How do I define my process's stages?
The stages that come preloaded are a starting point, not your process. Adapt them to how you really sell.
- Go to CRM > Settings > Pipelines and open your pipeline to edit it. If you've never touched it, edit the one that already exists instead of creating a new one.
- In the Stages block, rename each one in the Name column so it reflects your sales process (for example: First contact, Proposal sent, Negotiation, Close).
- Use Add stage to add the ones you're missing, and drag them into the order they really happen.
You need at least two stages. If you sell different services with different processes, you can have more than one pipeline with New pipeline and move a deal from one to another when needed; Set as default marks which one is the main one, the one proposed when you don't choose another.
What else does each pipeline define, besides the stages?
Four controls in the same editor. None of them throws an error if it's set wrong: you notice later, when the numbers don't add up.
Default currency, in the pipeline's Configuration block. It's the currency of every new deal in that pipeline, of the Forecast and of all the totals. It comes in dollars. Change it before creating your first deal: each deal stores the currency it was created with, so the ones that already exist don't change on their own and fixing them later is manual work, one by one.
Probability %, the second column of the stages table. It's the typical close percentage for each stage, and it's what feeds the Weighted value of the Forecast (each deal inherits it from its stage). Without your own percentages that projection tells you nothing useful: load them based on what really happens, not on what you'd like.
Rotting days, the third column. It's how many days a deal can sit in that stage without advancing before it's marked as stalled (the count starts when it enters the stage and only resets when it moves to another). It's the alert that warns you about a forgotten deal before it goes cold, and nothing replaces it: without it, a deal can sit still for months and nobody notices. Then you spot them with the Rotting column and filter them by Freshness —Fresh, At risk, Rotting— in your deals.
Won stage, the trophy at the end of each row. It marks which one is your closing stage: there's only one per pipeline, and when you win a deal the system moves it there on its own.
In that same editor you define the pipeline's Lost reasons, with Add reason. They belong to each pipeline, and they're the ones you pick when you Mark lost to understand where your opportunities fall through. Finish with Save changes.
How do I work deals in the funnel?
A deal is a sales opportunity. You move it through the stages as it advances. The same funnel is viewed in several ways, depending on what you need. In CRM > Pipelines you have three views:
- Kanban — the board of columns by stage. Drag the deal from one column to another to advance it.
- Forecast — projects the close based on each deal's value and stage. This is where it shows whether you loaded the Probability %.
- Calendar — organizes the deals by date.
And in CRM > Deals you have the Spreadsheet: an editable table, useful for updating many deals quickly. The board, the forecast and the calendar live in CRM > Pipelines: they're views of the same funnel, not separate copies.
In Deals, in the Kanban and in the Calendar, the toolbar carries a Status selector, and it means the same in all three: Open —the default, what's in play—, Won, Lost, All —the three of them together— and, after the divider, Archived — deals you set aside without deleting them (archiving keeps everything and you can restore whenever you want; Delete is the one that actually removes), and they never count inside All. Forecast has no selector: it always projects open deals only, so the projection isn't inflated by what's already closed.
Each deal carries its Deal value and its Currency, so you see the money at stake in each stage. The currency comes from the pipeline, and you can change it on that specific deal if that sale goes in another one.
What can I manage inside each deal?
Each deal brings all its information together in one place: when you open it you see its history, its data and the actions to work it. From its record you can:
- Leave notes. In the Notes tab you log each conversation or agreement, so the context doesn't live only in your head.
- Move the deal between stages. Drag it between columns in Kanban to advance it, or use Move to other pipeline when the process changes (keeping in mind what that does to the statistics, explained above).
- Reassign the deal to another salesperson. With Reassign owner you pass the opportunity to another person on the team.
- Add products and calculate the value. In the Quote tab you add lines from your Products catalog (or a Free line) with quantity, price and discount, and MB Suite calculates the Deal value automatically. That same quote can be downloaded as a branded PDF to send to the client: see Send a professional quote in PDF from the deal. To manage that catalog (and connect an ecommerce feed), see Products and catalogs: your manual list and synced feeds.
What's next?
To work a deal in depth —history, activities and agenda—, go to Manage a deal: history, activities and agenda.
If you're setting up the CRM from scratch, this funnel is part of a bigger order: Set up the CRM foundations: team, funnel and custom fields.
Still have questions?
Ask MIA, the MB Suite AI assistant: open it with the MB AI button (⌘J) in the top bar. MIA knows the section you're in, so you can ask it about what you see on screen — and it can also answer how-to questions about using MB Suite.