The Sales Process Workbook

Write sales stages a deal can fail, score first calls on seven checks, map the buying committee with role presets, and see where deals stall. Excel and Sheets.

Excel + Google Sheets · Free

What this resource helps you do

Write sales stages a deal can fail, score first calls on seven checks, map the buying committee with role presets for AI, SaaS, schools and clinics, and see where deals stall from your own dates.

Get the workbook from AAJ's free marketing templates library.

What the Sales Process Workbook does

The Sales Process Workbook helps you write sales stages a deal can fail, score every first call on the same seven checks, and map everyone who has to say yes. A short deal log turns your own stage dates into conversion and days-in-stage numbers, so your stall rules come from your history, not from a benchmark.

What is inside

Stages, Qualification, Buying committee, Deal review, Deal log and Role presets sheets, plus an Example Co. (fictional) sheet with live formulas.
AAJ's rules of thumb, not benchmarks: 6 or 7 yeses of 7 is qualified, 4 or 5 a follow-up with a named purpose, 3 or fewer a polite no; if you are not sure, the answer is No; trust a stage's median days only after about ten deals; set the age-out limit near twice the median.
Role presets are AAJ's starting points, not rules, for five buyer types.

How to use it

Write your stages. For each stage, write what must be true for a deal to enter and to leave it, as facts a deal can fail.
Qualify every first call. Answer the seven checks with the evidence from the call.
Map the buying committee. Pick the buyer type to load the starting roles, then add one row per person or role, even before you know the name.
Review each deal weekly. Answer the ten questions in facts from the deal, not impressions.
Log stage dates. The Stages sheet then shows conversion, median days and deals over the age-out limit.

Who it is for

Founders and first sales hires at seed to Series B startups who sell to a committee rather than one person. The role presets cover AI products sold to enterprises, mid-market B2B SaaS, US public school districts, clinics and hospitals, and self-serve buyers. The workbook does not hold amounts; forecasts belong in the Sales Pipeline & Forecast Tracker.

The worked example uses Example Co., a fictional company; its figures are illustrative. The template is free in exchange for an email address.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a good sales stage?

Entry and exit criteria written as facts a deal can fail, such as 'the economic buyer has agreed to a pilot with a date'. If a deal cannot show the exit criteria, it has not left the stage, however good the last call was.

How long should a deal sit in a stage before I worry?

Use your own history, not a benchmark. AAJ's rule of thumb: trust a stage's median days only after about ten deals have passed through it, then set the age-out limit near twice that median. Until then, leave the limit blank.

Who belongs on the buying committee map?

Everyone who has to say yes or can say no: the user, the champion, the economic buyer, IT and security, procurement, finance, legal and anyone else your deals run into. Add the role before you know the name; the empty rows show who you still have to meet.

Are the role presets for schools and hospitals rules?

No. They are AAJ's starting role lists for five buyer types, with a prompt of what to check for each role. Every account is different: add the roles yours has and drop the ones it does not.

Does it replace a pipeline forecast?

No. The deal log holds stage dates only, so it can show conversion and days in stage. Amounts, probabilities and the forecast belong in the Sales Pipeline & Forecast Tracker.

Is the workbook free, and what format is it?

Free, in exchange for an email address. It is an Excel .xlsx that opens in Excel and Google Sheets, with no macros.