Deal reviews help sales leaders strategize the path forward to get more deals done. These meetings are an opportunity to identify and mitigate potential risk and hold the sales team accountable for implementing a strategy to move their highest priority deals forward.
Unfortunately, many teams rely on deal reviews fueled with anecdotal data shared by sales reps. This gives sales leaders, reps, and the rest of the team an incomplete view of what’s happening with an account or opportunity. And sales reps often feel that deal reviews are time-consuming, pressure-packed exercises without a direct benefit.
Using AI tools for sales teams, it’s possible to turn deal reviews into efficient, team-oriented, problem-solving sessions that give your reps a selling advantage. Instead of leading inefficient deal reviews filled with best-guess suggestions, you can chart a path forward for your reps with data-formed confidence.
What does a good deal review look like?
Sales leaders should set out to achieve three goals during their deal reviews.
1. Involve the entire opportunity team
Reps must communicate with all relevant stakeholders throughout the process of a deal. It only makes sense that their leader takes the same approach with the team. Conducting reviews with only one sales rep leaves the door open for miscommunication and dysfunction within the team. By holding reviews with the entire opportunity team, you can rely on a 360-degree perspective and collaborate more effectively.
2. Uncover gaps and risks in the opportunity
Opportunity team members who come to deal reviews expected to provide a “general update” may not offer the complete and accurate insights the team needs to move forward. You can move on from the all too common “it’s going ok” and “not much to report here” responses by using data-driven sales tools to help team members and sales leaders identify gaps and risks in each opportunity.
3. Strategize the next steps
Always conclude the review by discussing each team member's next best steps to get the deal done. Delegate appropriately and ensure each team member has practical and timely goals to work toward.
Running a good deal review starts with setting expectations
Airtight deal reviews start before the meeting and continue throughout the sales process. As a sales leader, you are responsible for ensuring that the opportunity team is clear on these expectations.
Before the review
Reps should document all critical information (e.g., MEDDICC, Smart Map, etc.) and share it with the team at least 24 hours before the meeting, giving all attendees the time and information they need to align on the deal during the meeting.
During the review
Reps should provide a quick background on the deal and describe any challenges or gaps they face so that the opportunity team can discuss how to resolve them.
After the review
Reps should own the action plan and keep the team updated as the deal progresses.
Setting goals for before, during, and after deal reviews makes the meetings flow more smoothly. It also makes the deal reviews a natural part of the sales cycle rather than a disruption. When the opportunity team consistently meets (and exceeds) timeline-based expectations set during the reviews and closing deals, you’ll know you’re getting it right.
Three steps to leading data-driven deal reviews
With goals and expectations in place, it’s time to discuss three ways to run data-driven airtight deal reviews and how to use a sales AI tool to facilitate the process.
1. Identify at-risk sales opportunities that need extra focus
First, we must determine which accounts need the team’s immediate attention. Here, you can leverage AI to deliver the insights you need for more effective meetings. A sales dashboard provides a unified, high level view of the status of all opportunities in the pipeline. It is especially helpful for 2nd and 3rd line sales leaders who are looking across several teams and territories where they may not have individual deal-level knowledge.
All information needed for a deal review is immediately available for discussion, including scorecard completion and proactive identification of deals that are at-risk.
Sales leaders can get answers to questions like:
- Are reps engaging with executives within the account? If so, how many and how often?
- When was the last time the rep contacted each account stakeholder?
- Which deals have MEDDICC Scorecards less than 50%?
- Which stage is each deal in? Are any of them stuck in the pipeline?
- Which deals have the highest backfill potential should any pipeline deals fail?
With these insights, you and your team can use complete, accurate, and real-time data to create a de-risking strategy for at-risk deals. And invest more energy into the opportunities most likely to close.
2. Pinpoint key relationships with an AI-powered org chart
Cultivating successful deals hinges on building and maintaining solid relationships with key stakeholders. While it’s not realistic (or wise) for sellers to be in touch with all stakeholders at all times, there is a way to ensure they’re pulling the right levers with the right people at the right times during the selling cycle.
An AI-powered org chart can help reps easily develop interactive relationship maps that pull in data from many different places to provide a complete view of the relationship. They help the team quickly understand who is involved in a deal, their role in the organization, and a score which indicates their level of engagement on the opportunity. When reps bring a completed org chart to a deal review, the team can proactively work to develop a strategy to build and maintain relationships with any new stakeholders as they continue to develop their existing relationships.
With an AI-powered org chart, you won’t need to ask questions like these:
- When were we last in touch with Ruth, the VP of Sales?
- Who do we know in sales who can contact Andy in accounting for a peer-to-peer talk?
- How many executives are we in touch with?
- How do we get in touch with James, the CFO?
AI-powered org charts give your team access to all the data they need to develop the right relationships. This tool forgoes the need to dig through emails for contact information or sit through long pauses while team members perform research during meetings. With immediate access to accurate data, your team can focus on developing an outreach strategy to help shorten the sales cycle.
3. Dig deep using a sales methodology
A sales methodology is a sales team’s guiding compass in navigating deals. An effective sales methodology increases win rates and helps leaders coach their teams. Applying an organization’s sales methodology during deal reviews encourages sellers to take a more analytical approach to their deals, helping them dig in for more details. This approach also allows sellers to see their deals from a leader’s point of view.
Adhering to a sales methodology is difficult to enforce and measure without the help of an AI-powered tool to help automate the process.
A properly completed MEDDICC scorecard provides your opportunity team with immediate answers to these crucial questions:
- What is this organization’s PAIN, and what have we done to resolve it?
- Do we have a champion in this account?
- Are we in touch with the economic buyer?
- What is their decision-making process?
With answers to these questions, your team members can strategize on creating compelling events with key stakeholders.
Ready to lead your next airtight deal review?
We discussed three goals behind leading an airtight deal review: involving the entire opportunity team, uncovering gaps and risks within deals, and strategizing the next steps.
Leading airtight deal reviews means identifying deals needing extra attention, pinpointing key relationships, and digging deep using your sales methodology. Leveraging tools like People.ai to provide your team with accurate data is instrumental in making these reviews effective, efficient, and insightful.
You can transform your deal review meetings into efficient, collaborative problem-solving sessions by leaving behind time-consuming, pressure-packed one-on-ones. You’ll empower your team to mitigate risk, seize new opportunities, and build relationships. They’ll thank you for it!
For more ways to enhance the GTM motions that matter most, check out our Sales Rituals series and an 8-minute video on How to Lead Airtight Deal Reviews.