Keep it to four to six stages
Mirror how a good call actually flows: Discovery, Demo, Next Steps. Reps internalize a tight framework and glance at it mid-call; an exhaustive one becomes a checklist nobody reads. If a stage never changes how a rep behaves, cut it.Write items as actions
An item names something the rep does, not a topic to remember. “Confirm the economic buyer” beats “Budget.” “Agree a concrete next step” beats “Closing.”Make criteria observable
Criteria work when they describe something you could point to in the transcript.
Strong criteria describe a fact that is either present in the conversation or not, which is what keeps the live tracking and the adherence numbers honest.