If you’re using Canopy to track your sales pipeline, you already know the basics: stages, deals, tasks, and so on. But most teams still struggle with slow deals, stale pipelines, and a nagging feeling they’re flying blind. This guide is for sales managers, reps, and anyone who wants to make their pipeline in Canopy actually help them close deals faster—not just look good in a dashboard.
You won’t find fluffy “growth hacks” here. Just honest advice on what works, what to skip, and how to keep your process simple enough for real humans to use.
1. Understand What Pipeline Stages Are (and Aren’t)
Before you start tweaking stages, get clear on what they’re supposed to do:
- Stages are milestones in your sales process. Think: “Qualified,” “Proposal Sent,” “Negotiation,” not just “Step 1, Step 2, Step 3.”
- They’re not to-do lists. Don’t cram every tiny task (like “Send intro email”) into a stage. That’s what tasks and notes are for.
- Keep it buyer-focused. Your stages should reflect real progress from the buyer’s point of view, not just your own activity.
Pro tip: If you can’t explain the difference between two stages in a single sentence, you probably have too many.
2. Map Your Actual Sales Process (Not the One You Wish You Had)
It’s tempting to copy a textbook pipeline or what you saw at a previous company. Don’t. Canopy is flexible, but that’s only useful if you’re honest about how your team actually works.
How to do it:
- Grab a whiteboard or a blank doc.
- Write down the key steps your deals go through from first touch to closed-won (or lost).
- Ignore edge cases and exceptions for now. Focus on the typical path.
- For each step, ask: “Does this always happen, or just sometimes?”
You’ll probably end up with 5–7 real stages. More than that, and your team will start ignoring them. Fewer, and you’ll miss important progress markers.
What to skip: Don’t create a stage for every possible status (like “Waiting for Legal,” “Waiting for Finance,” etc.). Use tags or deal fields for that. Stages should be linear and reflect forward movement.
3. Set Up Stages in Canopy—And Name Them Clearly
Once you’ve mapped your process, set up your pipeline in Canopy. Here’s what matters:
Naming Best Practices
- Be specific, not vague. “Proposal Sent” is better than “Review.”
- Avoid jargon. If someone new can’t guess what a stage means, rename it.
- Use buyer language. “Demo Completed” is clearer than “Internal Presentation.”
Example Pipeline
Here’s a simple, effective structure for most B2B sales:
- Qualified – They fit your ICP and want to talk.
- Discovery – You’ve had a real call or meeting.
- Proposal Sent – You’ve shared pricing or a formal proposal.
- Negotiation – They’re pushing back or asking questions.
- Verbal Commit – They’ve said yes, but paperwork isn’t done.
- Closed Won / Closed Lost
What to ignore: Don’t bother with “Lead” or “Unqualified” as stages. Those are statuses or separate lists, not part of the deal pipeline.
4. Define Entry and Exit Criteria for Each Stage
This is where most teams go wrong. If you want to move deals faster, everyone needs to agree on when a deal moves forward.
- Entry criteria: What must happen for a deal to enter this stage?
- Exit criteria: What must be true to move to the next stage?
Example:
- Proposal Sent
- Entry: You’ve sent a formal quote or proposal to the buyer.
- Exit: Buyer has responded (with questions, feedback, or a verbal yes/no).
Write these down. Share them. If you’re managing a team, make this part of onboarding.
Why this matters: Without clear criteria, reps dump deals in whatever stage “feels” right. That bloats your pipeline and hides stuck deals.
5. Audit and Clean Your Pipeline—Religiously
Pipeline rot is real. Old, forgotten deals clog up your reports and make forecasting pointless.
Every week:
- Filter for deals that haven’t moved in 14+ days (or whatever makes sense for your cycle).
- Ask: “Is this deal really alive? Or are we just hoping?”
- Move dead deals to “Closed Lost” or a “Dormant” list. Don’t be precious.
Monthly or quarterly:
- Review your stages. Are deals bunching up in one stage? Are reps skipping steps?
- Adjust your process or criteria if needed. The pipeline should reflect reality, not wishful thinking.
What to ignore: Don’t keep deals “just in case.” Stale deals don’t close faster; they just mess up your data.
6. Use Canopy Features to Automate and Speed Things Up
Canopy’s not magic, but it can save you time if you use its features well:
- Automated stage triggers: Set up automations to move deals forward when key actions happen (like a proposal is sent through Canopy).
- Reminders and tasks: Attach tasks to each stage so you don’t forget to follow up.
- Custom fields: Use fields for details like deal size, close date, or blockers—don’t cram everything into “notes.”
- Reports and dashboards: Use them to spot bottlenecks. Are too many deals stuck in “Negotiation”? Time to coach or rethink your approach.
Pro tip: Start simple. Fancy automations and reports are useless if your stages and criteria aren’t clear first.
7. Train Your Team (and Yourself) to Use the Pipeline—Every Day
The best-designed pipeline is worthless if nobody updates it. Make it a habit:
- Daily: Update deal stages as soon as something actually changes. Don’t save it for Friday.
- Weekly: Review stuck deals and discuss as a team—no judgment, just facts.
- Monthly: Share what’s working (and what’s not) with the whole team. Tweak as you go.
What to watch for: If reps aren’t updating stages, it’s usually because the process is too complex or the stages don’t match reality. Fix that, not just the symptoms.
8. Ignore the Hype: What Actually Doesn’t Matter
You’ll see lots of advice about color-coding, multi-pipeline setups, or elaborate scoring systems. Here’s the honest take:
- Color-coding: Nice to have, but it won’t close deals faster.
- Dozens of stages: Just creates confusion. Five to seven is plenty.
- Custom pipelines for every product: Only do this if your sales processes are truly different. Otherwise, it’s overkill.
- Pipeline “health” metrics: Useful, but don’t obsess. The best metric is still “Did we win the deal?”
Focus on real conversations, clear stages, and honest pipeline hygiene. The rest is just noise.
9. Keep It Simple—and Iterate
Your pipeline isn’t set in stone. If something’s not working, change it. If a stage confuses people, rename or remove it. Don’t wait for a “big process review”—just fix what’s broken and move on.
Remember: The best pipeline is the one your team actually uses. Clarity beats complexity every time.
Now get back to selling—and let your pipeline help you, not slow you down.