Missing Features

When a prospect doesn’t buy because you’re missing a feature they need, that’s valuable information. Tracking these feature requests helps you prioritize your product roadmap and — when features ship — automatically identifies warm prospects to contact.

This article covers how missing feature tracking works in Rizer, how to set it up, and how to turn feature gaps into won-back revenue.

Why Track Missing Features

Every lost deal teaches you something. When the lesson is “we need to build X,” capturing that systematically creates two opportunities.

Product Roadmap Prioritization

Product teams constantly decide what to build next. They have ideas from customers, prospects, internal stakeholders, and their own vision. Missing feature tracking adds hard data to these decisions.

Instead of “some prospects have asked for Salesforce integration,” you can say “we’ve lost $750,000 in deals because we don’t have Salesforce integration, with an average importance rating of 4.5 out of 5.”

That’s a different conversation. Revenue impact and importance ratings help product teams prioritize based on business value, not just gut feeling or who speaks loudest.

Automatic Re-engagement

Here’s where missing feature tracking really shines: when a feature ships, Rizer automatically moves affected deals to Ready for callback.

Think about what this means. You ship a feature, and instantly you have a list of prospects who specifically asked for that thing. They’re warm leads — they already evaluated you, liked what they saw except for this gap, and now the gap is filled.

Without tracking, you’d have to manually remember which deals wanted which features and reach out one by one. With tracking, it happens automatically. Ship the feature, get the list, start the conversations.

The Missing Features Report

The main view of your feature gap data lives at Reports > Missing Features.

[Screenshot: Missing Features report showing feature list with revenue impact and status]

What You’ll See

The report displays a table with your missing features:

Status — Current development status of the feature (Unplanned, Planned, In Progress, Completed, Won’t Implement).

Missing feature — The feature name and which of your products it relates to.

Avg importance — Average importance rating across all deals that requested this feature. Scale of 1-5, where 5 means deal-breaker.

Value — Total value of deals lost because of this missing feature. This is the revenue impact.

Build cost — Your estimated cost to build the feature, if you’ve entered one.

Net value — Value minus build cost. The potential ROI if you built it.

Value/Cost — Ratio showing return on investment. Higher numbers mean better ROI.

Last requested — When this feature was most recently mentioned in a lost deal.

The report is sortable. Click column headers to sort by value (highest impact features), importance (most critical to prospects), or status (see what’s in progress).

Filtering the Report

Narrow down the data:

Product filter — See missing features for specific products. Useful when focusing on one product line.

Status filter — See only features in a particular status. For example, filter to “Planned” to see what’s coming.

Time period filter — See features requested in a specific timeframe.

Reading the Data

The report answers questions like:

• Which missing features are costing us the most revenue?
• Which features are deal-breakers vs. nice-to-haves?
• What’s the potential ROI of building specific features?
• What are prospects asking for most recently?

Look for features with high value and high importance. These are causing real pain — prospects want your product but can’t buy without this capability. They’re your highest-priority opportunities.

Drilling Into Details

Click the arrow next to any feature to see the individual deals affected:

• Company name
• Deal value
• Importance rating for that specific deal
• Lost date
• Contact information
• Current recycling status

[Screenshot: Expanded feature row showing individual deals that requested it]

This drill-down shows exactly who wanted this feature. When it ships, these are the prospects to contact.

Setting Up Missing Features

Before you can track feature gaps, you need to configure your missing features in Rizer.

During Onboarding

When you first set up Rizer, the onboarding wizard includes a missing features step. The AI scans your HubSpot deal history looking for feature requests mentioned in deal notes.

For each suggested feature, you can:

• Accept it (it’s a real feature request)
• Edit the name (clarify or standardize)
• Remove it (it’s not actually a feature gap)
• Assign it to a product
• Set the current status

This gives you a starting point based on your actual deal data.

Adding Features Later

To add a missing feature after onboarding:

1. Go to Reports > Missing Features
2. Click + Feature
3. Select which product this feature relates to
4. Enter the feature name
5. Set the current status
6. Optionally enter build cost and expected dates
7. Click Save

[Screenshot: Add feature modal with all fields visible]

The feature now appears in dropdown lists when recycling deals.

Feature Fields Explained

Product — Which of your products this feature relates to. If it’s a platform-wide feature, you might assign it to multiple products or a general category.

Feature name — A clear, consistent name. Avoid variations like “Salesforce integration,” “SFDC sync,” and “integrate with Salesforce” as separate features — pick one name and use it.

Status — Where the feature is in your development process (covered in detail below).

Build cost — Your estimated cost to build this feature. This enables ROI calculations. Enter in your default currency.

