# Deal Slippage Post-Mortem Template

> A structured after-action review to run on every deal that slips a forecasted quarter, so you find the real root cause instead of a vague "pushed to Q3" and the same pattern repeats next quarter.

Free framework for sales managers. 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-slippage-post-mortem-template/

## How to use it

Complete one copy per slipped deal within 5 business days of the slip; the rep fills Sections 1-4 solo, then the manager runs Sections 5-7 as a live 20-minute conversation, and Section 8 gets rolled up across the team each quarter to spot repeat root causes.

## What's inside

- Deal snapshot fields (name, amount, original vs. new close date, rep, manager, forecast category, stage)
- Timeline reconstruction table comparing planned vs. actual milestone dates
- 8-category root cause classification (single-threaded, no compelling event, champion left, legal/procurement bottleneck, budget not confirmed, competitive re-open, rep over-forecasted, internal reorg)
- Contributing factor checklist across process, product, competitive and internal causes
- Live 5-Whys root cause drill script
- Forecast accuracy honesty check
- Action items table with owner and due date
- Cross-deal pattern log to catch repeat root causes across the quarter
- Manager sign-off and calibration note

Run this within 5 business days of any deal slipping out of its forecasted quarter. One post-mortem per slipped deal. Rep completes Sections 1-4 before the meeting; manager facilitates Sections 5-7 live.

## Section 1: Deal Snapshot

| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Account name | |
| Deal amount (ACV/TCV) | |
| Rep | |
| Manager | |
| Original forecasted close date | |
| New close date (or "no date") | |
| Forecast category at time of slip (Commit / Best Case / Pipeline) | |
| Stage at time of slip | |
| Quarter slipped from → to | |

## Section 2: Timeline Reconstruction

List every milestone that was supposed to happen and what actually happened.

| Milestone | Planned date | Actual date | Gap (days) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery complete | | | | |
| Technical/economic buyer identified | | | | |
| Demo/POC delivered | | | | |
| Business case / ROI shared | | | | |
| Procurement/legal engaged | | | | |
| Verbal commitment | | | | |
| Contract sent | | | | |
| Signature | | | | |

## Section 3: Root Cause Classification

Pick the ONE primary category that best explains the slip (secondary factors go in Section 4).

- [ ] **Single-threaded**: deal died/stalled with one champion, no multi-thread into economic buyer or procurement
- [ ] **No compelling event**: buyer had no internal deadline forcing a decision by the forecasted date
- [ ] **Champion left / went dark**: internal champion changed roles, lost influence, or stopped responding
- [ ] **Legal/procurement bottleneck**: paperwork (security review, MSA redlines, procurement queue) outlasted the forecast window
- [ ] **Budget not confirmed**: deal was forecasted before budget was actually approved/allocated
- [ ] **Competitive re-open**: a competitor entered or re-entered the evaluation late
- [ ] **Rep over-forecasted**: deal was never realistically a Commit; optimism bias, not a buyer-side event, caused the slip
- [ ] **Internal reorg/priority shift on buyer side**, buyer's business priorities changed independent of our sales process

## Section 4: Contributing Factors (check all that apply)

- [ ] Economic buyer never met directly
- [ ] No mutual close plan existed or it wasn't followed
- [ ] Discovery was incomplete (unclear success criteria / metrics)
- [ ] Pricing/packaging required unplanned approval escalation
- [ ] Security/compliance review not started early enough
- [ ] CRM stage did not reflect real deal progress (stage inflation)
- [ ] Manager was not looped in until after the slip was already likely
- [ ] Deal desk / legal was engaged too late

## Section 5: 5-Whys Root Cause Drill (facilitate live)

1. Why did the deal slip? _______________________
2. Why did that happen? _______________________
3. Why did that happen? _______________________
4. Why did that happen? _______________________
5. Why did that happen? (this is usually the real, fixable root cause) _______________________

## Section 6: Forecast Accuracy Check

- Was this deal in Commit, Best Case, or Pipeline the week before the forecasted close date? _______
- Looking back, was that categorization honest given the evidence at the time? Yes / No
- If No, what evidence was ignored or downplayed? _______________________

## Section 7: Action Items

| Action | Owner | Due date | Prevents recurrence of |
|---|---|---|---|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |

## Section 8: Pattern Log

Does this root cause match any other deal slipped this quarter? List them here. Three or more deals sharing a root cause is a coaching or process issue, not a rep issue, escalate to the team-wide pattern review.

| Other deal | Same root cause? | Shared factor |
|---|---|---|
| | | |

## Manager Sign-Off

Manager name: _______ Date: _______
Calibration note (does this rep's forecast category discipline need coaching?): _______________________