In the current economic climate, the "growth at all costs" mentality has been replaced by a mandate for efficiency and predictability. For Revenue Operations (RevOps) and Go-To-Market (GTM) leaders, the pipeline review is no longer just a weekly ritual to update CRM stages; it is a diagnostic laboratory.
The challenge is that sales pipelines are often fueled by optimism—the "happy ears" phenomenon where every discovery call feels like a guaranteed win. However, Gartner research suggests that over half of sales leaders lack high confidence in their forecast accuracy. The gap between a projected number and a realized one is usually filled with "hidden risk"—weak signals that, if caught in the Middle-of-Funnel (MOFU), could have been mitigated.
To transform the pipeline review from a passive inspection into a proactive risk-mitigation engine, RevOps must equip sales managers with questions that pierce through the surface level.
Here are 15 essential pipeline review questions designed to surface risk, expose weak signals, and ensure the forecast is built on a foundation of reality.
Time is the ultimate enemy of a deal. When a deal sits in a stage for 2x the average sales cycle, the probability of closing drops exponentially.
This question forces the account executive (AE) to step out of "selling mode" and into "risk assessment mode." It uncovers internal friction or competitive threats that are often glossed over in standard updates.
RevOps should look for "date creep." According to data from Gong, deals that have their close dates pushed more than three times are significantly less likely to close. If the date is moving but the stage isn't, the deal is likely stalled.
A close date should be tied to a "Compelling Event" (e.g., a contract expiration, a product launch, or a board meeting). If the close date is simply the last day of the quarter, it’s a placeholder, not a plan.
The "single point of failure" in B2B SaaS is the single-threaded deal. With the average buying committee now consisting of 6 to 10 stakeholders, a deal involving only one contact is a high-risk asset.
Validation from a secondary source is a critical "green flag." If only one person is talking to the AE, the deal is vulnerable to that person’s changing priorities or departure from the company.
The "champion" likes the tool; the "Economic Buyer" signs the check. RevOps must ensure the distinction is clear. If the Economic Buyer hasn't been engaged by the MOFU stage, the deal faces significant "budgetary veto" risk.
Whether it’s Legal, IT Security, or Procurement, there is always a potential detractor. Identifying them early prevents the "ninth-inning" surprises that cause deals to slip into the next quarter.
Deals often stall in the middle of the funnel because the "Cost of Inaction" hasn't been clearly defined. If the prospect doesn't feel the pain of their current state, they will choose the "Status Quo."
If the answer is "not much," the deal lacks urgency. This question surfaces whether the AE has successfully sold the problem before selling the solution.
Vague goals like "improving efficiency" are difficult to defend during a budget cut. Quantitative goals (e.g., "reducing churn by 2%") provide the "logic" that supports the "emotional" buy.
It is one thing for an AE to build an ROI deck; it is another for the prospect to sign off on the assumptions within it. This question checks for alignment on value.
In a crowded market, "no decision" is a more common competitor than another vendor. RevOps needs to know where the deal sits in the competitive landscape.
Understanding the "why not" for competitors helps highlight the unique value proposition (UVP) that is resonating—or reveals that the prospect is just "window shopping."
In a tight economy, "New Budget" is rare. If it’s "Reallocated," another project is losing its funding for this deal to happen. Knowing what is being sacrificed helps gauge the political stakes of the purchase.
This is where RevOps provides the most tactical value. By looking at the "digital footprint" of a deal, RevOps can find discrepancies between what the AE says and what the data shows.
Sometimes there’s a valid reason (e.g., a text-message relationship or an on-site visit). Other times, silence is a sign that the prospect has gone cold. This question enforces data integrity and surfaces "ghosting" early.
This encourages the AE to admit what they don’t know. Acknowledging a lack of information about a specific stakeholder or a technical requirement is the first step toward fixing it.
A "Mutual Action Plan" is a shared document between the buyer and seller. If the seller thinks they are in "Negotiation" but the buyer hasn't finished "Technical Evaluation" on the MAP, there is a fundamental misalignment.
This is the ultimate thought-leadership question. It asks the team to look for the "quiet" risks—the slightly shorter emails, the rescheduled meetings, or the lack of executive engagement—that often precede a "Closed Lost" status.
The goal isn't to ask all 15 questions in every meeting. Instead, RevOps should facilitate a culture where these questions become the standard for "Deal Desk" or "Pipeline Reviews."
The goal of these questions isn't to micromanage—it's to move the GTM organization from a reactive posture to a proactive one. When RevOps asks the right questions early in the Middle of the Funnel, the organization gains the lead time necessary to save failing deals or reallocate resources to healthier ones.
By institutionalizing these 15 questions, RevOps shifts from being the "spreadsheet police" to being a strategic architect of revenue growth.
Jigso acts as the "always-on" eyes for RevOps and GTM teams, delivering proactive alerts when these weak signals—like dropping engagement or missing Economic Buyers—first appear. Instead of waiting for the weekly review, it surfaces risks the moment they happen so the team can course-correct before the deal slips. Lear more here.
