If you're lost in spreadsheets or bouncing between sticky notes and Slack threads, this is for you. Building a sales pipeline isn’t about buying the flashiest CRM or copying Silicon Valley’s “best practices.” It’s about getting a system that matches how you actually work. This guide walks you through building a no-nonsense sales pipeline in Nimbler, step by step—zero fluff, just what gets results.
Step 1: Decide What Actually Matters in Your Pipeline
Before you even open Nimbler, pause and think: What do you really need to track? Not every business needs six pipeline stages and a dozen custom fields. Here’s what you should decide first:
- Deal stages: What really happens between “new lead” and “won deal”? Don’t invent extra steps just because you can.
- Fields: What info do you actually use? Company, contact, deal size—great. “Birthday of CEO’s dog”? Probably not.
- Pipeline goals: Is your process about speed, volume, big deals, or something else? Be honest.
Pro tip: If you’re new to this, keep it simple. You can always add complexity later—removing it is harder.
Step 2: Set Up Your Pipeline Stages in Nimbler
Now, jump into Nimbler and get your pipeline structure in place. Here’s how to keep it clean:
- Go to the Pipelines section: Usually found on the left sidebar.
- Add or edit stages: Click “Edit Stages” or similar. Typical stages are:
- New Lead
- Contacted
- Qualified
- Proposal Sent
- Negotiation
- Won/Lost
- Name stages in plain English. If a stage name makes you pause, it’s probably too vague (don’t use “In Progress” for everything).
- Don’t overdo it. Four to six stages is plenty for most small teams. More than that and things get messy.
What to ignore: Fancy automations and color-coding at this stage. Get the basics right first.
Step 3: Add Key Fields—But Only the Ones You’ll Use
Nimbler lets you create custom fields, but resist the temptation to track everything. Focus on:
- Deal Value: If you care about revenue.
- Close Date: Useful for forecasting.
- Contact Info: Name, email, phone. Don’t get cute.
- Source: Where did the lead come from? (Referral, website, cold outreach, etc.)
How to add fields in Nimbler: - Go to pipeline settings or “Customize Fields.” - Add only what your team will actually fill in. - Make important fields required—but not so many that salespeople ignore the system.
Honest take: Most pipelines get clogged not from lack of data, but from too much junk data. Less is more here.
Step 4: Import or Add Your Existing Leads
Time to get real data in there. Nimbler usually offers import from CSV, Excel, or integrations like Google Contacts.
- Clean your data first. Garbage in, garbage out. Remove duplicates, old leads, and weird formatting.
- Map fields carefully. Match your spreadsheet columns to Nimbler fields—don’t let deals show up as “Untitled.”
- Start small if you’re nervous. Import a sample first, check results, then do the rest.
Heads up: If your old list is a disaster, consider starting fresh. Sometimes it’s better to have ten good leads than a thousand zombies.
Step 5: Set Up Simple Reminders and Tasks
Nimbler lets you create tasks (like “Follow up with Jim” or “Send proposal”). This is where deals are won or lost.
- Create follow-up tasks for each stage. For example:
- New Lead → “Send intro email”
- Proposal Sent → “Follow up in 3 days”
- Set reminders, but don’t overdo it. If you get reminder overload, you’ll just ignore them.
- Assign tasks to owners so nothing falls through the cracks.
What works: Simple, actionable reminders. What doesn’t: “Check in someday” tasks. Be specific.
Step 6: Make It Visual—But Don’t Chase Pretty Charts
Nimbler gives you Kanban-style boards and some reporting. Use them, but don’t let dashboards become a substitute for real work.
- Use the board view to drag deals between stages. It’s faster than clicking through lists.
- Check your pipeline once a week. Are deals stuck? Are you moving things forward?
- Ignore the vanity metrics. Number of deals might look good, but value and movement matter more.
Honest take: A visually clean pipeline keeps your head clear. But no chart will close deals for you.
Step 7: Review and Adjust—But Don’t Tweak Forever
The best pipeline is the one you actually use. Every couple of weeks:
- Look for bottlenecks. Are deals getting stuck at a certain stage?
- Ask your team what’s annoying. Too many required fields? Confusing stages? Fix it.
- Trim dead weight. If a field or stage isn’t being used, get rid of it.
Resist the urge to constantly “optimize” your pipeline. Most sales teams fail because they don’t use the system—not because it isn’t tricked out enough.
Step 8: Train Your Team (or Yourself) the Right Way
Don’t just email everyone a login and hope for the best.
- Walk through a real deal together. Move it through each stage, add a note, create a task.
- Explain why you set it up this way. Clarity beats mystery.
- Encourage questions and complaints. If people hate the system, they’ll just go back to spreadsheets.
Skip: Long policy docs or “mandatory” training videos. People learn by doing, not watching slides.
Step 9: Use Automation Sparingly
Nimbler offers automations—emails, reminders, maybe integrations with your calendar. These can help, but only if they save you real time.
- Automate repetitive stuff: New lead assignment, follow-up reminders, basic notifications.
- Don’t automate personal touches: Prospects can spot generic emails a mile away.
- Review automations monthly to see what’s working (or just annoying everyone).
Bottom line: Automation is great for grunt work. For everything else, human beats robot.
Step 10: Keep It Simple and Iterate
Don’t fall for the myth that a sales pipeline has to be complicated to be effective. The best pipelines are the ones that get used every day, not the ones with the most features.
- Start with the basics.
- Watch how it works for you and your team.
- Make changes when you hit real problems, not just because you read about a new “hack.”
If you’re not sure what to do next, talk to your team—or your future self—about what’s actually working and what’s just getting in the way.
Final word: Building a sales pipeline in Nimbler is about getting the right stuff in front of you, so nothing slips through the cracks. Start simple, ignore the hype, and keep tuning it as you go. The perfect system is the one you’ll actually use.