A one-page deal review sheet holds six blocks: what happened to last week's planned conversation, the deal told from the buyer's side, the buyer evidence for each stage with its source, the one thing the deal is missing, the next buyer conversation with its opening line, and two dates.
- 01Last week
- 02The deal from the buyer's side
- 03Buyer evidenceSix rungs, each with a source
- 04The one gap
- 05The next conversationWith the opening line
- 06DatesNext week's block 1
- 01Last week
- 02The deal from the buyer's side
- 03Buyer evidenceSix rungs, each with a source
- 04The one gap
- 05The next conversationWith the opening line
- 06DatesNext week's block 1
One test applies to every block. Could a stranger tell, from the sheet alone, which lines are what the buyer said and did and which are what the rep hopes? Most sheets fail that test in the same place: a "champion" box ticked with no quote behind it, a business case built in the rep's spreadsheet that nobody at the buyer has seen. The sheet is the paper half of the practice in our guide to deal coaching.
The six blocks
| Block | What goes in it | What makes it useful |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Last week | The conversation planned at the last review, whether it happened, what the buyer said | Turns the sheet into a loop; a plan that did not happen is the first topic |
| 2. The deal from the buyer's side | Who has the problem, what they said it costs in their words, who signs, the last thing the buyer did and when | Five lines, in quotes where possible |
| 3. Buyer evidence | Six rungs: problem in their words, a number on it, criteria stated, signer on a call, approval steps, a dated buyer step. Each with the quote, email or date and where it came from | The first empty rung is the deal's real stage, whatever the CRM says |
| 4. The one gap | One sentence about something the buyer has not yet said or done | One gap per week; four gaps is a list nobody acts on |
| 5. The next conversation | With whom, why they will take it, the opening line, likely pushback, the reply, what the rep leaves with | Written in the rep's words and said out loud on the review call |
| 6. Dates | When the conversation happens, when the next review is | Next week's block 1 |
A common alternative layout uses five blocks: why now, the buying group, the business case, a close plan dated backward from signature, and decisions from the review. Those are good headings. What they lack is a source column. Add one to every row and the same sheet starts separating evidence from hope.
If your team runs a methodology, rename the rungs in block 3 to its vocabulary: metrics, economic buyer, decision criteria and decision process for MEDDPICC, current state and its cost for Gap Selling, the business issue and the person with the power to buy for the ValueSelling Framework®.
A filled sheet in brief (illustrative)
The deal and people are fictional. Block 1: Jordan planned to ask the head of IT for the security criteria; it happened, and she sent a list of four. Block 2: the problem owner, a regional sales director, says lost renewals cost "about $60k a quarter". Block 3: rungs one to three have sources; rung four, the signer on a call, is empty.
Block 4: "The CFO has not heard the $60k number." Block 5: Jordan will ask the director for 15 minutes to plan how the number goes to the CFO, and the opening line is on the sheet in Jordan's words. Block 6: the call is Wednesday, the next review the following Tuesday. The CRM says Proposal; the sheet says the deal is one rung earlier, and Jordan knows what to do about it.
The question a manager asks on each block
Each block has one question that tests it on the review call. If the rep cannot answer it, the block is not filled, whatever is written in it.
- Last week: "What did the buyer say when you asked?" A report of what the rep sent does not count.
- The deal from the buyer's side: "Whose words are those?" A cost with no name attached is the rep's estimate.
- Buyer evidence: "Where would I find that if I looked?" An email, a call recording, a date. Memory is not a source.
- The one gap: "If only one thing changed this week, which would move the deal?" Two answers means the rep has not chosen.
- The next conversation: "Say the opening line to me now." Said out loud, it often sounds different from how it was written.
- Dates: "Is that date on the buyer's calendar or only yours?"
The template and the meeting that use it
The copyable form, with a full filled-in example, is our deal review template. The 30-minute meeting that uses it is how to run a deal review, and the short definition is in deal review.
In our experience the sheet works best filled on a call, out loud: the rep talks, and the evidence column stays empty until there is a quote to put in it. Caty, our AI sales expert for live deals, can run that call: she asks for the source behind each claim, names the one gap, gives the opening line for the next conversation, and can build a short roleplay of it so the rep practices before the real call. To see it on a live deal of yours, talk to us.
FAQ
Who fills in the deal review sheet?
The rep fills blocks 1 and 2 before the review, in about ten minutes. Blocks 3 to 6 are filled on the review call, with the rep talking and the manager writing. Filling the evidence block alone lets beliefs slip into it, which defeats the point of the sheet.
Should a deal review sheet include a close plan?
Yes, for late-stage deals. Block 3's approval-steps rung holds the buyer's steps with owners and dates, and a separate mutual action plan can sit behind it. Keep the sheet itself to one page; the plan is an attachment the buyer has seen and edited.
What is the difference between a deal review sheet and a deal review template?
They are the same thing at different levels of detail. The sheet is the list of blocks; the template is the ready-to-copy form with prompts and a worked example. Teams usually start from the template and trim it to the blocks they use every week.