Expected completion date — For planned or in-progress features, when you expect to ship. This helps with callback timing.

Release date — For completed features, when it actually shipped.

Feature Statuses

Each missing feature has a status reflecting where it is in your development process.

Unplanned

The feature isn’t on your roadmap. You’re tracking the request but haven’t committed to building it.

Most features start here. You’re collecting data on demand before deciding whether to build.

Callback behavior: Deals linked to unplanned features use their standard callback date based on the recycle reason. They don’t auto-trigger based on the feature.

Planned

The feature is on your roadmap but work hasn’t started. You’ve decided to build it — the question is when.

Set an expected completion date when you move a feature to Planned. This helps with reporting and sets expectations.

Callback behavior: Deals can have their callback date set to align with the expected completion. “When feature ships” becomes a meaningful callback option.

In Progress

Development has started. The feature is actively being built.

Update the expected completion date as you learn more during development. If timelines shift, the information stays accurate.

Callback behavior: Same as Planned — deals can be set to callback when the feature ships.

Completed

The feature has shipped and is available. This is the trigger that matters.

When you mark a feature as Completed:

1. Set the actual release date
2. All deals linked to this feature automatically move to Ready for callback
3. Your team gets notified that these prospects are ready for re-engagement

This is the magic moment. Ship a feature, instantly get a list of warm prospects who wanted exactly that thing.

Callback behavior: Deals auto-trigger to Ready for callback regardless of their scheduled callback date.

Won’t Implement

You’ve decided not to build this feature. Maybe it doesn’t fit your product vision, the market has moved on, or the cost isn’t justified by the demand.

Setting this status is honest. It keeps your feature list clean and sets proper expectations.

Callback behavior: Deals linked to Won’t Implement features don’t auto-trigger. They use their standard callback date. You might still win these deals back for other reasons, but not because you built this feature.

Recording Missing Features When Recycling

Feature gap data gets captured when you recycle a deal. Here’s how to record it properly.

When to Link a Missing Feature

Link a deal to a missing feature when:

• The prospect explicitly said they need a capability you don’t have
• A feature gap was a significant factor in their decision
• They would have bought if you had this feature

Don’t link a feature when:

• It was mentioned in passing but wasn’t a real factor
• You’re guessing about what they might have wanted
• The primary reason for loss was something else entirely

Quality matters more than quantity. Accurate links lead to accurate data and effective re-engagement.

The Missing Feature Section

When recycling a deal — whether from HubSpot or Rizer — you’ll see a missing feature section in the form.

[Screenshot: Missing feature section of the recycling form]

Selecting a Feature

Choose from features you’ve already configured:

1. Click the feature dropdown
2. Select the relevant feature
3. If it’s not in the list, click + Add new to create it

You can link multiple features if more than one gap contributed to the loss. But be thoughtful — if you link every possible feature, the data becomes less useful.

Importance Rating

Rate how important this feature was to the deal, from 1 to 5:

5 — Deal-breaker They absolutely could not proceed without this feature. It was the primary reason for the loss. If you had it, they would have bought.

4 — Very important A major factor in their decision. Not the only reason, but significant. Having the feature would have substantially improved your chances.

3 — Important Would have meaningfully improved their experience with your product. A real consideration, but not decisive on its own.

2 — Nice to have They mentioned it and it would have been helpful, but it wasn’t a significant factor in the decision.

1 — Minor Came up in conversation but didn’t really matter to their decision. Barely worth tracking.

Why Importance Matters

Importance ratings help prioritize:

• A feature with 10 deals at importance 5 is more urgent than one with 10 deals at importance 2
• Value times importance gives a truer picture than value alone
• Features that are deal-breakers deserve more attention than nice-to-haves

When reviewing the Missing Features report, look at both total value and average importance. A feature with moderate value but very high importance might be more strategic than one with high value but low importance.

The Feature-to-Callback Connection

The real power of missing feature tracking is the automatic connection to callbacks.

How It Works

1. You recycle a deal with recycle reason “Missing feature”
2. You link it to a specific feature, say “Salesforce integration”
3. The deal goes to In recycling, waiting
4. Months later, your product team finishes building Salesforce integration
5. Someone marks the feature as Completed in Rizer
6. All deals linked to that feature automatically move to Ready for callback
7. Your team sees these deals in their ready queue with “Feature completed” as the trigger

No manual tracking required. No remembering which deals wanted which features. Ship the feature, get the prospects.

