Seller-based stages
'Demo done' and 'proposal sent' measure your activity. Deals look further along than they are.
Free sales template
Sales pipeline stages template
Sales pipeline stages are the steps a deal moves through from first meeting to closed won or lost, each defined by what must be true for the deal to move on. This template gives you seven B2B stages with definitions, exit criteria, owners and required CRM fields, plus the conversion formulas that make pipeline management a weekly habit rather than a quarterly surprise.
What it is and when to use it
A pipeline stage is only useful if two people would put the same deal in the same stage. That means each stage needs exit criteria based on what the buyer has done, not what the seller hopes. 'Sent proposal' is a seller action. 'Buyer confirmed budget range and the people who will approve it' is an exit criterion.
Pipeline management is the weekly discipline of checking every open deal against those criteria, moving it forward, back or out, and measuring how many deals convert from each stage to the next. Done well, it tells you three things: whether there is enough pipeline to hit the number, where deals are stalling, and which deals in the forecast are real.
For teams using SDRs, the pipeline starts before the AE's first meeting. This template includes the meeting booked and meeting held stages so you can see the hand-off from SDR to AE, which is where many outbound programs leak.
Who uses it
Account executives
Use the exit criteria to decide where each deal sits and what the next step must achieve.
Sales managers
Use the stage definitions in pipeline reviews and the conversion formulas to find where deals stall.
Founders
Use it to set up the CRM pipeline properly once, instead of inheriting a default that does not match how your buyers buy.
The sales pipeline stages template
Every section and column, with what to write in each. Use the fill-in version below to type straight into it and copy, print or download the result.
1. Stage definitions and exit criteria
Rename stages to suit your sale, but keep the exit criteria buyer-based. Probabilities should come from your own closed deals.
| Stage | Definition | Exit criteria: the buyer has | Owner | Required CRM fields | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Meeting booked | A first meeting is in the calendar with a person who fits the ideal customer profile | Accepted the invite and confirmed attendance the day before | SDR | Contact role, company, source, stated need, meeting date | Set from history |
| 2. Meeting held | The first meeting took place with the right person | Discussed a real problem and agreed a next step | AE | Attended (yes or no), qualified (yes or no), notes | Set from history |
| 3. Qualified opportunity | There is a problem worth solving, a likely budget and a path to a decision | Confirmed the problem, timing and who else is involved | AE | Amount estimate, close date, decision process, qualification notes | Set from history |
| 4. Solution or demo | You have shown how you solve the problem for this buyer | Agreed the solution fits and named the evaluation criteria | AE | Stakeholders engaged, evaluation criteria, competitors | Set from history |
| 5. Proposal | A priced proposal is with the buyer | Reviewed the proposal and confirmed budget and approvers | AE | Proposal value, approvers, paper process | Set from history |
| 6. Commit or negotiation | The buyer intends to proceed and terms are being agreed | Verbally committed and given a signature date | AE and manager | Signature date, legal or procurement status | Set from history |
| 7. Closed won or lost | Signed, or a decision not to proceed | Signed the contract, or told you no | AE | Close reason, competitor, final value | 100% or 0% |
2. Stage conversion tracker
Measure a cohort: deals that entered each stage in the period, and how many moved on.
| Stage | Entered this period | Moved to next stage | Conversion | Average days in stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting booked to held | Number | Number | Moved / entered | Days |
| Meeting held to qualified | Number | Number | Moved / entered | Days |
| Qualified to solution | Number | Number | Moved / entered | Days |
| Solution to proposal | Number | Number | Moved / entered | Days |
| Proposal to commit | Number | Number | Moved / entered | Days |
| Commit to closed won | Number | Number | Moved / entered | Days |
3. Pipeline management rules
| Field | What to write |
|---|---|
| Stale deal rule | For example: any deal with no buyer activity for 21 days, or more than twice the average days in its stage, is flagged in the weekly review. |
| Close date rule | Who can move a close date, and how many times before the deal is downgraded or closed lost. |
| Review rhythm | When the team reviews pipeline, which stages are covered and what each AE must bring. |
| SDR to AE handover rule | What the SDR must capture before the meeting and when it becomes the AE's deal. |
Fill it in online
Type into the template, or load the worked example and edit it. Nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere: it stays in this browser tab until you copy, download or print it.
Empty fields copy as {{placeholders}} so you can see what is left to fill in.
Formulas
Conversion formulas for pipeline management. Use the meetings per dial calculator for the SDR stages and the pipeline calculator to work back from a revenue target.
| Metric | Formula | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Stage conversion | Deals that moved to the next stage / deals that entered the stage | Use a cohort, not a snapshot, or deals in flight distort the rate. |
| Show rate | Meetings held / meetings booked | Nousu publishes 75% to 85% for a well run program. |
| Meeting to opportunity | Qualified opportunities / meetings held | Nousu's published figure is 50% of phone-sourced meetings. |
| Win rate | Closed won / (closed won + closed lost) | From qualified opportunity onwards. |
| Weighted pipeline | Sum of (deal value x stage probability) | Probabilities from your own history, not the CRM default. |
| Pipeline coverage | Open pipeline closing in the period / remaining target | Need roughly 1 / win rate. |
| Average days in stage | Total days deals spent in a stage / deals that left the stage | Use it to set the stale deal rule. |
Worked example
An Australian B2B company using outsourced SDRs. The company is described, not named, and the figures are illustrative.
Worked example: a Brisbane fleet telematics company
A Brisbane company sells vehicle telematics to transport and field service businesses with 20 to 300 vehicles. An outsourced SDR team books first meetings for three AEs. The team rebuilt its CRM stages using this template after finding that 30% of 'proposal' deals had never confirmed a budget.
