Team/Manager
Template
Free
Deal Slippage Analysis Template
Trace every pushed close date across a quarter back to its real root cause: budget, champion loss, competition, or process gap, using a fixed taxonomy instead of a vague "pushed to next quarter" note.
How to use it
Log every slip the moment it happens using the Slip Interview questions, tag it with a root cause code, and run the quarterly rollup at quarter-end to find your top 3 systemic causes instead of treating each slip as a one-off.
What's inside
- Per-deal slip log fields (original/new close date, times pushed, stage, root cause, recovery plan, outcome)
- 10-code root cause taxonomy (BUDGET, CHAMPION, AUTHORITY, COMPETITION, PROCESS, PRODUCT, PRICING, INTERNAL, EXTERNAL, NO_DECISION)
- The 5-question Slip Interview to run the moment a close date moves
- Quarterly root-cause rollup table with trend column
- Mutual Action Plan (MAP) checklist to prevent the next slip
Trace every pushed close date across a quarter back to its real root cause: budget, champion loss, or process gap, instead of relabeling it "pushed to next quarter" and moving on.
1. Per-Deal Slip Log
| Deal name | Rep | Original close date | New close date | # times pushed | Stage at push | Root cause code | Root cause detail | Recovery plan | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2. Root Cause Taxonomy (use these exact codes for rollup consistency)
| Code | Root cause | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| BUDGET | Budget not approved / reallocated / fiscal year change | Buyer confirms interest but funding isn't secured or was pulled |
| CHAMPION | Champion left, went quiet, or lost internal influence | Your internal advocate stops responding or changes role |
| AUTHORITY | Real decision-maker never engaged, or a new stakeholder introduced late | Deal stalls because someone with veto power just entered the process |
| COMPETITION | Competitive evaluation introduced or extended | Prospect adds/expands a vendor bake-off mid-cycle |
| PROCESS | Procurement, legal, or security review delay | Deal is commercially agreed but stuck in a review queue |
| PRODUCT | Technical fit gap surfaced late | A requirement discovered in week 8 that should have been caught in discovery |
| PRICING | Commercial negotiation stalled | Terms/price disagreement not resolved by the original close date |
| INTERNAL | Rep-side execution gap | Slow follow-up, no mutual action plan, poor qualification at the front end |
| EXTERNAL | Prospect-side macro event | Reorg, M&A, layoffs, budget freeze unrelated to your deal |
| NO_DECISION | Prospect deprioritized or went silent | No stated reason, the deal simply stopped moving |
3. The Slip Interview, 5 Questions to Ask the Moment a Close Date Moves
- What specifically changed on the buyer's side between when this date was set and now?
- Was there a mutual action plan in place with dated steps: and if so, which step broke first?
- Is the original champion still actively engaged, and do they still have the influence they had at deal start?
- Has a new stakeholder, competitor, or budget conversation entered the picture since the last forecast call?
- Is this a timing slip (still closing, just later) or a qualification slip (this was never a real opportunity)?
4. Quarterly Root-Cause Rollup
| Root cause code | # of deals | % of all slipped deals | $ of slipped pipeline | Trend vs. last quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUDGET | ||||
| CHAMPION | ||||
| AUTHORITY | ||||
| COMPETITION | ||||
| PROCESS | ||||
| PRODUCT | ||||
| PRICING | ||||
| INTERNAL | ||||
| EXTERNAL | ||||
| NO_DECISION |
Top 3 root causes this quarter: 1. 2. 3.
5. Mutual Action Plan (MAP) Checklist: Prevents the Next Slip
- Every stakeholder involved in the decision is named (not just "the team will review")
- Every remaining step has an owner and a date, not just a description
- The close date is confirmed by the buyer, not just set by the rep
- Budget approval status is confirmed in writing, not assumed
- A defined "what happens if this step slips" contingency exists for every step on the critical path