Hello Sales Wagon deal-makers! Today’s issue tackles a problem every sales team faces but few truly solve: deals that sit. We’re breaking down deal progression and opportunity management—how to keep opportunities moving with purpose, clarity, and momentum instead of letting them quietly stall out in your pipeline.
🚦 Why Deal Progression Is Where Revenue Lives or Dies
Most lost deals don’t end with a clear “no.”
They fade away.
They stall in proposal.
They get “pushed to next quarter.”
They stay open long enough to give false hope.
Strong opportunity management prevents this by answering one critical question at every stage:
➡️ “What must happen next for this deal to move forward?”
If that answer isn’t clear, the deal isn’t real.
🧠 Deal Progression vs. Deal Activity (They Are Not the Same)
A common mistake is confusing activity with progress.
Activity looks like:
Emails sent
Calls logged
Meetings held
Demos completed
Progress looks like:
New stakeholders engaged
Clear decision criteria confirmed
Budget validated
Timeline agreed upon
Internal alignment achieved
You can be very busy and still go nowhere.
Opportunity management focuses on movement, not motion.
🧭 The Core Principle of Opportunity Management
Every stage in your sales process should represent a buyer commitment, not a seller action.
For example:
Discovery stage → Buyer confirmed pain
Demo stage → Buyer agrees solution fits
Proposal stage → Buyer reviewing pricing internally
Negotiation stage → Buyer aligned on terms
Closing stage → Buyer preparing for signature
If stages don’t reflect buyer behavior, forecasting becomes fiction.
🧩 Best Practices for Managing Opportunities Like a Pro
1️⃣ Define Clear Exit Criteria for Every Stage
Each stage should have non-negotiable requirements.
Examples:
Discovery isn’t complete without confirmed pain
Proposal isn’t sent without a decision-maker involved
Negotiation doesn’t begin without budget alignment
This protects your pipeline from inflated deals and wishful thinking.
2️⃣ Always Lock in the “Next Step”
A deal without a scheduled next step is already slipping.
Before ending any meeting, confirm:
What happens next
Who is involved
When it happens
What decision it supports
If the buyer won’t commit to a next step, that’s valuable information—not failure.
3️⃣ Identify and Multi-Thread Early
Deals rarely die because of price alone.
They die because of internal politics.
Strong opportunity management includes:
Mapping the buying committee
Identifying champions and blockers
Engaging multiple stakeholders early
Understanding each person’s priorities
The more threads you build, the harder it is for deals to disappear.
4️⃣ Track Deal Age, Not Just Deal Size
A big deal stuck for 120 days is riskier than a smaller deal moving fast.
Healthy teams monitor:
Time spent in each stage
Average deal velocity
Stalled opportunities
Recycled deals
Long deal age often signals hidden objections, missing authority, or weak urgency.
5️⃣ Use Notes and Context, Not Just Fields
CRMs fail when they only show numbers.
High-quality opportunity management includes:
Detailed call notes
Internal deal strategies
Stakeholder insights
Objections raised
Buying signals
This context allows leaders to coach effectively and step in when needed.
📊 How Great Opportunity Management Improves Forecasting
When deals progress based on buyer commitments, forecasting improves naturally.
Benefits include:
Fewer surprise slips
More accurate close probabilities
Better resource allocation
Stronger quarter planning
Higher confidence from leadership
Clean opportunity management turns forecasts into tools—not guesses.
🚨 Common Deal Stalling Red Flags to Watch For
Be cautious when you hear:
“We’re still thinking about it”
“Let’s reconnect next month”
“I need to run this by the team” (with no timeline)
“This isn’t a priority right now”
These aren’t dead deals—but they are signals that something is missing.
🚀 Final Takeaway
Deal progression doesn’t happen by accident.
It happens when sales teams manage opportunities with discipline, curiosity, and structure.
Every open deal should tell a clear story:
Why the buyer cares
What problem is being solved
Who is involved
What happens next
When opportunity management is strong, pipelines move faster, forecasts get tighter, and wins become more predictable.
And predictable wins are what great sales teams are built on.
That’s All For Today
I hope you enjoyed today’s issue of The Wealth Wagon. If you have any questions regarding today’s issue or future issues feel free to reply to this email and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Come back tomorrow for another great post. I hope to see you. 🤙
— Ryan Rincon, CEO and Founder at The Wealth Wagon Inc.
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