Salesforce sales pipeline implementation: setting up your sales process

1. Define the stages of your Salesforce sales pipeline

Start on paper. List each step a deal goes through, in your words, and what has to be true to move to the next one.

• Name stages after what happened, not what the rep hopes: Discovery Done, Proposal Sent, Contract Out.
• Give each stage exit criteria: the fields or events that prove the deal is ready to move.
• Name the closed stages clearly. Pick outcome names your team will use, so lost deals are not hidden under a vague label.
• Keep the list short enough that reps can tell the stages apart. A three-stage pipeline can work when the process is simple.

2. Set up stages, sales processes and record types

Lead Status works the same way for leads. Add a reason field for unqualified leads and require it, so you can report on why leads drop out.

3. Add stage rules and guidance

• Validation rules: require the fields for a stage before a deal can enter it, like a close date and amount at Proposal.
• Require a reason when a deal is closed lost.
• Path: show the stages across the top of the record, with key fields and guidance for each one.
• A key fields section on the layout, so the fields reps need are at the top.

4. Feed the pipeline with clean lead conversion

• Map lead fields to the account, contact and opportunity, so nothing is typed twice.
• Set a naming rule for new opportunities, so the pipeline report reads clearly.
• Set the default stage and record type the new opportunity starts in.
• Require a lead source before conversion, so the pipeline report can show where deals came from.

5. Build pipeline reports and forecasts

• Pipeline by stage and owner, with amount and count.
• Deals stuck in a stage past the point your team agrees on.
• Won and lost by lead source and reason.

For forecasting, Collaborative Forecasts roll up opportunity amounts by forecast category and close date, through your role hierarchy. Enable it in Setup, choose the forecast types, and set who forecasts for whom.

6. Add territory management if your team splits by region

Enterprise Territory Management assigns accounts to territories by rules, like state or postal code, and gives each territory its users. Forecasts can then roll up by territory.

With Salesforce Maps, reps and managers see the territories and accounts on a map.

Where to start

Review your current stages with the people who use them. Fix the names and exit criteria first, then the rules, then the reports.

Want help setting up your sales process in Salesforce? Book a free call and we will walk through your stages with you.