Learning goal
After this lesson you can write testable stage criteria and describe every deal so that it is clear what happens next, who does it and by when. A pipeline in which these four details are right can be run in 30 minutes a week. One in which they are missing can’t be run at all – only discussed.
Stage criteria instead of gut feeling
A deal's stage says how far along the customer is, not how optimistic sales is. That's why every stage needs a criterion the customer has met: a confirmation, a commitment, an appointment. “I have a good feeling” is not a criterion. “The decision-maker named the budget range” is.
A criterion is verifiable if a third person can look it up in the CRM to see whether it is met. If you can't write it down, the deal is not in this stage.
The four details per deal
- Stage
- With the criterion met – see above.
- Next step
- A verb and a result: “Discuss the quote with Ms. Weber,” not “follow up.” The step describes what the customer knows or has decided afterward.
- Owner
- Exactly one name. Two names mean: nobody.
- Date
- A calendar day. “This week” is not a date. If the date is in the past, the deal is up at the next review.
An example deal: before and after
| Field | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Stage | Quote (open for 6 weeks) | Need clarified – the “Quote” criterion was never met: The quote was sent but never discussed |
| Value | “approx. 20–40k” | €24,000 net (estimate, logged) |
| Next step | “Follow up” | Discuss the quote with Mr. Aydin (decision-maker) and capture objections |
| Owner | Sales | M. Roth |
| Date | empty | Thu, the 14th of the month, 10:00 |
| Last customer response | empty | 41 days ago (acknowledgment of receipt) |
After the correction, the deal isn't further along, but more honest. It sits one stage earlier but has, for the first time, a step that can actually move it forward. And the customer's last response 41 days ago is now visible; that belongs in the review, not in the forecast.
Exercise
- 01For your stage model, write down one criterion per stage that the customer must have met.
- 02Open five open deals. For each deal, check: Is the criterion of the current stage documented? If not, move the stage back.
- 03For each deal, add the next step (verb + result), owner, and date.
- 04For each deal, note the date of the last customer response. Mark everything over 14 days.
Reflection aid
- How many of the five deals were one stage too far ahead? That is your optimism factor – and it distorts every forecast.
- How many had a date in the past or none at all? These deals were not managed but stored.
- Did a next step contain the word “follow up,” “check in,” or “stay on it”? Then the result of the step is missing.
The next lesson changes the subject: How do you check whether a manual task should be automated, and what does it actually bring after operating costs?
