If you’re in sales, you know working with a team is usually more about wrangling chaos than slick “alignment.” Maybe you’ve tried endless Slack threads, spreadsheets, or emails, and nothing ever feels up to date. This guide is for anyone who wants a clearer, more shared view of what’s going on—without adding extra busywork. We’ll get into how to use shared pipelines and notes in Salesforge to keep your team on the same page, skip the confusion, and actually move deals forward.
Why Shared Pipelines and Notes Actually Matter
Let’s cut to it: most sales tools say they make collaboration easier, but a lot of them just create new places for things to get lost. Shared pipelines and notes aren’t magic, but they do give you two things that matter:
- A single place for your team to see who’s working on what.
- A way to record what actually happened with a lead, so you don’t repeat or drop the ball.
Done right, they save you from embarrassing moments—like calling a prospect who just told your teammate “not interested.” Done badly, they become another chore, or worse, a graveyard of old info nobody trusts.
Here’s how to actually make them work for your team.
Step 1: Set Up Your Shared Pipelines
First, let’s get everyone looking at the same board. In Salesforge, pipelines are basically visual to-do lists for deals, broken down by stage. Shared pipelines mean everyone—SDRs, AEs, managers—can see what’s in play.
How to Create (or Join) a Shared Pipeline
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Go to the Pipelines tab.
If you don’t see it, you might not have access—ask your admin, or check your permissions. -
Create a new pipeline, or select an existing one.
- Give it a name that makes sense. “Q2 Enterprise Deals” is better than “Pipeline 3.”
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Set it as shared (there’s usually a toggle or checkbox for this).
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Invite your teammates.
- Add specific people, or invite your whole team if that fits your workflow.
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Pro tip: Only invite people who actually need to see or act on these deals. More isn’t always better.
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Set clear stages.
- Don’t overcomplicate it. “New,” “Contacted,” “Demo Scheduled,” “Negotiation,” “Closed/Won”—that’s probably enough for most teams.
- Avoid creating a stage for every tiny step; it just adds clutter.
What to Ignore
- Don’t bother making a pipeline for every possible scenario.
You’ll end up with a mess, and nobody will know where to actually look. - Skip fancy color-coding and automations until you’ve used the basics for a few weeks.
Bells and whistles won’t fix a pipeline nobody updates.
Step 2: Keep the Pipeline Updated—Without Overthinking It
A shared pipeline only works if it reflects reality. If people treat it like homework, it’ll die fast. Here’s how to keep it useful, not just “done for the boss.”
Make Updating the Pipeline Part of Your Routine
- Move deals as soon as they change stage.
Had a call? Move the card. Got a “no?” Move the card. - Add quick notes (more on that below) so teammates know what’s up.
- Don’t let deals rot in one stage.
Set a reminder or calendar block to review your pipeline once a week—seriously, it takes 10 minutes.
Pitfalls to Watch Out For
- People “sandbagging” deals in early stages.
If you see lots of deals stuck in “Contacted,” it’s usually because people are afraid to move them to “No Decision.” Be honest—it helps everyone. - Too many owners.
Assign one person as the lead on each deal. “Team ownership” is just code for “nobody’s really responsible.”
Step 3: Use Notes to Share Context (and Save Everyone’s Sanity)
This is where most teams fall down. You have a pipeline, but nobody really knows what’s happened with a deal unless they dig through emails or ask around. Salesforge lets you add notes directly to deals—use this.
How to Add Useful Notes
- Open the deal or lead in your pipeline.
- Look for the notes section (usually a comment box or tab).
- Write the thing you’d want to know if you picked up the lead tomorrow.
- “Spoke with Jane, she’s interested in Q3 but budget is tight.”
- “Left voicemail, will follow up Friday.”
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“Asked us to call back in 6 months—set reminder.”
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Tag teammates if they need to see it.
Most tools let you @mention someone so they get a notification.
Pro Tips for Notes
- Be brief, but specific.
This isn’t a novel. Skip the fluff, but don’t be so vague nobody knows what you mean. - Date your notes if the tool doesn’t do it for you.
Context matters—“Called last week” means nothing a month from now. - Don’t use notes as a dumping ground for every email.
Summarize. If it’s important, link or attach the source.
What to Skip
- Detailed call transcripts.
Nobody reads them. Just give the outcome and any action items. - Personal opinions about the lead.
Keep it professional—“Seems disorganized” isn’t helpful, but “Asked three times about pricing, may be confused” is.
Step 4: Use Comments for Quick Team Communication
Not every update needs a formal note. Sometimes you just need to nudge a teammate, ask a question, or clarify something.
- Use comments for things like:
- “@Sam, can you send the proposal?”
- “Anyone know if we’ve worked with this company before?”
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Don’t use comments for private or sensitive info.
Remember, everyone in the pipeline can see it. -
Turn off notifications if you’re getting spammed.
It’s easy to tune out real updates if you’re buried in irrelevant pings.
Step 5: Review and Clean Up Regularly
Shared pipelines and notes aren’t “set it and forget it.” Every few weeks, spend 15 minutes as a team:
- Archive dead deals.
Don’t let the pipeline get clogged with stuff that’s not going anywhere. - Update stale notes.
If you see a deal with no activity in a month, check in or mark it as lost. - Ask the team what’s working (and what’s not).
If nobody’s using notes, figure out why. Maybe they’re too hard to find, or people need a reminder.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What works: - Keeping things simple. - Making pipeline updates part of the daily/weekly routine. - Clear, specific notes—no novels.
What doesn’t: - Overcomplicating your pipeline with dozens of stages. - Assuming people “just know” where things stand. - Treating notes as a CYA dump (no one will read them).
What to ignore: - Fancy features you don’t need yet. Use the basics until you have a real pain point. - Pressure to get everyone in the org using the tool. Start with your core team.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate as You Go
Collaboration in sales is hard enough on its own. Shared pipelines and notes in Salesforge are there to help—if you keep it simple and actually use them. Don’t build the “perfect” system on day one. Start with the basics, clean up as you go, and ask your team what’s actually helpful. You’ll save time, skip the chaos, and maybe even close a few more deals along the way.