Sales teams are always under pressure to chase bigger deals, hit ambitious targets, and keep everyone in the loop. But between endless spreadsheets, scattered notes, and CRM fields you barely touch, it’s easy for real opportunity planning to get lost in the shuffle. If you’re in enterprise sales and need a tool that actually helps you plan and win deals—without adding more busywork—this guide is for you.
We’ll walk through how to create and manage opportunity plans using Revegy, a sales platform that’s made a name for itself by helping teams map out deals and stakeholders visually. I’ll skip the hype and focus on what actually works, what doesn’t, and how to get the most out of it.
Why Bother With Opportunity Plans?
Let’s get this out of the way: most companies talk a big game about sales process but rarely follow through. Opportunity plans are supposed to help you:
- Understand the real decision makers (not just who’s on the emails)
- Keep your team aligned on strategy and next steps
- Spot risks before your forecast blows up
- Actually move the deal forward, not just check boxes
Without a plan, deals stall, surprises pop up, and everyone scrambles at the last minute. The right tool won’t magically fix that, but it will make it much easier to see what’s happening and act before it’s too late.
Step 1: Set Up the Basics in Revegy
Before you start mapping out a complex enterprise deal, make sure you’ve got the basics set up in Revegy. If your CRM data is a mess, you’ll spend more time cleaning up than selling.
What to do:
- Connect Revegy to your CRM (Salesforce, Dynamics, etc.). This keeps data in sync, so you’re not updating two systems.
- Import current opportunities. If you’re starting from scratch, bring in your top deals first.
- Make sure your team knows how to log in and navigate. Sounds basic, but you’d be surprised how many reps never get past the welcome tour.
Pro tip: Don’t migrate your entire pipeline on day one. Start with one or two complex deals where planning actually matters.
What to ignore: Fancy dashboards and “AI insights” right now. Focus on the nuts and bolts—getting your deals and contacts in.
Step 2: Map the Buying Team (Not Just the Org Chart)
Enterprise deals don’t close because you emailed the right VP. You need to know who really calls the shots, who blocks progress, and who quietly influences decisions. Revegy’s visual maps are actually useful here.
How to do it in Revegy:
- Stakeholder Mapping: Use Revegy’s relationship maps to drag and drop contacts into a real decision map. Don’t just mirror the company’s org chart—map out the people who actually affect your deal.
- Mark who’s a supporter, who’s neutral, and who’s against you.
- Add notes right in the map about each person’s real priorities (“Wants faster deployment, hates long pilots”).
- Link stakeholders to your opportunity. This connects the dots between people and the specific deal you’re working.
What works: - Revegy’s color-coded influence lines and relationship indicators are fast and actually helpful. You can spot gaps in your coverage with one glance. - If you’re running a team deal, everyone can see the same map, so you’re not asking “who’s Jane Smith again?” every meeting.
What doesn’t: - Don’t waste time mapping every contact in the company. Focus on the 5-10 people who actually matter for your deal.
Step 3: Build Out Your Opportunity Plan
Now you’re ready to map out the meat of your deal—what needs to happen, when, and who’s on the hook. Revegy calls this the “Opportunity Plan” (sometimes “Playbook” or “Action Plan,” depending on your setup).
How to do it:
- List the key milestones and steps. Think: demo scheduled, security review, proposal sent, legal sign-off, etc.
- Assign an owner for each step—don’t let tasks float.
- Set real deadlines. If you leave dates blank, nothing gets done.
- Attach documents and notes to each milestone. This keeps everything in one place, instead of buried in someone’s inbox.
- Add risks and blockers. Revegy lets you flag steps with risks (e.g., “Budget approval may slip due to reorg”). Be honest—wishful thinking won’t help you.
- Set up reminders for follow-ups and check-ins. The system can nudge you, but you’ll still need to check it.
Pro tip: Don’t try to map every tiny task. Focus on the steps that, if missed, will actually kill the deal.
What works: - Revegy’s visual timeline is clearer than a big spreadsheet. You see what’s late, what’s blocked, and who needs to move. - You can link each step to a stakeholder, so you know who to chase.
What doesn’t: - Overly complex “templates” stuffed with generic steps. Customize your plan for this deal; don’t just copy-paste last quarter’s checklist.
Step 4: Keep the Plan Alive (Don’t “Set and Forget”)
Opportunity plans are only useful if you update them. Sounds obvious, but most teams build a plan, share it once, and forget about it until the deal’s in trouble.
How to keep yours useful:
- Review the plan in every deal review or team huddle. Pull it up and walk through blockers, next steps, and changes. Make it part of your routine, not a side project.
- Update milestones as things change. Deals never go exactly as planned. Move dates, flag new risks, and document key conversations as they happen.
- Assign someone to own the plan. If it’s everyone’s job, it’s no one’s job.
- Use Revegy’s alerts and reports—but don’t rely on them blindly. They’ll flag overdue tasks, but someone still has to act.
What works: - Revegy’s shared visibility means even if your main contact leaves, the rest of the team isn’t in the dark. - You can quickly spot if you’re drifting off track, instead of finding out in QBRs when it’s too late.
What doesn’t: - Relying on automation to “run” your deal. These are tools, not magic. Your team still needs to own the plan.
Step 5: Learn from Closed Deals—Good and Bad
After a deal closes (won or lost), it’s tempting to move on. But if you never look back, you’ll keep making the same mistakes. Revegy can help here, but only if you actually use the data.
How to do it:
- Review the opportunity plan after close. What went according to plan? Where did things get stuck? Who really made the decision?
- Capture what you learned in the plan or in a quick notes section. (Don’t write a novel—just the stuff you’d want to remember next time.)
- Share the good, bad, and ugly in your next sales meeting. If you lost because you missed a stakeholder or rushed a step, say so.
Pro tip: Turn your best plans into templates for future deals—but keep tweaking them. Every customer is different.
What works: - Revegy makes it easy to see patterns across deals (e.g., always getting tripped up in legal). Use that to get ahead next time.
What doesn’t: - Sugarcoating losses or hiding problems. No tool can help if you’re not honest about what happened.
Honest Pros, Cons, and Things to Watch
Let’s be real: no tool fixes broken sales process or magically closes deals. Here’s what actually helps with Revegy, and where you might hit friction.
What Revegy does well: - Visual maps are genuinely helpful for complex deals with lots of stakeholders. - Keeps everyone on the same page—you’re not cobbling together emails and spreadsheets. - Makes post-mortems easier; you can see what really happened.
Where it can fall short: - Takes discipline to keep plans updated. If your team won’t use it, it’s just more software. - Integrations can be clunky, depending on your CRM setup. - Not as helpful for simple, transactional deals—overkill if your sales cycle is short.
What to ignore: - “AI-powered insights” that don’t actually fit your deal. Use your judgment, not just the system’s suggestions. - Fancy charts for the sake of charts. Focus on the map and plan—they’re what matter.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Actually Use It
Opportunity plans aren’t magic. They help you see what’s happening, spot gaps, and keep your team moving in the same direction. With Revegy, start with one or two deals, build simple plans, and get in the habit of updating them. Don’t overcomplicate things—focus on the steps that make or break your deals.
The best plan is the one the team actually uses. So keep it simple, keep it honest, and tweak as you go. That’s how you win more enterprise deals—and avoid the last-minute scramble.