Hey guys, so I'm working with my cofounder on sales at a growing B2B startup, and we've been trying to get better at managing our pipeline as we bring in more prospects.

Earlier this year, we were talking to a company that seemed like a good fit, but they had an internal project taking priority, so the conversation eventually went quiet. We followed up recently just to see where things stood, and they replied pretty quickly saying they'd be happy to catch up. The tricky part is that they haven't really said anything about what's changed on their end or whether they're actually in a position to move forward. We don't want to assume they're ready to buy just because they're open to another conversation.

My cofounder wants to put the opportunity back in our pipeline, but I'm hesitant because we've had situations where a prospect seemed interested again, we spent time following up and preparing for calls, and nothing really came of it. At the same time, I was the one who suggested reaching out, so I don't want to be overly cautious either.

I'm trying to figure out how other sales teams handle these situations. Any advice would be appreciated, especially if you've found a way to manage this without making your pipeline either too optimistic or full of prospects you're barely talking to anymore.