Weekly Pipeline Hygiene Checklist

Weekly pipeline hygiene is where forecast confidence is won or lost.

Not because you “update the CRM”, but because you force the pipeline to reflect buyer reality: what’s changed, what’s true, what’s at risk, and what must happen next.

This supporting guide gives you a 45-minute weekly routine managers can run with consistency — without turning pipeline review into status theatre.

What this routine is designed to achieve

By the end of the session, you should be able to answer, confidently: - Which opportunities are genuinely progressing (and why) - Which opportunities are stuck (and what will unstick them) - Which close dates are credible (and which are wishful) - Which deals need coaching attention this week

If you can’t answer those questions, your pipeline hygiene isn’t hygiene — it’s admin.

The rule that makes this work: evidence, not updates

In this routine, sellers don’t “report”. They present evidence.

Every active opportunity must be supported by: - A buyer outcome (what the buyer is trying to achieve) - A mutual next step (agreed, dated, buyer-owned) - A close date linked to buyer commitments - Named risks (what could stall the deal)

Before the meeting: 10 minutes of prep (non-negotiable)

To keep the live session to 45 minutes, do this prep.

Manager prep (5 minutes)

Pull a simple list for the team: - Deals with no activity in the last 14 days (adjust to your cycle) - Deals with no next step recorded - Deals aged beyond threshold in the current stage - Deals with a close date within 30–45 days

These are your “hygiene priority deals”. They will make up most of the discussion.

Seller prep (5 minutes)

Each seller comes ready to update only: - The next mutual step (date, owner) - Close date evidence (what the buyer has committed to) - Risks and blockers

If they can’t supply evidence, the deal gets reclassified (move back, park, or close out).

The 45-minute weekly hygiene agenda

Use this exact structure. It’s short by design.

Minute 0–5: Set the standard (and keep it human)

Start the meeting with a consistent reminder: - “We’re here to make the pipeline reflect buyer reality so we can coach and act.”

Then confirm the ground rules: - No vague next steps - Close dates must be defensible - Stage must match evidence - We will prioritise the deals most likely to mislead the forecast

Minute 5–15: Stale-and-stuck sweep (the highest ROI hygiene work)

Work through the hygiene priority deals list.

For each deal, ask four quick questions: 1) What changed since last week? (buyer reality only) 2) What’s the next mutual step? (date + buyer owner) 3) What’s the risk? (top 1–2 reasons it could stall) 4) Is the current stage still true? (evidence-based)

If a deal has no mutual next step or no activity, it cannot remain “active” by default.

Apply one of three actions: - Re-engage (if a buyer-anchored step can be booked within 7 days) - Park (with a re-entry trigger and review date) - Close out (if there’s no credible path)

This one segment eliminates most pipeline rot.

Minute 15–25: Next-step quality upgrade (turn vague into mutual)

Now focus on the deals that are active.

A next step is valid only if it is: - Mutual: agreed with the buyer - Calendarised: date/time is set - Owned: a named buyer owner is responsible - Outcome-linked: it advances the buyer’s decision journey

Replace these: - “Follow up” - “Check in” - “Send information”

With buyer-anchored actions like: - “Stakeholder workshop with Operations + Finance on Thursday 16:00” - “Security review booked with IT on Tuesday; buyer to share questionnaire by Friday” - “Commercial review with procurement scheduled; buyer owner is Sarah (Head of Procurement)”

If the next step can’t be made mutual and dated, the deal is not in control.

Minute 25–35: Close-date credibility check (stop wishful forecasting)

Close dates often drift because they’re adjusted to match targets.

For the deals closing soon (next 30–45 days), ask: - What is the compelling event (what must happen by when)? - What is the decision process (who decides, how, and when)? - What steps are already calendarised?

If you can’t tie the close date to buyer commitments, do one of these: - Move the close date to the next credible window - Move the deal back a stage (if the evidence belongs upstream) - Park it (if timing is external)

Your forecast becomes reliable when your close dates are defendable.

Minute 35–42: Stage accuracy check (minimum evidence)

Stage hygiene is the most common point of failure.

