15 Tests to Fix Your Pipeline & Revenue - Why Your Startup Isn’t Growing

There’s a moment almost every founder hits.

You’ve got a good product.
Customers like it.
Some deals close.

But growth… won’t stabilise.

One month is strong.
The next month is quiet.
Then a big deal saves the quarter.

At that point, most founders assume they have a marketing problem or a sales problem.

They don’t.

They have a system problem.

What looks like “growth” in many startups is actually a collection of activities — campaigns, outreach, demos, referrals, founder heroics — not a repeatable machine. A real company scales when revenue stops depending on individual effort and starts depending on a process.

Predictable growth comes from three connected layers:

Demand → Conversion → Revenue

Below are the 15 tests that diagnose exactly where your growth engine is breaking.

Layer 1 — Demand Reality (Top of Funnel)

Are you solving a problem the market actually pulls?

If this layer is wrong, nothing downstream matters. You can optimise ads, improve demos, and hire salespeople — and still not grow.

1. ICP Self-Recognition Test

Do buyers immediately recognise themselves as your customer?

When the right prospect reads your homepage, they should feel:

“This is describing my situation.”

Not “interesting.”
Not “maybe useful.”
Recognition.

If you have to explain who your product is for, your ICP definition exists only internally — not in the market.

Failure symptom: lots of polite interest, few serious buyers.

2. Trigger Event Validation

Is something happening that makes buyers actively search for a solution?

People rarely buy because of features. They buy because a situation forces them to act.

Examples:

• new regulation

• hiring growth

• new office

• system migration

• audit or compliance deadline

Without a trigger event, you have awareness — not demand.

Failure symptom: long nurturing cycles and “circle back later.”

3. Urgency Proof

What happens if they delay buying?

Real markets have consequences.

If waiting costs nothing, buying won’t happen.

Urgency often comes from:

• deadlines

• risk

• lost revenue

• operational failure

• competitive pressure

Failure symptom: deals stall indefinitely in “consideration.”

4. Founder Dependency Test (Demand)

Can demand exist without the founder?

If every qualified lead originates from:

• your network

• your reputation

• your content

• your personal selling

You don’t have demand.
You have founder gravity.

Failure symptom: the pipeline collapses when the founder stops outreach.

5. Cold Recognition Test

Do strangers understand the problem within 10 seconds?

A cold buyer should quickly grasp:

• the problem

• who it affects

• Why it matters

If your messaging requires explanation, your market fit is weak.

Failure symptom: You spend the first 20 minutes of every call educating.

Layer 2 — Conversion Clarity (Middle of Funnel)

Why deals stall, hesitate, or disappear.

At this stage, the buyer is interested — but uncertainty still blocks the transaction.

6. Value Articulation Test

Is your value instantly clear?

Buyers subconsciously evaluate:

• cheaper

• faster

• safer

• higher revenue

• lower effort

If they have to calculate your value, they won’t.

Failure symptom: “This looks good, we just need to think about it.”

7. Message Consistency Test

Does your story stay consistent from marketing to sales?

Many companies:

• market speed

• sell customization

• close on price

That breaks trust.

Your positioning must remain stable across:

• website

• sales calls

• proposal

• onboarding

Failure symptom: deals restart from zero at every stage.

8. Proof Test

Do buyers trust you yet?

B2B buyers don’t just buy solutions — they buy risk reduction.

Proof includes:

• case studies

• pilots

• testimonials

• references

• usage evidence

No proof = perceived risk.

Failure symptom: “We need internal approval.”

9. Stall Pattern Test

Where do deals consistently slow down?

Every funnel has a choke point:

• after demo

• before proposal

• legal review

• ROI discussion

You don’t fix conversion by doing more sales activity.
You fix the conversion by removing friction at the exact stall location.

Failure symptom: pipeline full, revenue low.

10. Drop-Off Analysis Test

Why do buyers disappear completely?

Analyse lost deals:

• industry

• company size

• use case

• budget

• stakeholder type

Patterns reveal mis-targeting or mis-positioning.

Failure symptom: “We had lots of conversations, but nothing closed.”

Layer 3 — Revenue Engine (Bottom of Funnel)

Where predictable growth actually comes from.

This is the most neglected layer — and the most important.

11. Price Acceptance Test

Do customers accept pricing without negotiation?

Healthy products:

• don’t require discounts

• don’t need custom packaging

• don’t need constant justification

If pricing resistance is universal, value perception is unclear.

Failure symptom: every deal is negotiated.

12. Sales Cycle Predictability

Can you forecast when deals close?

Predictable growth requires time predictability.

If your close times vary wildly (2 weeks vs. 7 months), forecasting is impossible—and scaling marketing spend becomes dangerous.

Failure symptom: revenue surprises every quarter.

13. Deal Path Separation

Are some deals consistently fast, while others are low?

Every business has a “golden path” customer — the buyer who:

• The problem is urgent

• Authority is clear

• Onboarding is easy

Your real ICP is not who can buy.
It’s the one who buys quickly.

Failure symptom: the sales team chases everyone.

14. Founder Dependency Test (Closing)

Can the team close without the founder?

If deals only close when the founder joins:

• trust sits with the individual

• not the company

Scaling stops here.

Failure symptom: the founder attends every late-stage call.

15. Repeatability Test

Do you deliver a standard offer or bespoke work?

Predictable growth requires:

standardised outcome + minimal customisation.

If every sale creates a new product, you are a services business regardless of branding.

Failure symptom: revenue grows, but margins collapse.

What These 15 Tests Reveal

Most startups don’t fail because the product is bad.

They fail because:

• Demand is unclear

• Conversion is fragile

• Revenue is non-repeatable

When all three layers align, something important happens:

You stop chasing sales
and start running a growth engine.

You can forecast.
You can hire.
You can invest confidently.

That’s predictable growth.

You can run the full free diagnostic here:
https://b2bgrowthbooks.com

If your growth currently depends on hero sellers, last-minute deals, or founder effort — these 15 tests will show you exactly what to fix first.