# Deal Review Meeting Checklist

> The manager's structured agenda for pipeline deal reviews - built to surface a stalling negotiation two weeks before it slips the quarter, not two days after.

Free checklist for sales managers. Topic: [Negotiation & Closing](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/topic/negotiation-closing/). Published by PeerLab in the [Sales Enablement Resource Library](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/). Source: https://www.peerlab.ai/library/deal-review-meeting-checklist/

## How to use it

Run the pre-meeting prep the day before, then work through the 7-step agenda per deal in the meeting itself - anything hitting 2+ red flags gets pulled into an escalation conversation before the meeting ends.

## What's inside

- Pre-meeting prep checklist for rep and manager
- 7-step per-deal review agenda with sample questions
- 10-item stalled-deal red flag checklist
- Negotiation-specific probing questions
- Commitment and next-step scripting
- Escalation trigger checklist
- Post-review manager action list
- Cadence guidance by deal size

## Before the meeting (rep prep - due 24hrs prior)

- [ ] CRM stage, close date, and amount are current (not stale from last review)
- [ ] Last buyer interaction logged with date and next step
- [ ] Stakeholder map attached or updated (see Close Plan Template)
- [ ] Any redlines, legal terms, or discount requests flagged with status
- [ ] One-line 'what's the actual blocker' statement written before the meeting starts

## Before the meeting (manager prep)

- [ ] Review deal age in current stage vs. average cycle time for this segment
- [ ] Check last-touch date - flag anything with no buyer contact in 10+ business days
- [ ] Note any deal that has moved close date more than once

## Per-deal review agenda (run this exact sequence, 6-8 minutes per deal)

1. **State the deal in one sentence.** Account, amount, current stage, close date.
2. **What did the buyer say or do since we last talked?** (Not 'what did you do' - what did THEY do. Silence from the buyer is itself the answer.)
3. **What is the specific thing standing between us and signature?** Force a real answer - 'still evaluating' is not a blocker, it's an evasion. Ask 'evaluating what, specifically, and against what criteria?'
4. **Who else needs to say yes that hasn't yet?** Confirm the stakeholder map is current, not assumed.
5. **What has been asked of us that we haven't answered?** (Pricing, legal terms, security review, references.)
6. **What is the rep's specific ask of the buyer for this week?** Must be a dated, named action - not 'follow up.'
7. **What does the manager need to unblock this?** (Pricing exception, exec involvement, legal escalation, reference call.)

## Stalled-deal red flags (check any that apply - 2+ checked means this deal needs manager intervention this week)

- [ ] Close date has moved more than once
- [ ] No buyer-initiated contact in the last 2 weeks
- [ ] Champion has gone quiet or is no longer responding directly
- [ ] Deal has been in the same stage for longer than 1.5x average cycle time
- [ ] Rep cannot name the economic buyer
- [ ] Rep cannot name the buyer's internal deadline or urgency driver
- [ ] Legal/security review has no tracked status or owner
- [ ] Discount has been requested but not yet traded for anything
- [ ] The only next step on record is 'circle back' or 'check in'
- [ ] Deal value or scope has shrunk since the last review with no explanation logged

## Negotiation-specific probes (use once a deal enters active negotiation)

- 'What have they countered on, and what did we trade for our last concession?'
- 'What's our walk-away on this one, and does the rep know it?'
- 'Has procurement introduced anything net-new since legal review started?'
- 'What's the buyer's real deadline, and did they tell us or did we assume it?'

## Escalation triggers (any one of these routes to manager or deal desk same day)

- [ ] Discount request above rep's approval authority
- [ ] Non-standard legal term requested (liability cap, indemnification, data terms)
- [ ] Buyer has requested a call with an executive sponsor
- [ ] Deal has stalled 2+ consecutive review cycles with no new information

## After the meeting (manager actions, same day)

- [ ] Log every commitment made in the meeting with owner and date
- [ ] Send any escalations (pricing, legal, exec ask) before end of day
- [ ] Update forecast category if the deal's real status contradicts the CRM stage

## Cadence guidance

- Deals under 1x average deal size: review biweekly, or weekly once in negotiation stage
- Deals at or above 3x average deal size, or any deal in the final two weeks of quarter: review weekly regardless of size
- Any deal flagged 2+ red flags: review every 3-4 business days until resolved or clearly moved to closed-lost