# Qualification Stage-Gate Checklist

> The exact exit criteria a deal must clear at each pipeline stage before it's allowed to move forward in the CRM: built so 'stage' reflects real qualification, not just days since the last call.

Free checklist for sales managers. Topic: [Discovery & Qualification](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/topic/discovery-qualification/). Published by PeerLab in the [Sales Enablement Resource Library](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/). Source: https://www.peerlab.ai/library/qualification-stage-gate-checklist/

## How to use it

Build the exit criteria into your CRM as required fields per stage so deals can't be advanced manually without them, and run the stalled-deal triggers as a standing agenda item in your pipeline review meeting.

## What's inside

- Stage 1→2 gate: Lead → Discovery Scheduled
- Stage 2→3 gate: Discovery Complete → Solution Validation
- Stage 3→4 gate: Solution Validation → Proposal
- Stage 4→5 gate: Proposal → Negotiation/Verbal
- Stage 5→6 gate: Verbal → Closed-Won
- CRM field-locking rules
- Manager override protocol
- Stalled-deal review triggers

Each gate lists the exit criteria a deal must clear, and the CRM fields that must be populated, before it can move to the next stage.

## Stage 1 → Stage 2: Lead → Qualified / Discovery Scheduled
- [ ] Contact has a real, named pain confirmed in their own words (not inferred)
- [ ] Contact's role/title confirmed and logged
- [ ] Company fits ICP (size, industry, geography): confirmed, not assumed from list source
- [ ] A discovery call is booked with a specific date/time (not "will schedule")
- [ ] **Required CRM fields:** Lead Source, ICP Fit Score, Contact Role

## Stage 2 → Stage 3: Discovery Complete → Solution Validation
- [ ] Pain is quantified: a number, cost, or consequence attached (not just "it's annoying")
- [ ] Economic Buyer identified by name (even if not yet met)
- [ ] Decision process mapped: who's involved, roughly how a decision like this gets made here
- [ ] Timeline/trigger event identified: a reason this needs solving by a specific point in time
- [ ] Champion identified: someone internally advocating, not just a friendly contact
- [ ] **Required CRM fields:** Economic Buyer Name, Quantified Pain, Decision Process Notes, Close-Driving Event

## Stage 3 → Stage 4: Solution Validation → Proposal
- [ ] Decision criteria confirmed directly by the prospect (not assumed)
- [ ] Prospect has seen a solution walkthrough mapped to their specific pain (not a generic demo)
- [ ] Budget range confirmed, or a credible path to funding confirmed
- [ ] Competitive landscape known: named competitors in play, or confirmed there are none
- [ ] At least one additional stakeholder beyond the original contact has engaged directly
- [ ] **Required CRM fields:** Decision Criteria, Budget Range/Status, Competitors in Play, Stakeholder Count

## Stage 4 → Stage 5: Proposal → Negotiation / Verbal
- [ ] Formal proposal/quote sent AND reviewed on a call (not just emailed and left)
- [ ] Economic Buyer has personally engaged (call, email, or meeting: not secondhand via champion only)
- [ ] Procurement/legal process identified, including paper-process owner and typical cycle time
- [ ] Objections raised have been addressed and acknowledged by the prospect directly
- [ ] Mutual close plan exists with dates agreed by the prospect (not just drafted internally)
- [ ] **Required CRM fields:** Proposal Sent Date, Mutual Close Plan (attached), Procurement Contact

## Stage 5 → Stage 6: Verbal → Closed-Won
- [ ] Verbal commitment obtained from the Economic Buyer specifically (not the champion alone)
- [ ] Contract/paperwork in active review with procurement/legal (not "about to send")
- [ ] No open, unaddressed objections from any known stakeholder
- [ ] Signature date target confirmed by the prospect within the current forecast period
- [ ] **Required CRM fields:** Verbal Date, Contract Status, Expected Signature Date

## CRM Field-Locking Rules
- Deals cannot be manually dragged to a later stage in the pipeline view: advancement requires the gate's required fields to be populated first, enforced via validation rules, not the honor system.
- Any deal sitting in a stage more than **[X] days** beyond the average cycle time for that stage triggers an automatic flag for manager review.

## Manager Override Protocol
- Overrides require: (1) written justification in the deal's notes field, (2) named manager approval logged as an activity, (3) a committed date by which the missing criteria will close.
- Overrides are capped at **one per deal per stage**, a second override request escalates to a forecast call review.

## Stalled-Deal Review Triggers
- No stage movement in **21 days** → auto-flag on the manager's stalled-deal report
- No logged activity in **14 days** at Proposal stage or later → auto-flag
- Close date pushed more than **twice** → mandatory deal review with manager before a third push is accepted