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.
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
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.