What are sales pipeline stages, and how do you build a pipeline?

A sales pipeline is a visual way to track open deals. Each column is a stage, each card is a deal, and moving a card to the next column records progress. Because every deal sits in exactly one stage, the pipeline doubles as a forecast: the value in each stage, multiplied by how likely deals in that stage are to close, tells you what to expect.

A pipeline is not the same as a funnel. The funnel counts how many leads drop out at each step; the pipeline is the working list of deals still in play.

Start with an honest guess and correct it with history. A common starting point is low single figures for early stages, rising to most of the way for negotiation. After a few months, compare each stage's probability with the share of deals from that stage that actually closed, and adjust.

In Flaxxa CRM each stage carries a probability, and the forecast weights open deal values by it, so a better probability gives you a better forecast.