A CRM review is useful when it answers one question for every open opportunity: what happens next, who owns it, and when will the team know whether it worked? Keep the template small enough to use every week.
Outcome and scope
Use this template for a weekly review of active new-business opportunities. It does not replace delivery planning, customer support, or a detailed forecast. It creates a shared minimum record for the next decision.
Workflow map
- Prepare: filter open deals and missing or overdue next actions.
- Check: read the last customer-facing activity and current stage.
- Decide: keep, move, reschedule, or close.
- Assign: give the next action one owner and a due date.
- Measure: review the queue and unresolved items at the next meeting.
Setup steps
- Create a view that shows owner, stage, value, last activity, next action, and due date.
- Use a short definition for each stage and write the evidence required to enter it.
- Use one standard format for dates and close reasons.
- Set a review cadence that matches the team’s sales cycle.
- Record exceptions as notes instead of silently changing the workflow.
Use the Pipedrive pipeline-stage reference to make stage names describe decisions rather than vague optimism.
Example fields or pipeline table
| Column | Example | Required answer |
|---|---|---|
| Current stage | Discovery complete | What evidence is present? |
| Last customer action | Customer confirmed scope questions | What changed externally? |
| Next action | Answer two scope questions | What can be done next? |
| Owner and due date | Alex — 2026-08-15 | Who will do it and when? |
Failure modes
- Writing “follow up” without a channel, purpose, or date.
- Adding fields that nobody uses in the weekly review.
- Moving a deal forward because time passed rather than because evidence changed.
- Using a forecast number as a substitute for a customer decision.
- Leaving an opportunity open after its decision window ended.
Metrics to review
Review the share of open deals with a dated next action, overdue action count, stage aging, response time, and close reasons. Keep measured results separate from assumptions so the dashboard does not imply more certainty than the records support.
FAQ
What is the minimum field set?
Owner, stage, last meaningful activity, next action, due date, and decision date are a practical starting point. Add fields only when they change a decision.
How often should the review run?
Weekly is a useful default for a small team. Adjust the cadence when the sales cycle is much shorter or longer, but keep a regular review point.
What should happen when an owner is absent?
Assign a temporary owner and record the handoff. An unowned opportunity should not remain open simply because the original owner is unavailable.
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