If you’re tired of chasing deals through endless spreadsheets, or if you’re using the “sticky note and memory” method to track sales, you’re not alone. Manual work gums up sales teams everywhere. This guide is for anyone who wants to automate their sales pipeline stages in People to stop wasting time, cut down on mistakes, and actually close more deals.
No fluff, no magic promises — just a real look at what works, what doesn’t, and how to get started.
Why Automate Your Sales Pipeline (and When You Shouldn’t)
Let’s be clear: automation is not a silver bullet. It’s great for repetitive tasks and keeping things moving, but it won’t fix a broken sales process. Here’s when it does help:
- You have a repeatable sales process (think: stages like “Qualified,” “Proposal Sent,” “Negotiation,” etc.).
- You want to avoid deals falling through the cracks.
- You’re sick of reminding people to log every little update.
When it’s not worth it:
If your pipeline is a mess, or if every deal is different, automate later. Get your process straight first.
Step 1: Map Out (and Actually Write Down) Your Pipeline Stages
Before you touch any software, get a pen and paper (or a whiteboard, or a Google Doc). You need to know what you’re automating — otherwise, you’ll just automate chaos.
The goal: List out each stage a deal passes through, in order. For most teams, it looks something like:
- New Lead
- Contacted
- Qualified
- Demo Scheduled
- Proposal Sent
- Negotiation
- Won/Lost
Pro Tips: - Keep it simple. More than 8 stages? You’re probably splitting hairs. - Make sure everyone on the team agrees on what each stage means. - Don’t automate stages you never use — be ruthless.
Step 2: Set Up Your Stages in People
Now, open up People and head to your pipeline settings. Every CRM does this a little differently, but in People, you usually find this under “Settings” > “Sales Pipeline” (or similar).
Here’s what to do:
- Add each stage you mapped out.
- Double-check the order — deals should flow left-to-right or top-to-bottom.
- Delete any default stages you don’t need. (Don’t be afraid to hit ‘remove’ — less is more.)
- Set clear names. (“Demo Scheduled” is better than “Stage 3.”)
Things to ignore: - Don’t fuss about colors or icons for each stage. That’s busywork. - Don’t invent “extra” stages for edge cases — handle those manually at first.
Step 3: Identify What Can (and Should) Be Automated
Here’s what automation in a pipeline actually looks like:
- Moving deals automatically: If a lead fills out a form, can it move from “New Lead” to “Contacted” when someone emails them?
- Assigning tasks: When a deal hits “Proposal Sent,” can the system assign a follow-up task for two days later?
- Sending reminders: If a deal sits in “Negotiation” for more than a week, can it ping the rep or manager?
- Notifying teams: When a deal is marked “Won,” does finance or onboarding get notified automatically?
What not to automate: - Personal emails or calls — robots can’t build relationships. - Complex pricing or proposal creation — unless you’re selling widgets, you’ll need a human eye.
Pro Tip:
Automate the boring stuff. Anything that’s “if X happens, do Y” is fair game. Leave the judgment calls to people.
Step 4: Use People’s Workflow Automation Tools
People comes with built-in automation features, but they’re only useful if you set them up right.
The Basics: Setting Up Simple Triggers
Start simple. Don’t try to automate everything at once.
- Trigger: When a deal moves to a specific stage...
- Action: Assign a task, send an email, or notify someone.
- Trigger: If a deal sits too long in one stage...
- Action: Send a reminder to the owner or escalate to a manager.
How to set up:
- Go to “Automations” or “Workflows” in People.
- Click “Create Automation” or similar.
- Choose your trigger (e.g., “Deal moves to Proposal Sent”).
- Set your action (e.g., “Assign follow-up task to deal owner”).
- Save and test it.
Common automations to try: - Auto-assign new leads to a sales rep round-robin. - Create follow-up reminders after a meeting is logged. - Alert a manager if a deal is marked “Lost” without a reason.
Advanced: Multi-Step Workflows and Integrations
If you’re comfortable, explore more complex automations:
- Integrate with email: Auto-send a templated email when a deal hits “Qualified.”
- Sync with calendars: Schedule demos right from the pipeline stage.
- Connect with Slack or Teams: Notify a specific channel when deals are won.
Warning:
Don’t go wild with integrations until your core automations work smoothly. Every new integration is another thing to break.
Step 5: Test, Watch, and Tweak (Relentlessly)
No automation survives first contact with real users. Here’s how to keep things working:
- Test every workflow. Move a test deal through each stage and make sure the right actions fire.
- Ask your team: What feels clunky? What’s getting missed? Fix it fast.
- Check for “automation rot”: Over time, you’ll end up with old rules that don’t make sense. Prune regularly.
- Keep logs: People usually lets you see a history of automated actions. If something weird happens, check the logs before blaming the user.
Signs your automation is working: - Deals flow smoothly — fewer “Oops, I forgot” moments. - Reps spend more time selling, less time updating the CRM. - You get fewer “why didn’t I get notified?” complaints.
What to Skip: Automation Traps to Avoid
- Don’t automate for automation’s sake. A manual step is fine if it needs a real decision.
- Don’t hide stuff from humans. Sales managers still need to see what’s happening — don’t bury data in automated notes.
- Don’t try to automate bad data. Garbage in, garbage out. Automate once your basic data is clean.
FAQs: Honest Answers
Is automating my pipeline going to replace my sales team?
Nope. Automation just gets rid of the grunt work. You still need people to close.
Isn’t this going to break everything?
Set up one automation at a time, test it, and you’ll be fine. The biggest risk is overcomplicating things.
Do I need IT for this?
For basic workflows in People, probably not. But if you want fancy integrations, you might need some help.
What if sales hates it?
Listen to their feedback — but don’t let “we’ve always done it this way” stop you from making things easier.
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Automating your sales pipeline in People isn’t about showing off the fanciest CRM tricks. It’s about making sure deals keep moving, nothing gets lost, and your team can focus on selling — not on busywork. Start small, fix what’s broken, and keep tweaking. The best automations are the ones you barely notice because everything just works.
Now, go automate one thing. See how it feels. You can always change it later.