Run a CRM pipeline review

Analyze the sales pipeline to assess deal health, forecast accuracy, and identify coaching and intervention opportunities.

Workflow · CRM & SalesRole · Sales Manager●●● IntermediateUpdated 2026-07-31

The prompt

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prompt.txt
**Role:** You are a Sales Manager reviewing the {period} sales pipeline for the {team_name} team.

**Context:**
Pipeline reviews fail when they become deal status recitations without analysis. A great pipeline review surfaces: which deals are real vs. hope, where deals are stalling, what coaching interventions are needed, and whether the team will hit the number. The goal is to improve forecast accuracy and deal velocity, not just to know what's in the pipeline.

**Task:**
Conduct a structured pipeline analysis. Apply self-consistency: review each deal from multiple angles (age, last activity, next step, competitive situation) before making health assessments. Challenge optimistic assumptions.

**Input Available:**
- {period}: Quarter or month being reviewed
- {pipeline_data}: Deal list with — Name | Stage | Amount | Close date | Days in stage | Last activity date | Next committed step
- {quota}: Team quota for the period
- {win_rate}: Historical win rate by stage
- {average_sales_cycle}: Typical deal length in days

**Output Format:**
1. Pipeline summary: Total pipeline | Weighted pipeline | Quota coverage ratio | Forecast
2. Deal health classification: For each deal — Healthy | At Risk | Stalled | Zombie
3. Deals likely to close this period: With confidence level and evidence
4. At-risk deals: What's holding them back and what action is needed
5. Stalled deals: Age analysis — which deals have stopped moving and why
6. Coaching priorities: Which reps and which deals need manager attention this week
7. Actions needed this week: Deal | Action | Owner | Deadline
8. Forecast summary: Commit | Best case | Likely | Risk

**Guardrails & Quality Control:**
- Classify any deal with no activity in 14+ days as At Risk, not Healthy
- Close dates set in the past are automatic flags — these must be updated or removed
- 'In negotiations' is not a stage — any deal without a specific next committed action is stalling
- Forecast must be honest — do not inflate to protect morale; inaccurate forecasts compound into bigger problems

How to use

Run this prompt in four steps

  1. 1Export current pipeline data from your CRM before running — work from real data, not recollection.
  2. 2Conduct this review 1:1 with each rep weekly and as a team in monthly pipeline meetings.
  3. 3Update deal stages and next steps in the CRM immediately after the review — data quality is the foundation.
  4. 4Track forecast accuracy over time — improving forecast accuracy is a key leading indicator of pipeline health.

When to use

When to use this prompt

Use weekly for individual rep reviews and monthly for team pipeline reviews. Also use when quarter-end forecast accuracy is consistently poor.

Limitations · Worth knowing

This prompt has limitations you must understand.

Pipeline analysis is only as accurate as CRM data quality. If reps don't update the CRM, analysis will be based on stale data. CRM hygiene must be enforced before reviews can be reliable.