Zombie Detection and Triage

On-demand reference for the deal-velocity-engineer skill.

Phase 1: Identify zombies (Week 1)

A zombie deal is any deal that meets 2+ of these criteria:

ZOMBIE CRITERIA:
□ No activity logged in 14+ days
□ Close date pushed 2+ times
□ Same stage for >2x average stage duration
□ No scheduled next step
□ Single-threaded (only 1 contact)
□ Past original close date by >30 days
□ No economic buyer identified at Proposal+ stage

Impact of zombies:

• When deals slip, win rates plummet -67% — particularly those delayed >8 weeks (Ebsta/Pavilion 2024)
• 44% of all deals slipped in 2023 (Ebsta 2024)
• Only 17% of reps generate 81% of revenue — suggesting the vast majority of pipeline is unproductive (Ebsta 2024)
• "No decision" kills up to 60% of complex B2B deals (Aviso 2024)

Phase 2: Triage (Week 2)

For each zombie deal, force one of three decisions:

TRIAGE DECISIONS:
1. REVIVE — There's a real reason this deal can close. Define the specific action
   and deadline. If the action doesn't happen by deadline, move to CLOSE.

2. PUSH — The deal is real but timing has changed. Move to a future pipeline view
   with a specific re-engage date. Remove from current quarter forecast entirely.

3. CLOSE — Mark closed-lost. Free up rep time. Improve forecast accuracy.
   This is the right answer 60-70% of the time. Most managers close too few.

Phase 3: Prevent (Ongoing)

Install automated zombie detection:

• Weekly flag: any deal matching 2+ zombie criteria
• Monthly scrub: manager reviews all deals >1.5x average cycle length
• Quarterly purge: any deal >2x average cycle with no activity → auto-close or escalate