This is the checklist we run against every client org on a weekly basis. You can do it manually with reports, or automate it entirely. Either way, running it consistently is what separates forecast accuracy from forecast mythology.
Deals
- Close dates in the past. Any open deal with a close date before today needs a decision: update the date or close it lost. No exceptions.
- No activity in 30+ days. Flag and require a next-step log. A deal without a next step isn't in your pipeline — it's in your wishlist.
- Placeholder amounts. Round numbers ($10K, $25K, $50K) that haven't changed since deal creation. Require a justified amount at Proposal stage.
- Stage pile-ups. Any stage that holds more than 30% of pipeline is a parking lot. Drill into the specific deals and understand why they're not moving.
- Close-date slips (repeat offenders). Any deal that has slipped more than twice deserves a manager conversation, not just a date update.
- Commit without next step. A deal committed to close this quarter with no scheduled next step is a problem. Flag every one.
Closed deals
- Closed-lost without a reason. Require loss reason on every closed-lost. Backfill anything from the last 90 days that's missing.
- Closed-won without a primary contact. How do you renew or expand if you don't know who closed it?
Contacts & accounts
- Unowned leads. Any lead created more than 24 hours ago without an owner needs assignment or disqualification.
- Duplicate contacts. Run a dedupe check on email domain. Duplicates corrupt activity history and make account-based motions impossible.
- Accounts with no open opportunity and no recent activity. These are either dead accounts or missed upsell territory. Know which.
Coverage
- Active pipeline coverage ratio. Total amount of open deals with activity in the last 30 days, divided by remaining quota. This is your real coverage number. If it's below 2x with less than 6 weeks in the quarter, you have a problem to solve now, not at QBR.
All 12 of these run automatically in Pipeline Pulse — hourly, against live CRM data. The weekly report surfaces only what failed and what needs a decision.
