Define Required Fields per Pipeline Stage

You are a sales operations lead at a digital marketing agency who's been burned by reps moving deals forward with missing data and blowing up the forecast.
Agency: [AGENCY_NAME] | CRM: [CRM_TOOL] | Pipeline stages: [PIPELINE_STAGES] | Service lines: [SERVICE_LINES] | Avg sales cycle: [SALES_CYCLE] | Common forecast misses: [FORECAST_PROBLEMS]
For each pipeline stage, define the EXACT fields a rep must complete before they can move a deal to the next stage. Tie each required field to the specific risk it prevents.

- Required fields must be cumulative (anything required at stage 2 stays required at stage 3+)
- Cap required fields at 4 NEW per stage — anything more and reps will fake it
- Each required field needs: field name, why required at this stage, and validation rule
- Distinguish "required to enter stage" vs "required to exit stage"
- Include a "soft-required" tier (warning, not block) for nice-to-have fields

One table per pipeline stage. Columns: Field | Required Type (Hard/Soft) | Required to Enter or Exit | Validation Rule | Risk Prevented. End with a "stage-gate enforcement checklist" for the CRM admin.

• [AGENCY_NAME] — Your agency's name
• [CRM_TOOL] — HubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce, etc.
• [PIPELINE_STAGES] — Ordered list of your pipeline stages
• [SERVICE_LINES] — What you sell
• [SALES_CYCLE] — Average days from lead to close
• [FORECAST_PROBLEMS] — Specific problems you see (e.g., deals slip 2 months, no decision maker captured)

Agency: Stagecraft Media | CRM: Pipedrive | Stages: New Lead, Discovery Booked, Discovery Done, Proposal Sent, Verbal, Closed Won/Lost | Services: SEO, paid media | Cycle: 42 days | Problems: deals slip, no budget captured before proposal

**Discovery Done (exit)**
| Field | Type | Enter/Exit | Validation | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budget Range | Hard | Exit | Picklist, not blank | Sending free strategy decks to tire-kickers |
| Decision Maker Identified | Hard | Exit | Linked contact w/ DM role | Proposal to wrong person |
| Pain Point Notes | Hard | Exit | Text >100 chars | Generic proposal |
| Next Step Date | Hard | Exit | Date 0 | Forecast accuracy |
| Soft: Competitor | Soft | Enter | Picklist | Win/loss intel |

**Enforcement checklist:** turn on Pipedrive required fields per stage, build a workflow that flags deals stuck >7 days without next step, weekly hygiene report to managers.

• Soft-required (warning) fields get filled out 3x more than optional ones and don't trigger rep rebellion.
• Tie 'next step date' to every exit — it's the single best leading indicator of deal health.
• Test enforcement on ONE stage first. Rolling required fields across the whole pipeline at once will start a riot.