Most sales teams end up with a messy pipeline sooner or later: too many stages, vague labels, deals stuck for months, and nobody really knows what’s next. If you’re using Freckle to manage your pipeline, you’ve already dodged some headaches—Freckle is built to keep things simple. But even a good tool can get unwieldy without a solid approach.
This guide is for anyone setting up or wrangling pipeline stages in Freckle—whether you’re starting from scratch or cleaning up a Frankenstein’s monster of old stages. I’ll walk through the practical stuff that actually works, call out the common traps, and help you get a pipeline that’s clear, useful, and doesn’t make your team’s eyes glaze over.
1. Start With Fewer Stages Than You Think
Most teams overcomplicate their pipeline right away. Every new stage feels like it’ll add clarity, but in reality, more stages just means more places for deals to get lost or forgotten.
How to do it:
- Begin with 4–6 stages. That’s usually enough to capture the real steps of almost any sales process: something like “New,” “Qualified,” “Proposal Sent,” “Negotiation,” and “Closed Won/Lost.”
- Name stages for actions, not feelings. For example, “Demo Scheduled” is better than “Interested.” Each stage should mark a clear, observable step.
- Don’t create a stage for every minor activity. If it takes longer to move a deal between stages than to actually do the work, you’ve got too many.
Pro tip: If you’re not sure whether a stage is necessary, leave it out for now. You can always add more later if you see a real need.
2. Define Each Stage So Anyone Can Understand
Vague stage names are a recipe for confusion. Everyone should know, without guessing, when a deal belongs in each stage.
How to do it:
- Write a one-sentence definition for each stage. For example: “Qualified: We’ve spoken to the lead and confirmed they have budget, authority, and need.”
- List the trigger for entering a stage. What has to happen for a deal to move here? Be specific.
- Share these definitions with your team. Post them in your sales Slack channel, or keep them in a shared doc.
What to avoid:
- Stages like “Follow Up” (what does that really mean?).
- Overlapping stages (“Contacted” vs. “Reached Out”).
- Stages based on internal admin work, not the customer’s journey.
3. Make Moving Deals Between Stages an Actual Event
The pipeline should reflect real progress, not just “we did something.” If stages get changed just to clear a dashboard or make numbers look better, you’ll start ignoring the whole thing.
How to do it:
- Tie each stage transition to a real-world action. For example: “Moved to ‘Negotiation’ after a pricing call.”
- Update stages as soon as the action happens. Don’t batch changes once a week—it gets messy and less accurate.
- Use Freckle’s notes or custom fields to log what happened, so there’s context if someone else looks later.
Pro tip: If you notice deals bouncing back and forth between two stages, that’s a sign those stages are probably too similar or unclear.
4. Keep the Pipeline Manageable—Prune Regularly
Old stages, abandoned deals, or “maybe someday” prospects clog up your pipeline and make reporting useless. Clean up is not exciting, but it’s essential.
How to do it:
- Review pipeline stages every quarter. Ask: Are we actually using all of them? Is anything always empty?
- Archive or delete unused stages. In Freckle, this is low-risk—you won’t lose deal data, just the clutter.
- Have a clear “Closed Lost” stage. Don’t let dead deals linger in limbo. Move them out once it’s clear they’re not happening.
What to ignore: The urge to keep old stages “just in case.” If you haven’t used a stage in three months, you don’t need it.
5. Let Reporting Needs Guide Your Stages—Not the Other Way Around
It’s tempting to create pipeline stages just to get prettier charts. Don’t. The pipeline should match your real process, not a reporting wishlist.
How to do it:
- Start with your sales process first. Build stages around that, and only adjust if you genuinely can’t get the data you need.
- Use Freckle’s filters and tags for reporting details, instead of adding extra pipeline stages.
- If you’re constantly exporting to Excel to build your own reports, ask if your stages are too granular or if you need a custom view.
Pro tip: If your pipeline stages make perfect sense to a spreadsheet but no sense to your sales team, you’ve over-engineered it.
6. Train the Team—And Get Feedback Early
A pipeline is only as good as the people using it. If everyone invents their own definitions or ignores the system, it’s not worth the effort.
How to do it:
- Walk through the pipeline with your team. Show examples of real deals at each stage.
- Ask for feedback after a few weeks. What’s confusing? Where do deals get stuck?
- Adjust based on real-world use, not theory. If a stage isn’t working, change or drop it.
What to avoid: Mandating a pipeline from the top down and expecting instant compliance. If you want buy-in, make it easy to use and explain why each stage matters.
7. Don’t Overcomplicate With Automation—Yet
Freckle offers automation features, but it’s easy to go overboard. Before setting up triggers, webhooks, or automatic stage changes, make sure your basic process works.
How to do it:
- Use manual stage changes at first. This helps you spot where things break down.
- Only automate repetitive, predictable actions. (E.g., auto-close deals that haven’t moved in 60 days.)
- Review any automation regularly. If it’s creating more confusion or hiding important context, scale it back.
Pro tip: Automation is great for high-volume, repeatable processes. If your sales cycle is long or complex, manual review is usually better.
8. Handle Edge Cases With Tags or Notes—Not More Stages
There will always be weird deals: the “maybe next year” prospect, the massive RFP, the oddball partnership. Resist the urge to create special pipeline stages for every exception.
How to do it:
- Use Freckle’s tags or notes to flag unusual deals.
- Create a single “On Hold” or “Deferred” stage if you really need one catch-all. But don’t multiply these.
- Review edge cases in your pipeline reviews, not by bloating the main process.
What to ignore: Requests to add a new stage for every unique scenario. Pipeline stages are for common, repeatable steps—everything else is noise.
9. Keep Stage Names Short and Obvious
You’re not writing a novel. Long or clever stage names slow everyone down.
How to do it:
- Stick to 2–3 words max. “Proposal Sent,” not “Formal Written Pricing Document Delivered.”
- Avoid jargon or internal codes. If a new hire can’t understand it, it’s too complicated.
- If two names sound similar, combine or clarify. Better to have fewer, clearer options.
10. Iterate—Don’t Wait for Perfection
The “perfect” pipeline doesn’t exist. Your process will change as your team and business change.
How to do it:
- Set a calendar reminder to review your pipeline every 3–6 months.
- Be willing to tweak, merge, or delete stages. Nothing is set in stone.
- Don’t get stuck in endless planning. Set it up, use it, and improve as you go.
Summary: Keep It Simple, Keep It Honest
A good pipeline in Freckle is clear, actionable, and as simple as possible. Don’t try to map every possible scenario or please every reporting request—focus on what helps your team actually move deals forward.
Start with fewer stages, define them clearly, and prune often. Use tags and notes for the exceptions, and only automate once you know your process works. Most important: get feedback from the people using it, and don’t be afraid to change things that aren’t working.
If you keep things simple and iterate, you’ll spend less time wrestling with your pipeline—and more time actually closing deals.