Stage-Gate Exception Finder
Find the deals that skipped a stage gate — advanced to Proposal with no demo logged, or to Negotiation while still single-threaded — and the HG context on each.
Deals that skipped a stage gate — sorted into real vs. inspect
| Deal | Violated gate | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Acme | Negotiation w/ no demo | Inspect - intent flat |
| Beta | Proposal, 1 contact | Inspect - single-threaded |
| Gamma | Negotiation, fast | Real - intent rising |
Overview
Scan a pasted pipeline export for stage-gate exceptions (deals that advanced without meeting your exit criteria) and enrich each exception with HG intent + contact context so RevOps can decide which exceptions are real progress and which are sandbagging or stage inflation.
Use cases
Protect the forecast from stage inflation
Reps advance deals to look productive. This catches the deals whose stage outran their milestones — and uses HG intent to separate the genuinely fast from the genuinely fake.
Fairer pipeline reviews
Instead of accusing reps, RevOps brings a list of objective gate violations with the buyer's own behavior (intent) attached — the conversation is about evidence, not vibes.
View workflow prompt
# Stage-Gate Exception Finder
## Parameters
- `{{pipeline_export}}` *(required)* — Pasted pipeline rows with stage history (deal, domain, current stage, days in stage, key milestones logged). Example: `Acme - acme.com - Negotiation - 4 days - no demo logged - 1 contact`
- `{{stage_criteria}}` *(required)* — Your exit criteria per stage. Example: `To Proposal: demo done + economic buyer identified. To Negotiation: pricing presented + 2+ contacts`
## Purpose
Find deals in {{pipeline_export}} that violate {{stage_criteria}} — advanced past a gate without meeting its exit criteria — and add HG context so RevOps can tell genuine fast-movers from stage inflation.
## Process
1. **Parse the export** — read {{pipeline_export}} with the milestones logged per deal.
2. **Apply gates** — for each deal, check whether the logged milestones satisfy {{stage_criteria}} for its current stage. List every violation.
3. **In-market corroboration** — `company_intent` for each exception's domain. Rising intent supports a genuine fast deal; flat intent suggests the stage was inflated.
4. **Multi-threading check** — `contact_search` for exceptions flagged as single-threaded at a late stage; surface the missing committee roles.
5. **Classify** — label each exception 'likely real' (intent + activity support it) or 'inspect' (no supporting signal).
## Output Format
Markdown with:
- `# Stage-Gate Exceptions`
- `## Exception List` (table: deal | stage | violated gate | classification)
- `## Likely Real` (fast deals with supporting HG signal)
- `## Inspect` (exceptions with no supporting signal — for manager review)
- `## Citations`
## Quality Checklist
- Every exception names the specific exit criterion it violated
- Classification cites `company_intent`
- Single-threaded late-stage deals list missing committee roles
- No deal is labeled 'real' without a supporting signal