Create a sales pipeline and its stages in 6am

Build the sales process that opportunities will follow in 6am.

• Owner: A company member with permission to manage contacts.
• Outcome: One active pipeline with named stages in the agreed order.
• Before starting: Confirm the company and agree on the meaning of each stage. A pipeline is not a list of contacts; opportunities represent individual requests or deals.

1. Define the stages

Write down the observable condition for entering each stage. For example: New request → First contact → Proposal sent → Negotiation. Keep the initial stage suitable for unreviewed form submissions. Won and Lost are opportunity statuses; they do not need to be duplicated as stages.

Choose a descriptive pipeline name. Search Sales pipelines before creating another process with the same purpose.

2. Create and verify

1. Open Sales pipelines in the correct company and choose Create pipeline.
2. Enter the name. Add a row for each stage, using distinct names. The editor accepts up to 20 stages and requires at least one.
3. Drag the rows or use the reorder arrows. Read the final order from top to bottom.
4. Save. Reopen Edit and confirm the names and order. Do not assume a success notification proves that the sequence matches the team's process.

3. Use the pipeline

Create one controlled opportunity using SOP 103. Select this pipeline and its first stage. Confirm that the opportunity appears under the pipeline filter and can move to the next stage.

To receive opportunities from a form, follow SOP 075. Configure that form explicitly; creating a pipeline does not activate automation.

4. Change safely

Rename or reorder existing stage rows through Edit. This keeps their identities and existing opportunity links. Do not remove and recreate a stage merely to rename it.

A stage referenced by any opportunity or an unarchived configured form cannot be removed. Move the affected opportunities and update the form configuration first. Historical won/lost opportunities count as references. Editing a form saves it as a draft; publish again only after checking its destination.

To archive a pipeline, resolve its open opportunities and remove it from unarchived form configurations. Archive preserves the pipeline, stages and history. Reactivate makes it available again; it does not publish forms or reopen deals. Archived pipelines must be reactivated before editing them.

Completion evidence

Record the company, pipeline name, ordered stages, date and the controlled opportunity used to verify it. If a stale-record warning appears, reload and review the newer version before saving. This procedure does not configure revenue reporting, custom fields or automatic messaging.