FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Deal Pulse

Quick answers to common Deal Pulse questions.

Deal Pulse is a 0-100 score that measures the engagement health of your deal based on activity patterns in your Decision Site. It combines five categories: Engagement (50%), Collaboration (25%), Diversity (10%), Organization (10%), and Communication (5%).

How often does my score update?

Scores update once per day, overnight. Activity you take today will appear in tomorrow morning's score.

Can I customize the scoring algorithm?

No. Deal Pulse uses the same algorithm (vibe-clso4 v1.1.0) for all organizations to ensure consistency and comparability.

Does Deal Pulse predict if my deal will close?

No. Deal Pulse measures engagement health, not close probability. A high score means strong engagement; it doesn't guarantee the deal will close. Combine Deal Pulse with your CRM data, pipeline value, and judgment.

Scoring Questions

What's a good score?

80-100: Excellent engagement
60-79: Healthy engagement
50-59: Moderate engagement
25-49: Low engagement (AT_RISK)
0-24: Very low engagement (OFF_TRACK)

Context matters - a score of 45 might be normal for early-stage discovery but concerning for late-stage negotiation.

Why is my score dropping even though I've been active?

Time decay. Old activity loses value over time. If activity from 90+ days ago falls out of the scoring window, your score drops even if you're adding new activity. Solution: Add more new activity than what's aging out.

Can I see my score history?

Yes. Deal Pulse tracks historical scores so you can see trends over time. Look for the trend graph in your Decision Site analytics.

What's the difference between overall score and category scores?

Overall score (0-100) is the weighted sum of five category scores. Each category measures a different aspect (Engagement, Collaboration, etc.). Check category breakdown to see which areas are strong or weak.

Activity Questions

Does email activity count toward my score?

No. Only activity inside the Decision Site counts. External emails, phone calls, Slack messages, and CRM notes are not tracked.

Do meetings have to be in Decision Site to count?

Meetings need to be linked to your Decision Site. If you're using calendar integration, external meetings can be linked automatically. Otherwise, log them manually in the platform.

Why don't my comments increase the score much?

Comments are part of Communication, which is only 5% of overall score. Focus on high-impact activities: meetings (50% of overall through Engagement) and mutual plan activity (25% of overall through Collaboration).

What activities have the biggest impact on my score?

Highest impact:

Scheduling meetings → Engagement (50% of overall)
Creating mutual plan with milestones → Collaboration (25% of overall)
Getting buyers to log in → Engagement (1.5x weight)

Medium impact: 4. Adding stakeholders → Diversity (10% of overall) 5. Organizing tasks (assignees, dates) → Organization (10% of overall)

How long does activity count toward my score?

Activity counts for 90 days, but with decreasing credit:

Last 7 days: 100% credit
Last 30 days: 85% credit
Last 90 days: 70% credit
90+ days old: 0% credit (doesn't count)

Buyer Activity Questions

Why does buyer activity count more?

Buyer actions get 1.5x weight because buyer engagement is harder to get and more indicative of deal health. Sellers are always active; buyer activity shows genuine interest.

How do I get buyers to use the Decision Site?

Give them reasons to log in: Share artifacts, assign tasks, @mention them
Make it valuable: Post meeting notes, track requirements, provide ROI calculations
Reduce friction: Ensure simple login (SSO if possible), mobile-friendly
Direct ask: "Can you review the proposal I uploaded to the Decision Site?"

What if buyer is engaged via email but won't use the platform?

Your score will be lower because the system doesn't see that engagement. Either:

Move collaboration to the platform (ideal)
Accept lower score and supplement with qualitative judgment

Collaboration Questions

Do I need a mutual action plan?

Not required, but heavily recommended. Collaboration is 25% of your overall score. Without a mutual plan (milestones, action items), you'll score low in this category, limiting your overall score to ~75 maximum.

What's the difference between milestones and action items?

Milestones: Major phases or steps (e.g., "Complete technical evaluation", "Present to executive team")
Action Items: Specific tasks to complete (e.g., "Send security questionnaire", "Schedule demo")

Both contribute to Collaboration scoring.

Do updates to action items count?

No. Only adding and completing action items count toward scoring. Updates in between don't affect the score.

