How to Create a Pipeline
A pipeline is a board that shows where every lead is in your sales process. This tutorial shows you how to create a pipeline with stages that match how your business actually sells, so you always know what to do next.
What you will learn
- What a pipeline and a stage are
- How to create a pipeline
- How to add and reorder stages
- How to move an opportunity between stages
Before you start
- Have your contacts added first
- Write down your sales stages on paper before you build them
Step-by-step
- 1
Plan your stages
Before you build, write down the steps a lead takes from first enquiry to customer. A simple service business might use: New Lead, Contacted, Qualified, Appointment Booked, Proposal Sent, Won, Lost. Keep it to six or seven stages. Too many stages makes the board hard to read.
- 2
Create the pipeline
Open Pipeline and click Create Pipeline. Give it a name, for example Sales or Onboarding. You can have multiple pipelines for different products or teams.
- 3
Add and reorder stages
Add each stage from your plan. Drag stages to reorder them. The order should match the order a lead moves through your process. Save the pipeline.
Add a Lost stage at the end. Marking a deal as Lost instead of deleting it keeps your reporting accurate.
- 4
Move an opportunity
Open a contact and create an opportunity in your new pipeline. On the board, drag the opportunity card from one stage to the next as the lead progresses. Each move can trigger a workflow, like sending a follow-up email.
Result
You have a pipeline with stages that match your sales process. Opportunities move across the board as leads progress, and you can see your whole sales process at a glance.
Troubleshooting
My stages do not match my real process
Pipelines are easy to change. Edit the stage names and reorder them. Existing opportunities keep their data and move to the closest matching stage.
Best practices
- Keep pipelines to six or seven stages
- Always have a Won and a Lost stage
- Review your stages every few months as your process changes
Next steps
- Read Managing Opportunities to work leads across the board
- Read Creating Your First Workflow to automate stage changes
- Read Understanding Reporting to see pipeline value
Related tutorials
Frequently asked questions
Can I have more than one pipeline?
Yes. Create separate pipelines for different products, teams or locations. Each contact can be in multiple pipelines.
What happens when I delete a stage?
Opportunities in that stage move to the nearest stage. You cannot lose data by removing a stage, but check where opportunities land before you delete.