Bad-Fit Deal Red Flags Checklist
The disqualification checklist managers run in pipeline review to kill dead deals before they waste a quarter of forecast credibility and rep time.
What's inside
- 7 categories of red flags: Authority, Budget, Need/Pain, Timeline, Process, Champion, Engagement
- 28 specific, checkable red-flag items across those categories
- A 3-tier scoring threshold: Kill / Downgrade & Re-verify / Keep as forecast
- The exact 3 questions to ask the rep on any deal that scores in the danger zone
- A 'zombie deal' definition to standardize what counts as dead in your CRM
- Designed to run out loud in under 3 minutes per deal in pipeline review
Pipeline Review Disqualification Tool
Run this against every deal a rep wants to keep in active forecast. It's designed to be used out loud, in the room, in under 3 minutes per deal. The goal isn't to punish reps — it's to stop hope from being forecast as pipeline.
Category 1: Authority
- No one above an individual contributor has engaged on this deal
- The rep cannot name who signs the contract
- The named "decision maker" has never been on a call
- Procurement/legal has not been mentioned despite deal size warranting it
Category 2: Budget
- No number has been discussed — not even a range
- Rep is guessing at deal size based on a package/tier, not a stated need
- Prospect has explicitly said "no budget" more than once with no plan offered
- Funding source is unclear (which cost center, whose P&L)
Category 3: Need / Pain
- No quantified business impact exists (no $, no hours, no risk figure)
- The stated pain is generic ("always looking to improve") not specific
- Prospect initiated no action of their own since first contact
- The problem could be solved with something they already own
Category 4: Timeline
- No date has been given for a decision
- The date given has already slipped once with no new date set
- There is no external event forcing a decision (renewal, audit, launch, mandate)
Category 5: Process
- Rep cannot describe the prospect's evaluation/procurement steps
- No next step is on the calendar (only "will follow up")
- Prospect has declined a proposed next meeting more than once
Category 6: Champion
- No one internally is advocating for this without prompting
- The only contact is below the level that can approve or influence budget
- Fewer than 2 people at the account have engaged in 30+ days
Category 7: Engagement
- Prospect has gone dark (no response) for 14+ days
- Every call has been rescheduled at least once
- Rep, not prospect, is doing 100% of the outreach with zero reciprocation
Scoring
| Red flags checked | Verdict | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 0–3 | Keep in forecast | Healthy deal, standard cadence |
| 4–8 | Downgrade & re-verify | Move out of committed forecast; rep must close 2 specific gaps within 2 weeks or it downgrades further |
| 9+ | Kill | Remove from active pipeline this week. Mark as disqualified, log the reason, move on |
The 3 Questions for Any Deal in the Danger Zone
Ask the rep directly, in the room:
- "If this closed exactly on the date in the CRM, who signs it — and have they told you that themselves?"
- "What has the prospect done, unprompted, in the last two weeks that shows this is still alive?"
- "What has to be true in the next 14 days for this to stay in forecast — and what happens if it isn't?"
If the rep can't answer question 1 with a name, the deal doesn't belong in committed forecast regardless of stage.
Definition: "Zombie Deal"
A deal that has been open for longer than 1.5x your average sales cycle, has had no stakeholder-initiated action in 30+ days, and has no dated next step. Zombie deals should be auto-flagged for this checklist every pipeline review, not left to rep discretion.
How to use it
In weekly or monthly pipeline review, run each deal a rep wants to keep in forecast against the 7 categories, tally checked red flags, apply the scoring table, and use the 3 questions on anything landing in the danger zone.