Should I apply a template?

Yes, if available. Applying a mutual plan template gives a small bonus in Collaboration and provides good structure. Customize it to your deal.

Category Questions

Which category should I focus on?

Start with your weakest category, but prioritize by weight:

Engagement (50%) - Biggest impact
Collaboration (25%) - Second biggest
Diversity, Organization, Communication - Smaller but still important

Check your category breakdown to see which is lowest.

Why is my Engagement score low?

Common causes:

No recent meetings (meetings are 70% of Engagement)
Buyers not logging in (15% of Engagement)
Last activity was 2+ weeks ago (10% of Engagement, recency)

Solution: Schedule a meeting (biggest impact).

Why is my Collaboration score low?

Common causes:

No mutual action plan exists
Milestones created but never updated
No action items or completions

Solution: Create mutual plan with 5-10 milestones and action items.

Why is my Diversity score low?

Common causes:

Only 1-2 contacts
Single-threaded (one champion)
All contacts from same department

Solution: Add stakeholders from different departments, multiple buyers.

Troubleshooting Questions

My score isn't updating. What's wrong?

Did you take action today? Scores update overnight, appear tomorrow.
Is your activity in the platform? External activity doesn't count.
Are you looking at the right Decision Site?

Score dropped suddenly. Why?

Check:

Did major activity age out 91 days ago? Fell out of scoring window.
Did buyer stop logging in? Lost 1.5x weighted activity.
Did meetings stop? Meetings are 70% of Engagement (50% of overall).

Score seems wrong. How do I debug it?

Step 1: Check category breakdown - which category is weak? Step 2: Check recent activity - when was last activity? Step 3: Check buyer participation - are buyers active? Step 4: Check time distribution - is activity mostly old?

See Score Issues for detailed debugging.

Technical Questions

What algorithm does Deal Pulse use?

vibe-clso4 version 1.1.0. The algorithm combines five categories with specific weights, applies time decay to older activity, and gives buyer actions 1.5x weight.

Can Deal Pulse scores be gamed?

Technically yes (create fake activity), but it's counterproductive. Gaming the score doesn't help you close deals. Focus on genuine buyer engagement instead.

Why does the score use a 90-day window?

Activity older than 90 days is too stale to reflect current deal health. The 90-day window balances:

Long enough to capture meaningful patterns
Short enough to reflect current state

How is the 0-100 score calculated?

Each category gets a 0-100 score, then they're combined with weights:

text

Overall = (Engagement × 0.50) +
          (Collaboration × 0.25) +
          (Diversity × 0.10) +
          (Organization × 0.10) +
          (Communication × 0.05)

Rounded to nearest integer.

Comparison Questions

How does my score compare to others?

Scores are relative to your activity level, not benchmarked against other organizations. Your score of 60 measures YOUR engagement patterns, not performance vs others.

That said, general patterns:

Most healthy deals: 55-75 range
Excellent deals: 75+
At-risk deals: below 50

Can I compare deals at different stages?

Yes, but with context. Early-stage deals naturally score lower (30-50) than late-stage (65-85). Compare deals at similar stages for meaningful insights.

Why do some of my deals score higher with less activity?

Possible reasons:

Buyer participation: Deals with buyer activity score higher (1.5x weight)
Recent vs old: Concentrated recent activity scores better than spread-out old activity
Category mix: A deal strong in Engagement (50% weight) scores higher than one strong in Communication (5% weight)
One-time bonuses: Some deals have achieved bonuses (first buyer view, mutual plan started)

2 meetings per month
Weekly activity (any type)
At least one buyer logging in monthly
3-5 milestones with occasional updates
3+ stakeholders

Should I prioritize Deal Pulse score over other metrics?

No. Use Deal Pulse alongside CRM stage, pipeline value, and your judgment. It's ONE signal, not the only signal.

How do I prevent my score from declining?

Weekly habits:

Schedule next meeting before current one ends
Update 1-2 milestones
Add 2-3 action items
Get buyer to log in at least once
Take some action (even a comment) to reset recency

Still Have Questions?

Detailed explanations: Category Breakdown
Practical strategies: Improving Scores
Score interpretation: Understanding Scores
Troubleshooting: Common Issues