Next-step recommendations for deals

Generate deal-specific next-step recommendations based on stage, buyer signals, risks, and momentum.
Sales - Next-step recommendations for deals

Who it's for

Sales reps, Sales managers, Account executives, Founders, RevOps teams

Get Ready

Prepare the Required Inputs listed in the Workflow Prompt. Use as much detail as necessary.

How to use this prompt

1. Copy the Workflow Prompt.
2. Paste it into your AI tool.
3. Replace the "Required Inputs"
4. Run the prompt.

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Workflow Prompt

				
					You are a sales deal coach. Your task is to recommend the best next steps for an active sales opportunity based on its current stage, buyer signals, risks, and commercial context.

### Required Input
- Offer: [Describe what is being sold, e.g. "annual subscription to a customer feedback platform"]
- Buyer Profile: [Describe the company and buyer, e.g. "VP Customer Experience at a 300-person retailer"]
- Current Deal Stage: [State CRM stage, e.g. "Qualified", "Demo Completed", "Proposal Sent", "Legal Review"]
- Recent Deal Activity: [Describe recent calls, emails, meetings, or buyer actions, e.g. "demo attended by champion and ops lead, CFO not involved yet"]
- Buyer Goals and Pain Points: [List known goals or problems, e.g. "reduce churn, centralise feedback, improve reporting"]
- Known Stakeholders: [List roles and influence, e.g. "champion, economic buyer, IT reviewer, procurement"]
- Open Questions or Objections: [List unresolved issues, e.g. "budget approval, data migration, implementation timing"]
- Target Close Date or Timeline: [State known timing, e.g. "decision by end of month", "no clear timeline"]
- Seller Goal: [State what the seller wants, e.g. "advance to proposal", "secure decision-maker meeting", "avoid deal slipping"]

### Input Validation
Review all inputs before recommending next steps. If current stage, recent activity, buyer goals, stakeholders, objections, or timeline are missing or unclear, ask specific clarification questions. Do not recommend generic follow-up actions without enough deal context. Pause and wait for clarification.

### Instructions
Analyse the deal like a sales manager reviewing pipeline quality. Determine what the deal most needs next: more discovery, stakeholder alignment, business case strengthening, technical validation, proposal clarification, legal/procurement progress, urgency creation, or close planning.

Base recommendations on evidence from buyer behaviour and deal stage. Do not assume that positive interest equals readiness to close. Identify the highest-leverage next action, then provide supporting actions that reduce risk and increase clarity.

For each recommendation, explain why it matters, what the seller should do, what message or question to use, and what outcome would indicate progress. Include practical wording the seller can use in an email or call. If the deal appears mis-staged or weakly qualified, state that directly and recommend corrective action.

Keep the output focused. The goal is not to generate a long task list, but to identify the few next steps most likely to improve deal momentum and forecast confidence.

### Output
Provide the final answer in this structure:

1. Deal Situation Assessment
- Current stage accuracy
- Momentum level
- Main risk
- Main opportunity

2. Recommended Next Steps
For each recommendation include:
- Priority level
- Action
- Why it matters
- Suggested wording
- Expected buyer response or signal
- Deadline or timing

3. Best Immediate Next Action
- The single action the seller should take first
- Why this action comes before the others

4. CRM Update Recommendation
- Stage adjustment, if needed
- Next activity
- Risk note
- Forecast confidence

5. Manager Coaching Note
- What a sales manager should inspect or coach on this deal.
				
			

Optional advanced instructions

				
					Add a version that scores each next step by impact, effort, and urgency.
				
			

Example output

1. Deal Situation Assessment

Inputs used: Offer: annual customer feedback platform subscription. Buyer: VP Customer Experience at 300-person retailer. Stage: Demo Completed. Activity: demo attended by champion and ops lead; CFO not involved. Goals: centralise feedback, reduce churn, improve reporting. Stakeholders: CX champion, operations influencer, CFO economic buyer, IT reviewer. Objections: budget approval, data migration, implementation timing. Timeline: decision by end of month. Seller goal: secure decision-maker meeting and avoid slip.

Stage accuracy: Demo Completed is accurate, but not ready for Proposal Sent unless CFO criteria and data migration concerns are clarified. Momentum: moderate; engagement is positive but not executive-aligned. Main risk: CFO and IT are not yet involved. Main opportunity: buyer has clear reporting and churn-related pain.

2. Recommended Next Steps

  • Priority: High. Action: secure CFO business case meeting. Why: budget approval is open and CFO has not seen value case. Wording: “To make sure the proposal is built around Finance’s criteria, should we include the CFO for 20 minutes before finalising scope?” Signal: CFO joins or criteria are shared. Timing: within 3 business days.
  • Priority: High. Action: run migration scoping call with IT. Why: migration risk can block late. Wording: “Before we put dates in a proposal, let’s confirm data migration effort with IT.” Signal: IT validates scope or flags risk. Timing: this week.
  • Priority: Medium. Action: quantify reporting/churn impact. Why: strengthens business case. Wording: “What reporting gaps are creating the most churn risk today?” Signal: buyer provides metrics or examples. Timing: before proposal.

3. Best Immediate Next Action

Ask the champion to schedule a joint CFO and IT alignment step before proposal. This comes first because the known risks are approval and migration, not product interest.

4. CRM Update Recommendation

Stage: Keep as Demo Completed. Next activity: CFO/IT alignment request. Risk note: economic buyer not engaged; migration unresolved. Forecast confidence: Medium-low until stakeholders are aligned.

5. Manager Coaching Note

Manager should inspect whether the rep has confirmed CFO decision criteria, implementation timing, and IT migration requirements. Coach against sending a proposal too early based only on champion enthusiasm.

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