For your top 3–5 priority deals (highest value, oldest, or highest risk), run a quick minimum evidence check: - Buyer problem is explicit (buyer language) - Impact is quantified (or plan to quantify is agreed) - Decision process is known (or actively mapped) - Stakeholders are mapped (including who signs) - Mutual next step is booked - Risks are named

If the deal can’t meet the minimum evidence for its stage, it doesn’t stay in that stage.

Minute 42–45: Commitments and owners (make the week actionable)

Close the meeting by confirming: - The 1–2 actions each seller will complete this week - Any cross-functional blockers the manager will remove - Any decisions needed (pricing, legal, SE support)

This turns hygiene into motion.

The manager’s one-page scorecard (simple and effective)

If you want consistency across weeks, use a lightweight scorecard.

Track weekly for the team: - % opportunities with a mutual next step - % opportunities with no activity in the last 14 days - % opportunities aged beyond threshold - Close-date slip rate (how many moved out)

You’re not trying to measure everything. You’re measuring whether hygiene is improving.

How to keep this from becoming ‘CRM admin hour’

This routine fails when it feels punitive or performative.

Three ways to keep it effective:

1) Coach behaviours, not fields

Ask questions that improve selling: - “What buyer evidence do we have?” - “What’s the next mutual step?” - “Which stakeholder are we missing?”

2) Limit the meeting to priority deals

Don’t go line-by-line through the whole pipeline.

Review: - Stale deals - Deals closing soon - Highest value/highest risk deals

3) Make ‘park, move back, close out’ normal

If those actions feel like failure, hygiene will be gamed.

Treat them as: - Responsible pipeline management - Protection for seller focus - A pathway to more credible forecasting

What “parking” looks like (so it isn’t a graveyard)

A parked deal must have: - A re-entry trigger (what must happen to reactivate it) - A review date (when you reassess) - A clear owner

Examples of valid re-entry triggers: - “Budget approved in March; buyer to confirm decision date” - “New VP starts on 5 February; stakeholder workshop to be scheduled” - “Security questionnaire returned; technical review booked”

Without triggers and dates, parking becomes procrastination.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Allowing “next steps” that aren’t mutual or dated
• Keeping stale deals open “just in case”
• Using pipeline review for reporting rather than coaching
• Accepting close dates without buyer evidence
• Ignoring cross-functional constraints (SE, legal, procurement)
  
  

When to escalate from weekly hygiene to a deeper reset

Weekly hygiene keeps the pipeline clean. But if you see repeated patterns, you may need a deeper intervention.

Escalate when: - One stage stays overloaded for multiple weeks - Slip rate remains high - Conversion rates drop consistently - Sellers can’t articulate buyer evidence across many deals

That’s when a monthly stage reset or a broader diagnostic is warranted.

Summary FAQ

How long should weekly pipeline hygiene take? For most teams, 45–60 minutes is enough if you focus on priority deals (stale, closing soon, highest risk) rather than reviewing every opportunity.

What’s the most important weekly hygiene standard? Next-step quality. Every active opportunity should have a mutual, calendarised next step with a named buyer owner.

How do we stop pipeline hygiene becoming admin? Run the meeting as an evidence-based coaching session. Review only priority deals and make decisions (move back, park, close out) rather than just updating fields.

What counts as a ‘stale’ opportunity? A deal with no meaningful activity for 14 days is a common threshold, but you should align it to your typical sales cycle length.

Should we review the whole pipeline every week? No. Weekly hygiene is about preventing decay. Review the deals most likely to mislead the forecast and coach what moves them.

How do we handle deals that don’t have a mutual next step? Time-box re-engagement. If a buyer-anchored next step can’t be booked quickly, move the deal back, park it with triggers, or close it out.

Who owns pipeline hygiene: sellers or managers? Sellers own deal updates and evidence. Managers own standards, enforcement, coaching, and removing blockers.

When should we run a monthly reset instead of relying on weekly hygiene? When stage overload, high slip rate, or low conversion persists for several weeks, you likely need a monthly stage reset or deeper pipeline diagnostic.