Which sales forecast category should I assign to this deal?

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    "name": "Which sales forecast category should I assign to this deal?",
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    "description": "Assign a deal to the correct forecast category based on close date certainty, verbal commitment, procurement status, and champion strength to produce accurate, trustworthy revenue forecasts. Consistent categorization across the team enables leadership to make confident resource and investment decisions without second-guessing pipeline health.",
    "mode": "decision",
    "entry": "Q1",
    "tags": [
      "sales",
      "forecasting",
      "pipeline",
      "revenue operations"
    ],
    "image": "https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1543286386-713bdd548da4?w=1200&q=80"
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  "questions": [
    {
      "id": "Q1",
      "text": "How certain are you that this deal will close within the current or stated quarter?"
    },
    {
      "id": "Q2",
      "text": "Has the prospect given a clear verbal or written commitment to move forward, and do you have access to the economic buyer?"
    },
    {
      "id": "Q3",
      "text": "Is the deal actively in procurement or legal review, and has your champion confirmed internal approval to proceed?"
    },
    {
      "id": "Q4",
      "text": "Does this deal have a qualified champion, a defined use case, and a realistic close date within the next two quarters?"
    },
    {
      "id": "Q5",
      "text": "Has the close date slipped more than once without a documented reason, or has the champion gone dark for more than two weeks?"
    }
  ],
  "outcomes": [
    {
      "id": "CLOSED_WON",
      "label": "Closed / Won"
    },
    {
      "id": "COMMIT",
      "label": "Commit"
    },
    {
      "id": "BEST_CASE",
      "label": "Best Case"
    },
    {
      "id": "PIPELINE",
      "label": "Pipeline"
    },
    {
      "id": "OMITTED",
      "label": "Omitted"
    }
  ],
  "dsl": "dag: Which sales forecast category should I assign to this deal?\nversion: 1.0.0\nimage: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1543286386-713bdd548da4?w=1200&q=80\ndescription: Assign a deal to the correct forecast category based on close date certainty, verbal commitment, procurement status, and champion strength to produce accurate, trustworthy revenue forecasts. Consistent categorization across the team enables leadership to make confident resource and investment decisions without second-guessing pipeline health.\ntags: sales, forecasting, pipeline, revenue operations\nentry: Q1\n\nQ1: How certain are you that this deal will close within the current or stated quarter?\n  hint: Close date certainty is the foundation of forecast integrity. A deal belongs in your forecast only when there is specific, evidence-based reason to believe it will close — not based on hope, rep optimism, or a prospect who says \"probably.\" Certainty means you have a signed order form, a verbal commitment with a specific date, or a procurement process that has a defined end date that falls within the period. If you find yourself saying \"they seem close,\" that is a signal to probe harder before categorizing.\n  A: Virtually certain — paperwork in motion or already signed -> [CLOSED_WON]\n  B: High confidence — committed verbally with a clear close path -> Q2\n  C: Moderate confidence — progressing but dependencies remain -> Q3\n  D: Low confidence — early or uncertain -> Q4\n\nQ2: Has the prospect given a clear verbal or written commitment to move forward, and do you have access to the economic buyer?\n  hint: A true verbal commitment means the economic buyer has said words equivalent to \"we are going with you\" — not a positive product review from a champion or a request for final pricing. Access to the economic buyer is a critical qualifier because commitments from non-decision-makers frequently fail to survive internal budget or procurement reviews. If your only contact is a champion without signing authority, treat the deal as Best Case until you have direct economic buyer confirmation.\n  yes -> [COMMIT]\n  no  -> Q3\n\nQ3: Is the deal actively in procurement or legal review, and has your champion confirmed internal approval to proceed?\n  hint: Procurement and legal review signals meaningful buying intent, but it is not a guarantee of close — deals can still be killed by budget freezes, stakeholder changes, or competing priorities discovered during contract review. Champion confirmation of internal approval means they have explicitly told you that the decision to buy has been made at the appropriate level. If your champion is \"optimistic\" but cannot confirm approval, the deal belongs in Best Case, not Commit, regardless of where it sits in procurement.