How to run a deal review
A deal review is a focused working session on a single high-value opportunity. The point is not to celebrate the deal, it is to find the holes: the unmapped stakeholder, the untested assumption, the missing paper path, before they cost you the quarter.
Short answer
Run a deal review by going deep on one strategic opportunity: confirm the metrics and pain, map every stakeholder and their position, stress-test the decision process and paper path, identify risks, and leave with a written close plan. Focus on what could kill the deal, not on cheerleading it.
Step by step
Pick deals worth the time
Review your largest, most strategic, or most at-risk deals, not every opportunity. A good filter is any deal above a revenue threshold or any deal the forecast depends on.
Confirm the metric and the pain
Restate the quantified business problem and the value of solving it. If the rep cannot state the dollar impact the buyer is trying to capture, the deal has no real driver.
Map the buying committee and each position
List every stakeholder, their role, and whether they are a champion, supporter, neutral, or blocker. Flag any power player you have not met.
- Economic buyer: identified and met?
- Champion: will they sell internally when you are not in the room?
- Blocker: who loses if this deal closes?
Stress-test the decision and paper process
Walk the exact steps from verbal yes to signed contract: approvals, legal, security review, procurement. Enterprise deals die in the steps reps forget to map.
Name the risks and build a close plan
List what could kill the deal, assign an owner and mitigation to each, and write a dated mutual action plan through signature. End with concrete next moves, not vibes.
Common mistakes
Reviewing only deals that are going well. The deals that need review are the ones the rep is quietly worried about.
Accepting "they love us" as status. Sentiment is not a stage; a signed order form is. Push past optimism to committed process steps.
How Ardovo helps
Ardovo's deal object holds the buying committee, competitors, close plan, and risk log in one place, so a deal review is a live inspection instead of a slide rebuild. Rook flags single-threaded deals, missing economic buyers, and close dates with no supporting activity.
Frequently asked questions
Which deals deserve a deal review?
Your biggest by value, your most strategic (a marquee logo or new segment), and any deal your forecast is leaning on. Small, transactional deals are better handled in a pipeline review.
Who should attend a deal review?
The rep, their manager, and often a sales engineer or executive sponsor for large deals. Keep it small enough to be candid. The goal is honest problem-finding, not an audience.
How is a deal review different from a forecast call?
A forecast call is about the number across all deals and what will close this period. A deal review is a deep dive on the strategy, stakeholders, and risks of one opportunity. Different altitude, different purpose.
What is the single most important question in a deal review?
What would have to be true for this deal to be lost, and what are we doing about each of those things. It forces the rep past optimism into real risk mitigation.