Team/Manager
Toolkit
Free
End-of-Quarter Pipeline Scrub Toolkit
Everything a manager needs to run one clean, honest pipeline scrub in the final week of the quarter — a pre-scrub checklist, a word-for-word scrub script, and a tracker to run every deal through.
What's inside
- The pre-scrub prep checklist (run 3-5 days before quarter close)
- The scrub-meeting opening script
- The per-deal scrub script with hard-stop disqualifying questions
- The 4-verdict decision framework every deal must land in
- The full scrub tracker table, ready to copy into a sheet
- The post-scrub wrap-up script and exec-summary format
Part 1 — Pre-Scrub Checklist (run 3-5 business days before quarter close)
- Pull every open opportunity with a close date in the current quarter
- Add every opportunity with no close date but stage ≥ Proposal (these get scrubbed too — they're often quietly slipping)
- Flag any deal with zero logged activity in the last 14 days
- Flag any deal that has already slipped its close date once or more this quarter
- Pre-populate the tracker (Part 3) with deal name, rep, amount, current stage, current close date
- Block 20-30 minutes per rep on the calendar — do not try to scrub the whole team in one group call
- Send reps the tracker 24 hours ahead so they show up with answers, not surprises
Part 2 — The Scrub Script
Opening (say this to each rep before starting deal-by-deal)
"This isn't a status update — it's a gut check. For every deal we go through, I need one of four verdicts: In, Slip, Kill, or Split. If a deal doesn't clearly earn 'In,' it doesn't stay in this quarter's number just because it's uncomfortable to move it."
Per-deal script
- "What's the single piece of evidence that this closes by quarter end — something the prospect said or did, not something we're hoping for?"
- "Who's the signer, and have they personally confirmed the date?"
- "Is there anything outstanding on their side — legal, procurement, budget approval — that isn't done?"
- "If this doesn't close in the next [X] business days, does it become a Slip or a Kill?"
- "Is there any part of this deal that could close as a smaller scope this quarter, with the rest pushed?" (this surfaces Splits)
The 4-verdict framework
| Verdict | Definition | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| In | Confirmed signer, confirmed date, nothing outstanding | Stays in the quarter number as-is |
| Slip | Real deal, real interest, but a specific blocker means it won't close this quarter | Move close date, note the blocker and new evidence needed |
| Kill | No activity, no confirmed next step, or prospect has gone dark | Close-lost or moved to nurture — stop counting it |
| Split | Part of the deal can close now at reduced scope; the rest is real but later | Create the smaller in-quarter deal, push the remainder as its own opportunity |
Hard-stop disqualifying questions (if the rep can't answer these, the deal cannot be "In")
- "What's the exact next step, and does it have a date attached from their side?"
- "When did you last speak to someone other than your champion?"
- "Has anyone on their side used the word 'yes' about anything specific this week?"
Part 3 — Scrub Tracker (copy into a spreadsheet)
| Deal | Rep | Amount | Stage | Original Close Date | Verdict (In/Slip/Kill/Split) | New Close Date | Evidence/Reason | Follow-up Owner | Follow-up Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part 4 — Post-Scrub Wrap-Up
Manager closing script (say to the full team or in the recap email)
"After the scrub, our real in-quarter number is $[X] across [N] deals, which is [coverage ratio] against target. [N] deals moved to Slip, [N] were killed, and [N] split into a smaller in-quarter piece. Here's what each of us owns before [date]."
Exec-summary format (send up the chain same day)
```markdown
Quarter-End Pipeline Scrub Summary — [Date]
- Starting forecast: $[X]
- Post-scrub in-quarter number: $[Y]
- Deals moved to Slip: [N] ($[amount])
- Deals Killed: [N] ($[amount])
- Deals Split: [N] (in-quarter piece: $[amount])
- Coverage ratio post-scrub: [ratio]
- Top 3 risks to the number this week: [list]
```
How to use it
Run the pre-scrub checklist 3-5 days before quarter close, work the scrub script one rep at a time (not as a group), force every deal into one of the 4 verdicts with no exceptions, and send the exec summary the same day so leadership sees the real number before quarter-end surprises do.