Setting Up for Auto-Callback

To make sure deals auto-trigger when features ship:

When recycling:

• Select “Missing feature” as the recycle reason (or include it if multiple reasons apply)
• Link to the specific feature
• Set the callback date to “When feature ships” if that option is available, or set a fallback date

When managing features:

• Keep feature statuses updated as development progresses
• Mark features as Completed promptly when they ship
• Include the actual release date

What Happens When a Feature Ships

When you mark a feature as Completed:

1. Go to Reports > Missing Features
2. Find the feature and click the menu icon
3. Click Edit
4. Change status to Completed
5. Enter the release date
6. Click Save

Immediately:

• All deals linked to this feature move to Ready for callback
• The “Triggered by” field shows “Feature completed”
• Your team can see exactly why these deals are ready

[Screenshot: Ready for callback list showing deals triggered by feature completion]

Crafting Your Re-engagement Message

When reaching out to prospects who wanted a now-shipped feature:

Lead with the news. “I wanted to let you know we’ve built [feature] — I know that was important to you when we talked.”

Acknowledge the gap. “When we spoke last year, we didn’t have this capability and I know that was a factor in your decision.”

Invite conversation. “Would it be worth a quick conversation to see if this changes things?”

Don’t assume the sale. Circumstances may have changed. They might have found another solution, their needs might have shifted, or the feature might not be exactly what they envisioned. Be curious, not presumptuous.

Managing Your Feature List

Over time, your missing features list will need maintenance.

Adding New Features

Add features when:

• A prospect mentions a capability you don’t have
• You notice a pattern in loss reasons that relates to a feature gap
• Your product team identifies a gap worth tracking

Don’t wait for onboarding AI to find everything. If you’re recycling a deal and the relevant feature isn’t in your list, add it on the spot.

Editing Features

Update feature information when:

• Development status changes (Unplanned → Planned → In Progress → Completed)
• Expected completion dates shift
• You want to refine the name or product association
• Build cost estimates change

To edit:

1. Go to Reports > Missing Features
2. Click the menu icon next to the feature
3. Click Edit
4. Update the fields
5. Click Save

Merging Duplicates

Sometimes the same feature ends up in your list multiple times with different names. “Salesforce integration,” “SFDC sync,” and “Salesforce connector” might all refer to the same thing.

To merge:

1. Identify duplicates
2. Decide which name to keep
3. Edit deals that reference the wrong name to use the correct one
4. Delete the duplicate features

Clean data leads to accurate reporting.

Handling Completed Features

Once a feature ships and you’ve re-engaged the affected deals, the feature stays in your list with Completed status. This is fine — it’s historical data.

Over time, completed features accumulate. You can filter the report to hide them if the list gets long, but there’s no need to delete them.

When to Use Won’t Implement

Mark a feature as Won’t Implement when:

• You’ve decided not to build it
• It doesn’t fit your product strategy
• The demand doesn’t justify the investment
• The market has moved on

This is better than leaving features in Unplanned limbo forever. It’s honest about what you will and won’t do.

Deals linked to Won’t Implement features don’t auto-trigger. They’ll become ready based on their standard callback date. You might still win them back — maybe their needs changed, or maybe other improvements make the missing feature less important.

Using Feature Data for Product Decisions

Missing feature data is valuable beyond just sales follow-up.

Prioritization Conversations

When meeting with product teams, bring the data:

• “Here are the features prospects are asking for, ranked by revenue impact”
• “This feature has cost us $500,000 in lost deals with average importance of 4.2”
• “These three features together account for 60% of our feature-related losses”

Data changes conversations from “I think we should build X” to “The market is telling us to build X.”

ROI Analysis

If you enter build costs, you can calculate potential ROI:

Value — Revenue lost due to this missing feature Build cost — Your estimate to build it Net value — Value minus cost Value/Cost ratio — Return on investment

A feature with $500,000 in lost revenue and $100,000 build cost has a 5:1 ROI potential. A feature with $500,000 in lost revenue and $600,000 build cost has negative ROI potential.

These are estimates, not guarantees. You won’t win back 100% of lost deals when you ship a feature. But the relative comparison helps prioritize.

Trend Analysis

Track how feature requests change over time:

• Are certain features being requested more often?
• Are some requests fading (maybe the market is solving it differently)?
• Are new feature gaps emerging?

Use date filters to compare periods. Feature requests that are increasing in frequency might deserve more attention.

Competitive Connection

Missing features often connect to competitive losses. You might lose to Competitor X because they have a feature you don’t.

Track both:

• Record the competitor (who won)
• Record the missing feature (what they have that you don’t)

This creates a complete picture: “We’re losing to Competitor X because they have Feature Y.” When you build Feature Y, you can reach out addressing both: “We’ve built [feature] that [Competitor X] had. Worth comparing again?”

Reporting Deep Dive

Let’s explore what you can learn from the Missing Features report.

