Pipelines & Stages

Understanding Pipelines and Stages

In AchieveApex, sales pipelines represent the journey a deal takes from initial contact to closing. Each pipeline is divided into stages that reflect the steps in your sales process. This structured approach helps your team visualize the sales process and track the progress of each opportunity.

Key Concepts

• Pipeline: A visual representation of your entire sales process from beginning to end
• Stage: A specific step within the pipeline that represents a phase in your sales process
• Deal Movement: The progression of deals from one stage to another as the sales process advances
• Pipeline View: A Kanban-style board showing deals organized by their current stage

Creating a New Pipeline

You can create multiple pipelines to represent different sales processes in your organization. For example, you might have separate pipelines for new business, renewals, or different product lines.

To create a new pipeline:

1. Navigate to the Deals section in your AchieveApex dashboard
2. Click on the pipeline dropdown at the top of the page
3. Select "Create New Pipeline" from the dropdown menu
4. Enter a name for your pipeline (e.g., "New Business", "Enterprise Sales", "SMB Sales")
5. Click "Create" to add the new pipeline

Managing Pipeline Stages

Each pipeline consists of multiple stages that represent the steps in your sales process. When you create a new pipeline, it will come with default stages that you can customize.

Default Pipeline Stages

The default pipeline stages typically include:

• Qualification: Initial evaluation of the opportunity
• Proposal: Presenting your solution and pricing
• Negotiation: Working through terms and objections
• Closed Won: Successfully closed deals
• Closed Lost: Opportunities that didn't convert

Adding a New Stage

To add a new stage to your pipeline:

1. Go to the Pipeline View of your selected pipeline
2. Click the "Add Stage" button (usually a "+" icon at the end of the pipeline)
3. Enter a name for the new stage
4. Click "Save" to add the stage to your pipeline

Editing a Stage

To edit an existing pipeline stage:

1. In Pipeline View, click the more options menu (three dots) on the stage header
2. Select "Edit Stage" from the dropdown menu
3. Update the stage name as needed
4. Click "Save" to apply your changes

Reordering Stages

The order of stages in your pipeline is important as it represents the flow of your sales process. To reorder stages:

1. In Pipeline View, click and hold on the stage header you want to move
2. Drag the stage to its new position in the pipeline
3. Release to drop the stage in its new location

Removing a Stage

If a stage is no longer relevant to your sales process, you can remove it. Be careful when removing stages that contain active deals, as you'll need to move those deals to another stage first.

1. In Pipeline View, click the more options menu (three dots) on the stage header
2. Select "Delete Stage" from the dropdown menu
3. If the stage contains deals, you'll be prompted to move them to another stage
4. Confirm the deletion

Moving Deals Between Stages

As your sales process progresses, you'll need to move deals through the stages of your pipeline. AchieveApex offers several ways to move deals between stages.

Drag and Drop in Pipeline View

The easiest way to move a deal is through the Pipeline View:

1. Navigate to the Pipeline View of your selected pipeline
2. Click and hold on the deal card you want to move
3. Drag the deal to the desired stage column
4. Release to drop the deal in its new stage

Changing Stage in Deal Details

You can also change a deal's stage from the Deal Details page:

1. Open the deal by clicking on it in either Pipeline or List view
2. In the Deal Details page, find the stage information in the header
3. Click on the current stage name to open the stage selector dropdown
4. Select the new stage from the dropdown menu
5. The change will be applied automatically

Bulk Moving Deals

To move multiple deals to a new stage at once:

1. Go to the List View of your deals
2. Select the checkboxes next to the deals you want to move
3. Click the "Bulk Actions" button
4. Select "Change Stage" from the dropdown menu
5. Choose the target stage from the dialog that appears
6. Click "Apply" to move all selected deals to the new stage

Switching Between Pipelines

If your organization uses multiple pipelines, you can easily switch between them to view and manage deals in different sales processes.

1. In the Deals section, locate the pipeline selector dropdown at the top of the page
2. Click on the dropdown to see all available pipelines
3. Select the pipeline you want to view
4. The view will update to show deals in the selected pipeline

Moving Deals Between Pipelines

Sometimes a deal may need to be moved from one pipeline to another. For example, a deal might start in a "New Business" pipeline but need to be moved to a "Enterprise" pipeline as it develops.

1. Open the deal by clicking on it in either Pipeline or List view
2. In the Deal Details page, find the pipeline information in the header
3. Click on the current pipeline name or look for a "Change Pipeline" option
4. Select the new pipeline from the dropdown menu
5. Choose the appropriate stage in the new pipeline
6. Confirm the change

Pipeline Analytics

AchieveApex provides analytics for your pipelines to help you understand your sales process and identify opportunities for improvement.

Stage Metrics

For each stage in your pipeline, you can view:

• Deal Count: The number of deals currently in the stage
• Total Value: The combined value of all deals in the stage
• Conversion Rate: The percentage of deals that move from this stage to the next
• Average Time in Stage: How long deals typically spend in this stage

Pipeline Overview

For the entire pipeline, you can analyze:

• Total Pipeline Value: The combined value of all open deals
• Win Rate: The percentage of deals that reach "Closed Won"
• Average Deal Size: The typical value of deals in the pipeline
• Sales Cycle Length: The average time from creation to closing

Best Practices for Pipeline Management

• Mirror Your Real Process: Design your pipeline stages to reflect your actual sales process, not an idealized version
• Use Consistent Criteria: Establish clear criteria for when a deal should move from one stage to the next
• Limit Stage Count: Keep your pipeline manageable with 5-7 stages; too many stages can overcomplicate the process
• Regular Reviews: Schedule regular pipeline reviews to keep deals moving and identify bottlenecks
• Update Deal Information: Ensure deal values and other details are updated as deals progress through stages
• Clean Your Pipeline: Regularly review and update or remove stalled deals to maintain accurate forecasting

Next Steps

Now that you understand how to create and manage pipelines and stages, you may want to learn about:

• Managing deal amounts and products to track the financial aspects of your deals
• Setting up automated actions and notifications when deals move between stages
• Creating custom reports to analyze your pipeline performance