review?
A review discusses strategy and next steps on deals the team intends to work. A scrub exists to take value out of the forecast that should never have been in it. The review asks how to win the deal. The scrub asks whether the deal has earned its place on the board.
How often should you scrub the pipeline?
Monthly, with a mandatory scrub on day one of each quarter. Teams that scrub only at quarter end carry inflated pipeline for eleven weeks and then correct it in the one week where correction changes nothing. Getting the number right in the final week does not help anyone, because by then the quarter has already happened.
Should scrubbed deals be deleted?
No. Close them lost with a reason code, or move them to a nurture bucket that sits outside the active forecast. Deleting records destroys the history a forecast model learns from, and the model needs losses as much as it needs wins.
How do you keep reps from hiding deals during a scrub?
Remove the penalty for honesty. If closing a deal lost damages a rep's standing, nobody volunteers anything and the scrub becomes theater. Judge reps on how closely their forecast matches their result rather than on how much pipeline they carry.
Put these metrics to work
ORM builds custom revenue forecast models that turn concepts like pipeline scrubbing into prescriptive action for your team.
Schedule a Demo