If you’re tired of wrestling with clunky CRMs or watching deals slip through the cracks, this is for you. This guide walks you through building a sales pipeline in Vinna—step by step, with real-world advice. No buzzwords, no hand-waving. Just how to set up something that actually helps you close more deals and waste less time.
Step 1: Know What a Sales Pipeline Is (and Isn’t)
Before you start clicking around, let’s get clear. A sales pipeline isn’t just a list of contacts—it’s a visual way to track where every deal stands, from “just met” to “signed, sealed, delivered.”
Don’t overcomplicate it. A pipeline is only as good as its ability to answer: “What do I need to do next to move deals forward?” If you’re making it more complex than that, you’re making your life harder.
What works:
- Keep stages simple and relevant to your actual sales process.
- Focus on actions (not just statuses).
What doesn’t:
- Adding endless custom fields you’ll never fill out.
- Copying a generic pipeline template from the internet and hoping it fits.
Step 2: Map Out Your Sales Stages First (On Paper, Not Vinna)
Seriously, don’t jump into Vinna just yet. Take 10 minutes and write down the key steps your deals go through, from first contact to close. If you sell consulting, that might be:
- New Lead
- Discovery Call
- Proposal Sent
- Negotiation
- Won/Lost
Pro tip: If you’re not sure, walk through your last 10 deals and write down what actually happened. That’s your process—use it.
What to ignore:
- Overly granular stages like “Proposal Drafting” and “Proposal Sent.” Keep it broad unless you have a massive sales team.
Step 3: Set Up Your Pipeline in Vinna
Now that you actually know your stages, log into Vinna and set up your pipeline. Here’s how to do it without getting lost in the weeds:
-
Go to the Pipelines area.
In Vinna, you’ll usually find this in the main navigation. If you haven’t created a pipeline before, you’ll see an option to start a new one. -
Add your stages.
Use the list you worked out earlier. Don’t add extra stages just because Vinna lets you—remember, you can always tweak later. -
Name your pipeline.
“Sales Pipeline” is fine. If you have more than one product or team, be specific (e.g., “Consulting Sales” or “Enterprise Deals”). -
Set default owners and permissions.
Decide who should see and edit this pipeline. If you’re a solo operator, skip this. Teams: set this now to avoid confusion.
What works:
- Keeping things clean and minimal.
- Making sure everyone knows what each stage means.
What doesn’t:
- Creating a new pipeline for every sales rep (unless your business is truly complex).
- Using default stage names you don’t understand.
Step 4: Add (Or Import) Your Deals
Time to get real data in. You can add deals one by one or import them from a CSV if you’ve got a list.
- Manual add: Good for small teams or if you’re just getting started.
- Import: Worth it if you’re moving from another CRM or have an existing spreadsheet.
Honest take: Don’t get bogged down cleaning up your data for hours before importing. Get the basics in—name, company, contact info, stage. You can always fill in more later.
Pro tip: If your old data is a mess, start fresh with just your current pipeline deals. You don’t need every contact you’ve ever met clogging up your new pipeline.
Step 5: Customize Fields (Only the Ones You’ll Use)
Vinna lets you add custom fields to deals—notes, deal values, expected close dates, whatever. Here’s the trick: only set up fields you’ll actually fill out and use.
What works:
- Deal value (helps with forecasting)
- Next action or follow-up date
- Notes about key conversations
What doesn’t:
- Dozens of “nice-to-have” fields that nobody updates
- Fields for information you’ll never reference again
Keep it lean. You can always add more later, but deleting fields is a pain if you realize they’re useless.
Step 6: Set Up Simple Automations (But Don’t Go Overboard)
Automations in Vinna are handy—think reminders for follow-ups, or moving deals to “Proposal Sent” when you send a document. They save time, but here’s the catch: don’t automate what you don’t fully understand.
Start with: - Automatic reminders for follow-up if a deal sits in a stage too long - Notifications to yourself (or your team) when a deal moves stages
Skip for now: - Complex, multi-step automations that update 10 things at once - Automated emails unless you know exactly what’s being sent
Real talk: Automations are great, but if you set up too many, you’ll start ignoring them—or worse, they’ll do things you didn’t intend.
Step 7: Use the Pipeline—Every Day
This sounds obvious, but it’s where most CRMs (and users) fall down. A pipeline only works if you keep it up to date.
- Move deals as they progress. Don’t let “Discovery Call” deals sit for weeks if they’re not moving.
- Note the next action for every deal, even if it’s “wait for response.”
- Close out dead deals. Nothing clutters a pipeline faster than ghosts from last quarter.
Pro tip: Block 10 minutes at the end of your day to update your pipeline. It’s boring, but it saves you hours later.
Step 8: Review and Adjust Your Pipeline—Monthly
Your first pipeline won’t be perfect. That’s fine—nobody’s is. Once a month, look at what’s working and what’s not:
- Are deals getting stuck in one stage? Maybe it needs to be split or renamed.
- Are you missing key info? Add a field—but only if you’ll use it.
- Is the team confused about what a stage means? Clarify and document it.
What to ignore:
- Fancy reports unless you’re actually using the insights to change how you sell.
- Pipeline “best practices” articles that don’t fit your business.
Step 9: Keep It Simple and Iterate
The best sales pipelines are simple, clear, and ruthlessly up to date. If you’re spending more time managing your pipeline than talking to customers, something’s broken.
- Don’t get sucked into customizing every knob and switch in Vinna just because you can.
- Focus on what helps you sell, not what looks impressive in a dashboard.
Bottom line: Build the pipeline that fits your real sales process, not someone else’s idea of “best practices.” Start simple, improve as you go, and don’t be afraid to toss out what doesn’t help you close deals.
Building your pipeline in Vinna isn’t rocket science, but it does take a bit of discipline. Set it up, use it daily, and tweak as you learn what works. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s having a tool that makes selling easier, not harder. Stick with it and keep things simple. That’s how you actually win more business.