Having a clear, well-aligned sales pipeline is essential for success in B2B sales. An effective pipeline not only creates structure and predictability in your sales efforts but also enables better follow-up, coaching, and forecasting. But how do you determine the best type of pipeline and the specific stages it should include?
Start with your sales process
…not with generic templates.
One of the biggest mistakes companies make is copying pipeline structures from other businesses or CRM systems. Instead, the pipeline should reflect your unique sales process – from first contact to closed deal – from both the seller’s and the buyer’s perspective.
Tip: Map your sales journey step by step. Ask:
- What does a typical deal look like from initial contact to close?
- What internal activities are required at each stage (meetings, demos, quotes, negotiations, etc.)?
- What decision points occur on the buyer’s side?
Define the main stages of the pipeline
Your pipeline should include clear stages that represent a progression through the sales cycle. Each stage should correspond to a tangible event or milestone that indicates the deal is moving forward.
My personal view: Avoid using subjective stages, such as “how likely we think it is to close.” Gut feeling has its place, but it’s highly individual. A pleasant meeting will almost always lead to an overestimated probability compared to a less engaging one – regardless of actual customer need or likelihood of signing.
Common B2B pipeline stages:
- Prospect identified – potential customer, not yet contacted.
- Initial contact established – e.g., via phone, email, or meeting.
- Needs analysis completed – salesperson understands the customer’s challenges.
- Solution presentation/Demo – a tailored solution has been presented.
- Proposal/Quote sent – a formal offer has been delivered.
- Negotiation – discussions around pricing, terms, and details.
- Closed-Won – the deal is signed.
- Closed-Lost – the customer chose a different solution or backed out.
Adapt the pipeline to different deal types
…if needed.
If you’re selling different types of offerings – e.g., small subscriptions vs. large system solutions, or outbound vs. inbound – it may be worth having separate pipelines or at least customized stages for each deal type.
That said: I personally believe you should aim for one pipeline, and only use multiple in exceptional cases.
Example:
- A simple product with a short sales cycle may only require 3–4 stages.
- A complex consulting project might need more, including technical validation and legal review.
Define clear criteria for each stage
To make your pipeline truly useful, each stage needs clearly defined criteria. This reduces subjectivity and ensures the entire sales team interprets each stage the same way.
Guideline: If it takes more than 1–2 sentences to explain a stage, it’s too complicated – and opens the door to interpretation.
Checklist for each stage:
- What must happen to move a deal to this stage?
- Who needs to act – the customer or the salesperson?
- What evidence (e.g., email confirmation, meeting notes, activity logs) proves the step is complete?
Here you see an example of a pipeline. As you can see, each step is a clear milestone. As you gain a better understanding of your pipeline, the steps and their weighting are adjusted.
Use pipeline stages
to build a weighted forecast
One of the greatest benefits of a well-structured pipeline is that it enables a weighted sales forecast – an estimate of how likely each deal is to close, based on its current pipeline stage.
How to do it:
1. Assign probabilities to each stage.
These should reflect your historical conversion rates. For example:
- Needs analysis: 20%
- Demo: 40%
- Quote sent: 60%
- Negotiation: 80%
- Closed-Won: 100%
2. Calculate the weighted value of each deal.
Multiply the deal’s potential value by its stage probability.
Example:
A deal worth 500,000 SEK in the “Quote sent” stage (60%) gives a weighted value of:
500,000 x 0.6 = 300,000 SEK
3. Sum all weighted deals in the pipeline.
This gives you a forecast for upcoming revenue – not only total, but also broken down by month, rep, segment, or product.
So if your target for the month is 10 USD, your weighted forecast should show 10 USD. That gives you a clear view of how much pipeline volume you need to, hopefully, reach your goal. Okay, I know, it’s not quite that simple, but if you start from this point, you can learn over time how the weighted pipeline relates to the actual result. Once you gain this insight, it becomes significantly easier to work towards the budget.
Adjust for deal type and complexity.
Some deals (e.g., long, strategic accounts) may require customized probabilities or be forecasted separately.
Involve the sales team
Buy-in is everything. A pipeline created in a vacuum will not be used. By involving the sales team in the design, you ensure the model reflects reality – and that the team feels ownership.
Tips:
- Run workshops with sales reps and managers.
- Review real-life deals and test how they fit into the proposed pipeline.
- Adjust where the model doesn’t align with reality.
Test and improve
A pipeline is a living tool. After implementation, it should be tested, monitored, and refined. It’s common to discover, after a few months, that some stages are unnecessary or unclear.
Track and analyze:
- Where do deals get stuck most often?
- How long is the cycle per stage?
- How do pipelines differ between sales reps or customer segments?
Conclusion
A well-designed pipeline is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It must reflect your unique sales process and be tailored to your products, target audience, and sales strategy. By involving your sales team, defining clear stages, and continuously improving the model, you create a pipeline that’s not just used – but drives real results.
Need help mapping your sales process or designing the right pipeline?
Feel free to reach out – we can build a structure tailored specifically to your business.