\n  yes -> [BEST_CASE]\n  no  -> Q4\n\nQ4: Does this deal have a qualified champion, a defined use case, and a realistic close date within the next two quarters?\n  hint: Pipeline deals must still meet a minimum bar of qualification to be counted in forecast at all. A deal without a champion is an unsponsored contact, a deal without a defined use case is a conversation, and a deal without a realistic close date is a wish. Deals that fail all three criteria should be moved to Omitted to protect forecast accuracy — keeping them in Pipeline inflates your numbers and erodes leadership trust in your forecast over time. Be rigorous here; removing weak deals actually improves your credibility.\n  yes -> [PIPELINE]\n  no  -> [OMITTED]\n\nQ5: Has the close date slipped more than once without a documented reason, or has the champion gone dark for more than two weeks?\n  hint: Repeated close date slippage and champion silence are the two most reliable early warning signs that a deal is in trouble. A single slip with a clear explanation is normal in enterprise sales. Two or more slips without a documented business reason, or a champion who has stopped responding to messages, suggests the internal dynamics have changed in ways that are not yet visible to you externally. Downgrade these deals to Best Case or Pipeline to reflect actual risk and trigger a recovery plan conversation with your manager.\n  yes -> [BEST_CASE]\n  no  -> [COMMIT]\n\n[CLOSED_WON]: Closed / Won\n  color: #16a34a\n  description: This deal is closed or in the final mechanical stages of closing — congratulations. Ensure the signed order form or contract is uploaded to your CRM immediately and that all deal fields are updated accurately, including ACV, TCV, close date, and product lines. Notify your customer success and implementation teams within 24 hours so the onboarding handoff can begin without delay. Send a personal note to your champion thanking them for their partnership and confirm the next steps they should expect from your team.\n  code: SALES-FC-001\n\n[COMMIT]: Commit\n  color: #2563eb\n  description: This deal belongs in your Commit forecast category — you are staking your credibility on it closing in the stated period. Commit deals require active management: confirm the close date with your champion at least weekly, track procurement and legal milestones in real time, and flag any risk immediately to your manager rather than hoping it resolves. Do not add a deal to Commit unless you would be comfortable defending it in a forecast call with your VP. If anything changes that reduces your confidence, downgrade to Best Case immediately rather than waiting.\n  code: SALES-FC-002\n\n[BEST_CASE]: Best Case\n  color: #f59e0b\n  description: This deal has real potential but carries enough uncertainty that it should not be counted as a guarantee for the current period. Best Case deals often have strong product fit and champion engagement but are missing one critical element — economic buyer confirmation, a finalized close date, or completion of procurement review. Your job is to drive the specific actions that would move this deal into Commit: get economic buyer access, confirm the internal approval status, and establish a hard close date with the customer. Review Best Case deals weekly and be honest with yourself and your manager about what would need to be true for them to close.\n  code: SALES-FC-003\n\n[PIPELINE]: Pipeline\n  color: #6366f1\n  description: This deal is a legitimate future opportunity but is not mature enough to forecast with confidence in the near term. Keep it active by maintaining regular touchpoints with your champion, advancing the technical and business evaluation, and working to establish a clearer timeline. Pipeline deals that have not progressed in 30 days should be reviewed for risk of going stale — consider whether a different approach, a new stakeholder, or a re-qualification conversation is needed. Strong pipelines are built on quality, not quantity, so be willing to remove deals that no longer meet minimum qualification criteria.\n  code: SALES-FC-004\n\n[OMITTED]: Omitted\n  color: #dc2626\n  description: This deal does not meet the minimum qualification bar to be counted in forecast and should be marked Omitted to protect the accuracy of your pipeline view. Omitted does not necessarily mean the deal is dead — it means it lacks the champion, defined use case, or realistic timeline needed to generate a credible forecast commitment. Discuss this deal with your manager to determine whether it is worth continued investment or should be formally closed and logged as a loss or deferral. Keeping poorly qualified deals in your pipeline creates noise that makes it harder to focus on deals you can actually win.\n  code: SALES-FC-005\n"
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