7 Factors to Consider When Prioritizing Deals

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7 Factors to Consider When Prioritizing Deals

The Impact of Poor Prioritization

When sales managers fail to prioritize, inefficiencies arise, leading to missed opportunities and lower revenue as reps waste time on unlikely deals while high-value ones slip by unnoticed.

Without clear priorities, even experienced reps might miss critical deadlines, overlook decision-makers, or neglect a prospect's key concerns.

For example, focusing on a $500k deal with a six-month close date might mean losing out on several $100k deals that could close within weeks. This creates a significant short-term revenue gap.

Similarly, prioritizing deals just because the decision-maker has a C-suite title—assuming this guarantees a close—can lead to neglecting other critical factors like deal size or timing.

And when prioritization data is unreliable or lacks context, reps may question their prioritized tasks, leading to frustration, burnout, and lost revenue.

7 Factors to Help Your Reps Prioritize Deals

With so many variables at play, sales reps often struggle to determine which deals deserve their immediate attention. The sheer volume of information can be overwhelming, leading to decision paralysis or misplaced efforts.

Focus on a core set of key factors to provide your team with a clear framework for prioritization. This approach ensures reps concentrate their energy on the most promising opportunities.

Close Date: Prioritizing deals with imminent close dates ensures your team generates revenue in a timely manner. Reps should focus on these deals first to avoid missing out on near-term opportunities, especially in the final stretch of a sales cycle. Teams can better manage cash flow and meet monthly or quarterly targets if they concentrate on deals that are ready to close.
Decision Maker Involvement: Deals involving high-level decision-makers often require extra attention because these stakeholders have the authority to sign off on contracts. Multithreading, or engaging multiple contacts within an account, ensures that if one decision-maker becomes unresponsive, others can keep the deal moving forward. Prioritizing these deals is vital because decision-makers have the power to expedite the sales process and reduce the risk of last-minute objections.
Deal Value ($): While high-value deals are attractive, reps shouldn’t solely chase the "big shiny" opportunities at the expense of smaller deals. A balanced approach involves assessing the potential revenue alongside other factors, such as close date and decision-maker involvement. Sometimes, smaller deals, when prioritized correctly, can close faster and contribute significantly to overall revenue.
Deal Size (Seats/Accounts): The complexity of larger deals, which often involve more seats or accounts, can necessitate higher prioritization due to their potential for long-term growth. But reps should weigh this against the time and resources required to close these deals. A well-prioritized pipeline ensures both large and small deals are given appropriate attention based on their strategic value.
Time of Year (Seasonality): Seasonal trends and industry-specific factors affect deal urgency. For example, ed tech companies might prioritize deals in the months leading up to the new school year, as educational institutions often make purchasing decisions before the academic year begins. Understanding these cycles allows reps to adjust their focus, ensuring prioritize deals in alignment with the client’s buying timeline.
Forecasting and Client Conversations: Sales forecasting, combined with insights gathered from client conversations, helps reps make informed prioritization decisions. Reps should use forecast data to anticipate which deals are likely to close and align their efforts accordingly. Regular check-ins with clients refine these forecasts and uncover new opportunities or risks,
Discovery Information: A deep understanding of client needs and pain points, gathered during the discovery phase, helps reps identify high-potential deals. If reps focus on client-specific challenges, they can build stronger cases for their solutions, thereby increasing their chances of winning the deal.

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Tips for Effective Deal Prioritization

Building on the key factors we've identified, implementing deal prioritization strategies further improve your team's performance. These tips provide practical ways to apply and refine your prioritization process to ensure it becomes an integral part of your sales workflow.

Be flexible

While automated tools and algorithms provide a structured approach to deal prioritization, give sales reps the flexibility to manually adjust priorities based on their unique insights and experiences.

For example, a rep might recognize that a deal involving a lower-level decision-maker is actually closer to closing than one with a C-suite executive, despite what the data suggests. Experienced reps often develop a keen sense of which deals are worth pursuing aggressively and which might be dead ends, even if those deals don’t rank highly in an automated system.

Plus, the context around each deal can change rapidly—a conversation with a prospect might reveal a sudden shift in their priorities, or external factors like market conditions could impact the urgency of a deal.

Allow reps to adjust priorities if a competitor suddenly drops out of a deal or if a client's budget unexpectedly increases, ensuring they can capitalize on these changes.

Use tech

Centralize all relevant information in one place with your tech stack. Tools like CRMs and sales engagement platforms allow sales managers to track deal progress, assess the importance of each task, and streamline decision-making.

For example, setting up automated alerts for key deal activities—like when a potential customer opens an email or visits your website—ensures you stay on top of crucial opportunities. Automation is especially useful when handling a high volume of deals with long sales cycles, as it helps you focus on what's most important without letting anything slip through the cracks.

But be careful not to overdo your tech stack either. HubSpot’s research shows that 45% of sales professionals are overwhelmed by how many tools are in their tech stack.

