Project Intake: The Sales Funnel for PMOs

Most PMOs I work with face the same problem: too many project requests and not enough time to do them all! I will admit, I’ve worked with one group that did not have this problem. They have plenty of money and were told that if it’s a worthwhile project, there’s ample funding and they can hire all the people they need. If you’re in that situation, no need to read on. Rest assured – the rest of us are envious!

But, if you’re like the other 99% of PMOs in the world, you need a way to manage this onslaught of potential work.

In the sales world, they have what’s known as the sales pipeline or sales funnel. This is a process whereby potential opportunities are matured, step by step, to fruition as a completed sale. Along the way, opportunities fall by the wayside. They may not have budget to buy, may not need the products on offer, or just don’t have enough interest.

Sales will draw this process as a funnel that has several stages. At each stage, a number of opportunities will fall out of the pipeline. Hence, the funneling effect. They start as opportunities (hey – I’ve got someone’s phone number!), progress to prospects (they actually my call!), become qualified prospects (they have budget!), and finally customers (wow – they actually signed the contract!)

What if PMOs could have a similar process? What if we had a funnel that allowed us to qualify project ideas step-by-step?

Currently, most PMOs take an idea and spend a lot of time and money giving it a full analysis before presenting it for final approval. How much time and money could be saved by funneling those ideas through some filters so that only qualified ideas are analyzed?

That’s the idea behind a Project Intake process. We start with an idea (hey – let’s redo the company website!), progress it to a request (here’s why we should re-do the website. It’ll pump up revenues!), qualify the request (the scorecard for the website redesign looks good!), create a full-blown business case (wow – the numbers for this redesign really pan out), then finally it becomes a project (the committee approved the re-design! Hooray!).

To work effectively, this really should be a portfolio process – not a project management process. Why? Because as we’re taking requests through the pipeline, they need to be compared to each other and winnowed down to the organizations ability to execute (budget, resources, and skills). By comparing requests as a slate early on, we can narrow down the number of requests that get the full analysis treatment, saving tons of money. By using a funnel approach, we can ensure the outcome is a portfolio of the most worthwhile projects that fit our organization.

So, do you have an effective Project Intake Funnel? If not, contact us. We can help you design one that fits your organization. And we’ll do so on an advisory basis, which gets the job done for a lot less than a consultant that looks like an FTE taking up desk space!

Just need a scorecard to help with that initial winnowing? We’ve got a best-practice scorecard that can be used as a starting point! And, of course, we can help you develop one tailor-made for your PMO.