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Codex use case

Diagnose a stalled deal

Find the real blocker and the next customer-facing move.

Difficulty Intermediate
Time horizon 30m

Give ChatGPT stage history, closed activities, call transcripts, emails, deal threads, security or procurement notes, and account context, then ask it to explain the blocker, prior attempts, escalation path, and next action.

Best for

  • Deals that have stopped moving despite recent activity.
  • Sales teams separating a real customer blocker from internal process or follow-up gaps.
  • Escalation reviews that need a clear next customer-facing move and owner.

Contents

    ← All use cases

    Diagnose a stalled deal

    Find the real blocker and the next customer-facing move.

    Give ChatGPT stage history, closed activities, call transcripts, emails, deal threads, security or procurement notes, and account context, then ask it to explain the blocker, prior attempts, escalation path, and next action.

    Intermediate
    30m

    Give ChatGPT stage history, closed activities, call transcripts, emails, deal threads, security or procurement notes, and account context, then ask it to explain the blocker, prior attempts, escalation path, and next action.

    Intermediate
    30m

    Related links

    OpenAI Academy: Sales teams Turn meetings into follow-ups

    Best for

    • Deals that have stopped moving despite recent activity.
    • Sales teams separating a real customer blocker from internal process or follow-up gaps.
    • Escalation reviews that need a clear next customer-facing move and owner.

    Skills & Plugins

    • Spreadsheets
      Trace stage history, activity, and timing signals from CRM exports.
    • Google Drive
      Read account context, security or procurement notes, and prior deal plans.
    • Slack
      Review deal threads and internal escalation context.
    • Gmail
      Check customer and internal email history that explains the stall.
    Skill Why use it
    Spreadsheets Trace stage history, activity, and timing signals from CRM exports.
    Google Drive Read account context, security or procurement notes, and prior deal plans.
    Slack Review deal threads and internal escalation context.
    Gmail Check customer and internal email history that explains the stall.

    Starter prompt

    Diagnose why [deal or account] is stalled. Use the opportunity stage history, closed activities, call transcripts, email threads, deal threads, security, legal, or procurement notes, and account context I provide. Return: - the most likely blocker and supporting evidence - prior attempts and what changed - customer, technical, legal, or procurement dependencies - escalation path and owners - the next customer-facing move - missing context and risks Separate sourced facts from inference. Draft follow-up language only; do not send it or update CRM records.
    Diagnose why [deal or account] is stalled. Use the opportunity stage history, closed activities, call transcripts, email threads, deal threads, security, legal, or procurement notes, and account context I provide. Return: - the most likely blocker and supporting evidence - prior attempts and what changed - customer, technical, legal, or procurement dependencies - escalation path and owners - the next customer-facing move - missing context and risks Separate sourced facts from inference. Draft follow-up language only; do not send it or update CRM records.

    Trace the stall across the full deal history

    The visible stage is rarely the whole blocker. Give ChatGPT stage history, closed activities, calls, emails, deal threads, security or procurement notes, and account context so it can distinguish customer, technical, legal, and internal process issues.

    1. Define the deal, time window, and decision the diagnosis should support.
    2. Attach stage history, activity, transcripts, email, threads, security or procurement notes, and account context.
    3. Ask ChatGPT to build a timeline before naming a root cause.
    4. Run the starter prompt and review evidence, prior attempts, dependencies, escalation path, and next move.
    5. Have the deal owner approve any customer-facing follow-up before sending it.

    Keep the diagnosis factual and time-bounded. If the blocker is uncertain, list the smallest customer or internal check that would distinguish the competing explanations.

    Turn diagnosis into a recovery plan

    After the blocker is agreed, ask ChatGPT to create a narrow recovery plan with owners, dependencies, and a proof point for each step.

    Create a recovery plan for this stalled deal. Include: - confirmed blocker and supporting evidence - one or two hypotheses still to test - customer-facing next step - internal dependency and owner - escalation path - target date and proof of progress - follow-up language for review Do not send the message, update CRM, or promise a date that the sources do not support.

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