# Deal Risk Red-Flag Checklist

> 12 warning signs that predict a deal will slip or die, with a scoring threshold and an immediate next action for each, so a rep catches the problem in week two instead of week twelve.

Free checklist for sales reps. Topic: [Pipeline, Deal Management & Forecasting](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/topic/pipeline-deal-management-forecasting/). Published by PeerLab in the [Sales Enablement Resource Library](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/). Source: https://www.peerlab.ai/library/deal-risk-red-flag-checklist/

## How to use it

Run this against any deal in your pipeline, especially anything that's been in the same stage for more than two weeks: two or more checked boxes means intervene now, not at the next forecast call.

## What's inside

- Single-threaded contact flag
- Champion gone quiet 5+ business days flag
- No economic buyer meeting flag
- Rep-proposed (not buyer-stated) timeline flag
- No compelling event flag
- 'Just waiting to hear back' with no date flag
- Legal/security/procurement not yet engaged flag
- Champion can't name the approval chain flag
- Unconfirmed 'budget not an issue' flag
- Meetings being rescheduled or shortened flag
- Scoring bands (0-1 healthy, 2-3 at risk, 4+ likely to slip) with immediate actions per flag

*12 warning signs that predict a deal will slip or die*

Check any that apply to a deal you're working right now. **Two or more checked = high risk of slip.** Catch it in week two, not week twelve.

1. **☐ Single-threaded contact.** You have a real relationship with exactly one person at the account, and no other contact would take your call if that person left tomorrow.
2. **☐ Champion has gone quiet for 5+ business days** after previously being responsive, with no calendar item scheduled.
3. **☐ No economic buyer meeting has happened.** You've never been in a room (or on a call) with the person who actually signs, only heard about them secondhand.
4. **☐ The timeline is yours, not theirs.** The close date on the deal was proposed by you, not stated independently by the buyer.
5. **☐ No compelling event.** Nothing costs the buyer money, time, or risk if they simply do nothing this quarter.
6. **☐ "Just waiting to hear back" for more than one week** with no specific date given for when you'll hear back.
7. **☐ Legal/security/procurement has not engaged**, despite a close date inside the current stated close window.
8. **☐ The champion can't name who else has to approve it**, or gives a vague answer like "it should just need a signature."
9. **☐ Budget was described as "not an issue"** but no one can point to a line item, PO, or approved spend category.
10. **☐ Meetings are getting rescheduled or shortened**, especially by the buyer side, especially more than once.
11. **☐ The buyer's internal champion is junior relative to the deal size** and has never successfully sold anything similar upward before.
12. **☐ No mutual action plan exists**: there is no document, however informal, that both sides agreed to with dates and owners.

## Scoring
- **0–1 checked:** Healthy. Proceed on current timeline.
- **2–3 checked:** At risk. Address the specific flags this week, don't wait for next review.
- **4+ checked:** Likely to slip or die this period. Requalify from the top: is there really a deal here, or is this an opportunity that should be re-worked as prospecting?

## What to do the moment you check a box (don't wait for the weekly review)
- **Single-threaded / no economic buyer access →** ask your champion directly: "Who else should be in the next call, and can you set it up?" If they can't or won't, that itself is diagnostic.
- **Gone quiet →** use the companion Stalled Deal Revival Playbook rather than sending another "just checking in."
- **No compelling event →** go back to discovery. A deal without urgency isn't a Q-this-quarter deal, recategorize it honestly.
- **No mutual action plan →** propose one in writing today, even a simple three-line email: "Here's what I understand still needs to happen and by when, did I get that right?"