Prioritize essential tools like a CRM and a sales engagement platform, and avoid introducing more than one new tool per quarter to allow your team to adapt.

Review your pipeline regularly

Regular pipeline reviews help your team maintain focus on the most promising opportunities. Set aside dedicated time for these reviews to ensure your team consistently aligns with your sales goals and priorities.

So, what do these reviews entail? Hold weekly 30-minute pipeline meetings where each rep quickly presents their top three deals and any obstacles they’re facing.

You and your team gather to evaluate each deal's status, identify potential roadblocks, and adjust strategies as needed. This is also an opportunity to address stalled deals and develop strategies to get them moving again.

Recognizing this early allows you to take proactive steps, such as involving additional stakeholders or adjusting your approach.

Pipeline reviews also help you reallocate resources. If certain deals are no longer viable or have a lower chance of closing, redirect your team’s efforts toward more promising opportunities.

Moreover, these reviews create a culture of accountability and continuous improvement. By regularly discussing pipeline health, your team stays motivated, informed, and prepared to tackle challenges head-on.

Implement a tiered priority system

Juggling multiple deals can overwhelm even seasoned sales reps. A tiered priority system brings clarity and focus, especially for teams handling high volumes or complex sales cycles.

Implement a tiered system by categorizing deals into distinct levels based on urgency and strategic value. Use your CRM to visualize these tiers, enabling reps to quickly prioritize their daily activities.

For example:

Tier 1 (Urgent): Deals closing this month with engaged decision-makers
Tier 2 (High Priority): Large deals with near-term close dates
Tier 3 (Active): Deals progressing normally
Tier 4 (Nurture): Early-stage or long-term opportunities

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The key is flexibility. Allow reps to manually adjust rankings based on their insights from client conversations to balance data-driven prioritization with human judgment.

Use peer insights through collaborative prioritization sessions

Sales isn't a solo sport. Tap into your team's collective wisdom by implementing regular collaborative prioritization sessions.

These meetings bring reps together to share insights, discuss challenging deals, and collectively determine priorities. This approach is especially valuable when managers are stretched thin or unavailable.

Here's how to make it work:

Schedule weekly or bi-weekly sessions where reps present their top deals.
Encourage open discussion. What's working? Where are the roadblocks?
Use a structured format. Each rep gets five to ten minutes to present their most critical deals.
Use diverse perspectives. A fresh set of eyes often spots opportunities or risks others might miss.
Document key takeaways and action items for each deal discussed.

These sessions do more than just prioritize deals. They build a culture of knowledge sharing, build team cohesion, and help less experienced reps learn from top performers.

For reps juggling 50+ deals, this peer input is invaluable. It helps prevent tunnel vision and ensures no important opportunities slip through the cracks.

Of course, the goal isn't to reach full consensus on every deal. Instead, use the collective experience to make more informed decisions. A collaborative approach empowers your team to self-manage even when you can't be there to guide every decision.

Align prioritization with broader company goals and market trends

Effective deal prioritization requires your team to go beyond individual metrics and align their efforts with broader company goals and market trends. Your team can ensure their efforts not only contribute to immediate revenue but also support long-term strategic objectives.

Start by clearly communicating your organization's top-level goals. Are you pushing into new markets? Focusing on specific industries? Prioritizing customer retention? Ensure your reps understand how their individual deals contribute to these larger aims.

Consider market trends and seasonality in your prioritization. A deal in a growing sector might take precedence over a larger opportunity in a declining industry.

Similarly, timing matters. In e-commerce, for instance, closing deals before the holiday rush could be crucial.

Incorporate economic factors into your calculus. In tight markets, smaller, more consistent deals might be the safer bet over larger, complex opportunities.

Use your CRM or a tool like Saleboat to tag deals that align with strategic initiatives. This allows reps to quickly identify high-priority opportunities that serve multiple company objectives.

Priorities can shift rapidly. Regular team meetings to discuss market changes and company direction ensure everyone stays aligned.

Balance short-term and long-term opportunities

While it's crucial to focus on deals that can close in the near term, don't neglect longer-term opportunities that could yield significant results down the line.

Implement a "portfolio" approach to deal prioritization, where reps allocate their time across a mix of:

Short-term, high-probability deals
Mid-term deals with strong potential
Long-term, high-value opportunities that require nurturing

This balanced approach helps maintain a pipeline that supports both immediate revenue needs and long-term growth targets, reducing the risk of revenue dips between quarters.
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Prioritize Deals With the Right Tools

Deal prioritization doesn't have to be a constant struggle.

The right tech stack automates data analysis, sets up custom alerts for key metrics, and visualizes your pipeline in ways that highlight high-priority opportunities. It integrates with your existing workflows and provides real-time insights that empower smarter decision-making.

Don’t let prioritization be a guessing game. Make sure your team has the tools they need to focus on the deals that matter most.

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