If you’re managing sales in any kind of team, you know how quickly a pipeline can turn into a mess of half-updated deals and wishful thinking. This guide is for anyone using Pitchmonster who wants real, practical ways to keep their sales pipeline up-to-date and actually useful—not just for show.
Whether you’re running solo or wrangling a whole team, these steps will help you cut through the noise, focus on what moves the needle, and avoid the classic pitfalls that make pipeline tracking a chore.
1. Get Your Pipeline Stages Right (and Don’t Overcomplicate)
A lot of problems start with too many pipeline stages or stages that don’t match your real-world sales process. Pitchmonster lets you customize these, so take advantage of it—but don’t get carried away.
What works: - Map to reality. Only add stages you actually use. “Proposal Sent”? Fine. “Initial Coffee Chat”? Maybe not. - Keep it simple. Most teams do fine with 5–7 stages: e.g., Lead In, Contacted, Demo Scheduled, Proposal Sent, Negotiation, Won, Lost. - Review regularly. Outdated stages will pollute your data over time.
What doesn’t: - Over-customizing for every edge case. You’ll just confuse yourself and the team. - Using “Catch-all” stages like “Other” or “Misc.” These become junk drawers.
Pro tip: If you’re not 100% sure what happens in a stage, your buyers probably aren’t either. Simplify.
2. Clean Data In, Useful Insights Out
Pitchmonster is only as helpful as the info you put in. Garbage in, garbage out. You don’t need to fill every field, but you do need consistency.
Best practices: - Mandatory fields. Set required fields for deal value, close date, and contact info. Don’t rely on memory. - Standardize naming. Use clear, customer-facing names for deals and contacts. “BigCo Q2 Expansion” beats “Jim’s Thing.” - Notes over memory. Log call notes, objections, and next steps right after the meeting. Even quick bullet points are better than nothing.
What to skip: - Overly detailed descriptions nobody will read. - Logging every email. Focus on the big moves, not inbox noise.
Pro tip: Set a 5-minute rule—update deals immediately after a call or meeting, not “later.”
3. Make Updating a Habit, Not a Project
If you only update your pipeline before a pipeline review, you’re setting yourself up for stress and bad decisions. Pitchmonster makes it pretty quick to drag deals between stages or update fields—take advantage.
How to stay on top of it: - Set a daily or weekly time. Even 10 minutes at the end of the day is enough for most people. - Use mobile or desktop reminders. If it’s not in your workflow, you’ll forget. - Encourage team accountability. In team settings, have everyone update their own deals. Don’t become the bottleneck.
What to ignore: - Fancy integrations if you’re not using them. It’s easy to get lost syncing tools you don’t actually need.
Pro tip: If updating the pipeline feels like a huge chore, your process is too complicated. Trim it down.
4. Use Filters, Not Just Lists
One of Pitchmonster’s strengths is its filtering and segmenting. If you’re just staring at one giant list of deals, you’re missing out.
How to use filters smartly: - Filter by stage or owner. Quickly see where deals are stuck or who’s overloaded. - Sort by closing date. Focus on what’s closing soon, not just the biggest deals. - Spot pipeline gaps. Use filters to see if you’ve got a healthy mix at each stage—or a desert.
What not to bother with: - Overly complex custom views. Build what you’ll actually use. - Filters for vanity metrics (“Deals over $1M in the Northeast since last Tuesday”). Useful? Maybe. Usually? Nope.
Pro tip: Save your favorite filters for fast access. Don’t waste time re-building views every week.
5. Track the Right Metrics (and Ignore the Rest)
There’s no shortage of dashboards in Pitchmonster, but not all metrics are worth your time.
What matters: - Conversion rates between stages. Where do deals drop off? That’s where you need to focus. - Average deal size and sales cycle. Are deals getting bigger or smaller? Faster or slower? - Pipeline coverage. Do you have enough in the pipeline to hit your goals?
What to ignore: - Total number of activities. Logging 100 calls means nothing if nothing moves forward. - Metrics nobody on your team cares about. If it doesn’t change your behavior, skip it.
Pro tip: Pick 2–3 key numbers for your team. Review those in every sales meeting, not a laundry list.
6. Make Pipeline Reviews Short and Useful
Pipeline reviews shouldn’t be painful. If you’re dreading them, something’s wrong.
How to run better reviews: - Stick to stuck deals. Don’t go through every single deal—focus on where progress stalled. - Ask for next steps. Every deal should have a clear action item or owner. - Use Pitchmonster’s notes. Pull up the latest notes so you’re not relying on memory or guesswork.
What to skip: - Rehashing wins and losses you’ve already discussed. - Reading off the screen. Everyone should come prepared.
Pro tip: Set a timer. If your pipeline review takes longer than 30–45 minutes, cut the fluff.
7. Automate Reminders, But Don’t Set and Forget
Pitchmonster’s reminders and task features can help keep things from falling through the cracks, but don’t let automation become an excuse for not thinking.
Best practices: - Set reminders for follow-ups and close dates. - Use tasks for real actions, not just ticking boxes. - Review automated tasks weekly. Clear out the noise.
Avoid: - Letting overdue tasks pile up. If you’re snoozing everything, your system’s broken. - Relying solely on automation—some things still need a human touch.
Pro tip: If you find yourself ignoring reminders, it’s a sign you need to rethink either your process or which deals matter.
8. Don’t Ignore Lost Deals—They’re Gold
Most people want to forget about lost deals, but tracking them in Pitchmonster gives you valuable feedback.
Why it matters: - Spot patterns. Are you losing to the same competitor or at the same stage? - Improve messaging. Knowing why deals were lost helps you adjust. - Re-engage later. A “no” now isn’t a “no” forever—mark lost deals with useful notes for future outreach.
What not to do: - Just marking deals as lost with zero explanation. - Deleting lost deals. You’re erasing valuable learning material.
Pro tip: Make “Reason Lost” a required field. Even a one-word note is better than nothing.
9. Keep It Honest—Your Pipeline Isn’t a Fantasy
It’s tempting to keep stale or unlikely deals in the pipeline to make things look better. Don’t do it. An honest pipeline beats a full-looking one every time.
How to stay real: - Close out dead deals quickly. It keeps your data (and your expectations) clean. - Be conservative with probabilities. Don’t call a deal “90%” until it’s truly on the finish line. - Challenge wishful thinking. If you wouldn’t bet your own money on a deal, adjust the forecast.
Avoid: - Sandbagging (holding back wins for later). It just messes up your numbers. - Over-optimism. Hope isn’t a strategy.
Pro tip: If your pipeline is always 2x your target but you’re missing quota, you’re not being honest with yourself.
Summary: Keep It Simple, Review Often, Improve as You Go
Tracking your sales pipeline in Pitchmonster isn’t about fancy dashboards or endless data entry. The real trick is to keep your process simple, update consistently, and use the tool to make decisions—not just to fill out reports.
Start with the basics, focus on what actually moves deals forward, and don’t be afraid to cut out what isn’t working. Iterate as you learn, and your pipeline will be a real driver of growth—not just a checkbox on your to-do list.