Top Revenue Impact

Sort by value to see which features cost you the most:

• Which single feature has the highest revenue impact?
• What’s the total revenue impact of your top 5 feature gaps?
• How does feature impact compare to other loss reasons (pricing, timing, competitors)?

Features with high value but low importance might be requested by large deals that would have found other objections anyway. Features with high value and high importance are your clearest opportunities.

Average Importance Analysis

Sort by average importance to see what prospects care most about:

• Which features are genuine deal-breakers?
• Which are nice-to-haves that inflate deal counts but aren’t decisive?

High importance means the feature matters deeply to prospects who mention it. That’s different from a feature mentioned casually by many prospects.

Status Distribution

Filter by status to understand your pipeline:

• How many features are Unplanned? Is that list growing?
• How many are In Progress? When will they ship?
• How many Completed features have shipped recently?

A healthy product process moves features from Unplanned through to Completed. If everything stays Unplanned indefinitely, the feedback loop isn’t working.

Product-Level View

Filter by product to see feature gaps for specific products:

• Which product has the most feature requests?
• Are requests concentrated in one area or spread across products?
• Which products have the most In Progress features coming?

This helps product managers understand their specific landscape.

Recent Requests

Sort by “Last requested” to see what’s being asked for now:

• Are there new feature gaps emerging?
• Are old requests still coming up?
• What are prospects asking for in current conversations?

Recent requests might indicate market shifts worth paying attention to.

Common Questions

What if a feature is partially built?

If you’ve built something that partially addresses the request, you have options:

• Keep the status as In Progress until it fully ships
• Mark it Completed and note the scope in your re-engagement
• Create a new feature for the remaining gap

The right approach depends on whether the partial solution would satisfy the prospects who requested it.

What if the same feature is requested for multiple products?

You can either:

• Create one feature and associate it with multiple products
• Create separate features per product if they’re actually different implementations

One feature is simpler if it’s truly the same capability. Separate features make sense if the implementation or priority differs by product.

Should I track every feature request?

Track features that:

• Come up multiple times
• Have real revenue impact
• Are potential roadmap candidates

Skip features that:

• Were mentioned once in passing
• Have minimal impact
• Are clearly out of scope for your product

The goal is useful data for prioritization, not an exhaustive list of everything any prospect ever mentioned.

How do I handle features that take years to build?

For long-term features:

• Keep them in Planned or In Progress status
• Update expected dates as timelines evolve
• Consider whether deals should wait that long or use other callback triggers

A deal recycled with a 2-year feature dependency might need a fallback callback date. Circumstances often change in 2 years regardless of the feature.

Can prospects be linked to multiple features?

Yes. A single deal can be linked to multiple missing features if several gaps contributed to the loss. Each link gets its own importance rating.

When any of those features ships, the deal becomes ready for callback. You might reach out about one feature while others remain missing — that’s fine. Partial improvement is still worth communicating.

What if a feature ships but the prospect already bought elsewhere?

This happens. When you re-engage, you’ll learn the prospect’s current situation. Maybe they:

• Went with a competitor but are unhappy
• Built something themselves that’s not working well
• Found another solution they’re satisfied with
• Are now evaluating again for expansion or other reasons

The feature shipping creates a reason to reach out. What you learn in that conversation determines next steps. Not every outreach results in a deal, but you won’t know until you try.

Making Feature Tracking a Habit

Feature data is only valuable if captured consistently.

Capture During Recycling

The best time to link a missing feature is when recycling the deal. The conversation is fresh, you remember what mattered, and it’s part of your workflow.

If you skip it and try to add later, you’ll often forget the details or not have time.

Train Your Team

Make sure everyone recycling deals understands:

• How to link features
• How to rate importance accurately
• When to add new features vs. use existing ones
• Why this data matters

Consistent input from the whole team creates reliable data.

Keep the Feature List Current

Update feature statuses as your product evolves:

• When development starts, move to In Progress
• When features ship, mark Completed immediately
• When decisions are made, move to Planned or Won’t Implement

Stale data undermines the whole system. If features ship but aren’t marked Completed, deals don’t auto-trigger and prospects don’t get contacted.

Review Regularly

Make missing features part of your reporting rhythm:

• Weekly: Glance at recent feature requests
• Monthly: Review top features by impact
• Quarterly: Deep dive with product team on priorities

Regular review keeps the data visible and actionable.

Close the Loop

When features ship and deals re-engage, track the outcomes:

• Did prospects respond positively to the news?
• Did any convert to won deals?
• What’s the actual win-back rate for feature-triggered callbacks?

This feedback helps you understand whether feature tracking is delivering value — and improves your process over time.