Deal inspection is checking a single opportunity's data and evidence to judge whether it is real, where it stands and what could stop it closing.
What gets inspected, and by whom
A manager, RevOps analyst or tool reads what is known about a deal: CRM fields, activity, who has been on calls, the stated close date and the buyer's own words where they are recorded. The output is a judgment and a set of flags, such as no signer engaged, a single contact, or a close date that has slipped twice. Many teams inspect inside the weekly one-to-one, and Salesloft describes the usual problem with that: "managers spend the first 25 minutes interrogating sales reps, leaving only 5 minutes for coaching". Inspection is the diagnosis. The flag becomes useful when someone plans the conversation that fixes it, which is the work of deal coaching and the deal review.
One deal in Commit
A deal sits in Commit. Inspection shows the last buyer action was 34 days ago and nobody above the champion has joined a call. The flag is clear. In the deal review that follows, the rep plans a conversation with the champion to prepare the signer meeting, and the deal moves to best case until it happens. The inspection took two minutes; the conversation it led to is what can move the deal. (Illustrative.)
Four flags and the question each one hands the review
| Flag | What the inspection reads | The question for the deal review |
|---|---|---|
| No signer engaged | Attendees on every logged call | "What has the person who signs said about this, and when?" |
| Single-threaded | Contacts with activity in the last 30 days | "Who else has said this has to be fixed?" |
| Close date slipped twice | Close date history | "What happens on their side on that date?" |
| No cost in the buyer's words | Call notes and transcripts | "What did the buyer say this costs, and who said it?" |
A good inspection hands over a question like these. A weak one hands over a color: red, amber, green tells the rep the deal is in trouble and nothing about the next call.
Related terms
- Deal review: the call where an inspection flag becomes a planned conversation.
- Pipeline review: inspection across one rep's whole book.
- Deal coaching vs deal inspection: the two compared in full.
FAQ
What is the purpose of deal inspection?
Deal inspection tells a manager whether a deal is real and what is wrong with it before the forecast depends on it. It produces flags, such as a missing signer or a slipped date, that decide which deals need a deal review this week.
Is deal inspection the same as pipeline inspection?
Deal inspection and pipeline inspection are close but not the same. Deal inspection looks at one opportunity in depth. Pipeline inspection looks across many deals for coverage, stage mix and slippage. Pipeline inspection usually picks which deals get a deal inspection, and both feed the forecast call.
Can AI do deal inspection?
Yes, much of it. Tools read activity and CRM data and flag risk. Turning a flag into an action takes a conversation. With our AI sales experts, the rep talks the flagged deal through with Caty on a call, and she stages it by buyer evidence and plans the next buyer conversation.