Preparing Your Team for a Pipeline Review
What to do in the week before a facilitated pipeline review so your team gets maximum value from the session.
A facilitated pipeline review works best when reps arrive prepared to discuss deals honestly — not defend them. Here is the preparation checklist we send clients one week before a session.
For the sales manager
Export or clean up the pipeline view. We need to see active opportunities with stage, value, close date, and last activity. Duplicates and zombie deals from last year should be archived before the session.
Brief your team on the purpose. This is not a performance review. It is a structured look at deal quality. Reps who think they are being judged will say less.
Identify three deals you are unsure about. Bring your own questions. The best sessions include manager uncertainty, not just rep defensiveness.
For each rep
Update CRM notes for active deals. We will ask about next steps and buyer contact. “Check back next week” is not a next step.
Know your top five deals by value. Be ready to explain stage placement and what would move each deal forward or disqualify it.
Bring one deal you think should be disqualified. Voluntarily flagging a weak deal builds trust in the room and often saves more time than debating commit-stage fantasy.
What not to do
Do not spend the morning before the session building a presentation deck. We walk the CRM live. Do not invite the CEO unless they understand the session is diagnostic, not a verdict on individual performance.
After the review
We send a summary memo within three business days. Block 30 minutes the following week to assign actions from flagged deals. Reviews without follow-up are just expensive meetings.