June 18, 2025

Pipeline Perspectives Issue 18 - Put me in, (deal) coach!

September 24, 2024

Pipeline Perspectives banner — The Newsletter By Sellers, For Sellers.

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Issue 18 - Put me in, (deal) coach!

Be honest. When's the last time you had one-on-one coaching with your manager? We'd bet it was around the time you onboarded. After that, you might occasionally get a tip or suggestion during a pipeline review, but quality coaching and enablement are hard to come by.

So when you've got 10, 20, or 40 deals in the pipeline, how are you supposed to know which actions to take to move each of them forward? That's where Pod's Deal Coach comes in.

Meet your new coach

Pod's Deal Coach synthesizes all your pipeline data and provides you with clear, tactical recommendations on how to advance each deal. It provides insights split into either flags or recommendations, so you understand both the deal's health and how to take action.

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As a sales rep, you have access to endless deal data, but often without direction on how to use it. Instead of waiting on coaching that will likely never come, use Deal Coach to act on a data-driven strategy. No guessing, just guidance. Staying laser-focused and on top of your pipeline has never been easier.

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Okay, but how does it work?

You'll find your Deal Coach right in Account 360˚ in Pod. When you select a deal, the Deal Coach page will appear first, listing flags and recommendations.

From there, click on any card, and Pod will describe which flags and recommendations apply to that deal. For example, if a stakeholder has a negative sentiment toward the deal, Pod will pre-draft an email you can send to them to action and repair the relationship.

Flags and recommendations could have numerous outcomes depending on the stage, health, and granular details of a deal. Let's take a closer look at what that looks like.

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a red flag and a check mark separately-1

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Flags and recommendations are there to guide you

Here are some examples of what the Deal Coach flags might look like:

Deal activity level: Looks at how frequently you engage with your prospects. If there hasn't been any recent outreach and nothing is scheduled, it could be a sign the deal is going cold.
Stakeholder coverage: Highlights how many people from the buying committee are currently involved. If the headcount is low compared to similar deals, Pod might warn you that you may not have connected to the right decision makers just yet.
Time in current stage: As the name suggests, this flag tells you how long a deal has spent in a given stage in the pipeline. If the deal is beginning to stall, it could be an indication of internal friction.

Here are some examples of what the Deal Coach recommendations might look like:

New contact opportunity: A new stakeholder has been engaged in your deal but is not yet added to your CRM. It could be worth adding them to ensure you're not losing track of someone with important influence.
Pre-meeting prep: If you have a meeting coming up soon, but there hasn't been any outreach around agenda alignment, Pod will suggest you send a quick note in advance to set the tone and make the conversation more productive.
Stakeholder sentiment change: One or more of your deal's stakeholders are showing signs of disengagement or concern. Pod may suggest that you reach out to reconnect and understand where the gap is.

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When would I use Deal Coach?

Aside from using Deal Coach for daily guidance and action, sellers can use it to outline risks and next steps during pipeline reviews, to forecast end-of-month or end-of-quarter closures, and to mitigate issues with stalled deals.

If you're ready to cut out the daily guesswork and instead make strategic, impactful moves in your pipeline, book a free demo with Pod today.

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