The specific, defined conditions that must be met and documented in the CRM before a deal can advance from one pipeline stage to the next — replacing subjective judgement with verifiable buyer-facing standards.
Also known as:
exit criteria, stage gates, stage advancement criteria, stage conditions
Without stage exit criteria, pipeline stages are labels rather than measurements. Different reps apply them differently. Managers cannot compare deals or inspect pipeline at scale. The forecast is built on inconsistently defined data. Stage exit criteria create a common standard that makes pipeline comparable, inspectable and trustworthy.
Each pipeline stage has a written set of criteria, typically two to four buyer-facing actions or commitments that must be present before the deal advances. The criteria are specific, not general: 'buyer has shared evaluation criteria and confirmed timeline,' not 'deal is progressing well.'
Stage exit criteria exist in theory but are not enforced in practice. Managers accept deals at the next stage without checking the criteria. The CRM is updated after a review conversation rather than when the criteria are met. Stages lose their meaning.
Stage exit criteria are defined during the Enable phase of the Closing OS. They are built from the stage architecture established in Design and connected to the CRM workflow so that criteria are visible at the point of stage progression, not just during inspection.
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