Conversion and day counts are illustrative, from one quarter.
1. Stage definitions and exit criteria
| Stage | Definition | Exit criteria: the buyer has | Owner | Required CRM fields | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Meeting booked | First meeting with an operations or fleet manager at a fleet of 20 to 300 vehicles | Accepted and confirmed the day before | SDR | Fleet size, current system, stated need, meeting date | 10% |
| 2. Meeting held | Meeting took place with the fleet decision maker | Shared a real problem and agreed a demo | AE | Attended, qualified, notes | 20% |
| 3. Qualified opportunity | Problem, timing and budget range confirmed | Named the decision process and the finance approver | AE | Vehicles, estimated value, close date | 30% |
| 4. Solution or demo | Demo run with the fleet and finance leads | Confirmed fit and evaluation criteria | AE | Stakeholders, competitors | 45% |
| 5. Proposal | Priced proposal sent | Reviewed price and confirmed approvers | AE | Proposal value, approvers | 60% |
| 6. Commit or negotiation | Agreeing contract and install dates | Given a signature date | AE and manager | Signature date, contract status | 80% |
| 7. Closed won or lost | Signed or declined | Signed, or said no | AE | Reason, competitor, value | 100% or 0% |
2. Stage conversion tracker
| Stage | Entered this period | Moved to next stage | Conversion | Average days in stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting booked to held | 60 | 48 | 80% | 6 |
| Meeting held to qualified | 48 | 23 | 48% | 9 |
| Qualified to solution | 23 | 17 | 74% | 12 |
| Solution to proposal | 17 | 12 | 71% | 10 |
| Proposal to commit | 12 | 6 | 50% | 18 |
| Commit to closed won | 6 | 5 | 83% | 11 |
3. Pipeline management rules
- Stale deal rule
- No buyer reply or meeting for 21 days, or more than twice the average days in stage, goes on the Friday review list.
- Close date rule
- AEs can move a close date once. The second move needs the sales manager, and a third move closes the deal lost with reason 'no decision'.
- Review rhythm
- Friday 1pm, 45 minutes. Stages 4 to 6 deal by deal, stages 1 to 3 as numbers only.
- SDR to AE handover rule
- SDR adds the role, stated need, current setup, fleet size and why they took the meeting to the CRM before sending the invite. The deal becomes the AE's once the meeting is held.
What to notice
- The weakest step was proposal to commit, at 50% and 18 days. Proposals were going out before approvers were named, so the exit criteria for stage 5 now require it.
- Five wins from 48 held meetings is about one deal per ten meetings. That ratio fed straight back into the SDR meeting target.
How to use it, step by step
- Map how your buyers actually buy. Look at your last ten won deals and list what the buyer did between first meeting and signature. Your stages should follow those buyer steps.
- Write exit criteria for each stage. Each one starts with 'the buyer has'. If a criterion describes something the seller did, rewrite it.
- Set required fields. Make the CRM require the fields listed for each stage before a deal can move on. This is what keeps the data honest.
- Set probabilities from history. For each stage, what share of deals that reached it went on to close? Use that, not the CRM default.
- Agree the management rules. Stale deals, close date changes, review rhythm and the SDR to AE handover. Write them down and share them.
- Measure conversion every month. Fill in the conversion tracker for a cohort. The lowest conversion or longest time in stage is where to coach.
Common mistakes
Too many stages
More than seven or eight stages and reps stop updating them. Combine stages that do not change what you do next.
Default probabilities
A CRM that says 60% at proposal for every company is guessing. Use your own closed deal history.
No closed lost discipline
Deals that should be lost sit in the pipeline, inflate coverage and wreck the forecast. Close them with a reason.
Skipping the SDR stages
Without meeting booked and held stages, you cannot see whether the leak is in the handover or the sale.
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Want the meetings, not just the template?
Nousu Collective runs phone-first outbound for B2B companies selling into Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, with Australian callers in-house in Sydney. Our outsourced SDR service builds the list, runs the calling, email and LinkedIn cadence and books qualified meetings into your calendar. If you only need calls made, see cold calling or appointment setting.
In our data from 218,000+ dials into Australian businesses, Australian callers booked 1.3 meetings per 100 dials, against 0.3 for offshore teams. Pricing is starting at $7,000 a month.
FAQ
Sales pipeline stages template questions
Straight answers from the team that runs outbound for Australian B2B companies.
Still have questions?
Book a 30-minute callA common B2B set is meeting booked, meeting held, qualified opportunity, solution or demo, proposal, commit or negotiation, and closed won or lost. The names matter less than clear, buyer-based exit criteria for each stage.
Pipeline management is reviewing every open deal against stage exit criteria each week, moving deals forward, back or out, and measuring stage conversion so you know whether there is enough pipeline and where deals stall.
Usually five to seven between first meeting and close. Fewer and you cannot see where deals stall; more and reps stop updating them.
Exit criteria are the conditions that must be true before a deal moves to the next stage, written as what the buyer has done. For example: the buyer has confirmed budget and named the approvers.
Take the deals that entered a stage in a period and divide the number that moved to the next stage by the number that entered. Measuring a cohort avoids distortion from deals still in flight.
Frameworks such as BANT or MEDDIC supply the questions behind the qualified opportunity exit criteria. Our sales qualification frameworks guide compares them.
Roughly your remaining target divided by your win rate. At a 25% win rate, about four times the remaining target. The pipeline calculator works it out from your own numbers.
Need a team to run the plan?
Book a 30-minute call. We will map your market and buyers and show you what a phone-first campaign would book.
Starting at $7,000 a month. Exact fee quoted after a 30-minute call.