Pipeline Management

This guide shows you how to effectively move contacts through your sales pipeline and manage the 4-stage process.

Moving contacts between stages

From New Leads to Contacted

When to move: After you’ve made initial contact with a lead

1. Click on the contact card in the “New Leads” column
2. Add notes about your initial contact attempt
3. Update status to “Contacted”
4. Set follow-up reminders if needed

From Contacted to Qualified

When to move: When a lead shows genuine interest and has been qualified

Requirements for qualification:

• Lead has responded positively to initial outreach
• They have a legitimate inspection need
• Budget and timeline are reasonable
• Decision-maker has been identified

Steps:

1. Review contact details and conversation history
2. Confirm they meet qualification criteria
3. Update status to “Qualified”
4. Assign to appropriate team member (e.g., Ryan Malloy)

From Qualified to Closed

When to move: When a deal is won or lost

For Won Deals:

1. Update status to “Closed”
2. Add final notes with deal value
3. Schedule follow-up for future opportunities

For Lost Deals:

1. Update status appropriately
2. Document reason for loss
3. Set reminders for future re-engagement

Best practices

Lead scoring guidelines

• 85-89: Standard prospects - good fit but may need nurturing
• 90-94: High-value prospects - prioritize for quick follow-up
• 95+: Premium leads - immediate attention required

Pipeline velocity

Target timeframes:

• New → Contacted: Within 24 hours
• Contacted → Qualified: Within 1 week
• Qualified → Closed: 2-4 weeks depending on project complexity

Contact management tips

1. Always add notes when moving contacts between stages
2. Update contact information if you learn new details
3. Track source to understand which channels work best
4. Monitor lead scores and prioritize high-scoring prospects

Common scenarios

Handling unresponsive leads

If a contact doesn’t respond after initial outreach:

1. Wait 3-5 business days
2. Try a different communication method (phone vs email)
3. If still no response after 2 weeks, consider moving to “Inactive” status

Re-engaging old contacts

For contacts that went quiet:

1. Review their original inquiry and notes
2. Send a value-focused follow-up message
3. Reference any changes in services or new offerings
4. Respect their decision if they’re not interested

Managing high-volume periods

When you have many new leads:

1. Sort by lead score (highest first)
2. Focus on 90+ scoring prospects immediately
3. Batch similar follow-up tasks
4. Use templates for initial outreach but personalize

Reporting and analysis

Key metrics to track

• Conversion rates between each stage
• Average time spent in each stage
• Lead sources that generate highest-quality prospects
• Team performance (if multiple people handle leads)

Monthly pipeline review

1. Analyze contacts that moved through each stage
2. Identify bottlenecks or stages where contacts get stuck
3. Review and update lead scoring criteria if needed
4. Plan outreach campaigns based on successful sources

Next steps

• Learn about lead scoring methodology →
• Set up reporting and analytics →
• Understand contact operations →