How to Create and Assign Custom Deal Stages in Setsail for Advanced Sales Tracking

If your sales pipeline feels like a mess of generic stages and useless reports, you’re not alone. Most CRMs come with default “deal stages” that sound good on paper but don’t fit the way your team actually works. If you’re using Setsail, the good news is you can create and assign custom deal stages that finally make your sales tracking useful. The bad news: it’s easy to make things more complicated than they need to be.

This guide is for sales ops folks, admins, and team leads who want to ditch one-size-fits-all stages and actually understand where deals stand—without adding busywork. I’ll walk you through every step, flag the traps people fall into, and show you what’s actually worth your time.

Why Custom Deal Stages Matter (and When They Don’t)

Before you dive in, make sure custom stages are really worth it for your team. Here’s the honest truth:

  • Custom stages are great if...

    • Your sales process is different from the standard “Prospecting → Qualified → Proposal → Closed” flow.
    • You need to track specific milestones (like “Legal Review” or “Pilot Completed”).
    • You want better pipeline forecasts and more useful reports.

  • But skip it if...

    • You’re just chasing a “perfect” pipeline. More stages won’t fix bad sales habits or missing data.
    • Your team never updates deal stages anyway. (Fix the process before adding more complexity.)

If you’re nodding along with the first bullet, keep reading. If not, clean up your current process first—then come back.

Step 1: Map Out Your Real-World Sales Process

Don’t start clicking buttons in Setsail just yet. The biggest mistake? Copying another company’s pipeline or inventing stages you’ll never use.

How to do this right:

  • Grab a whiteboard or spreadsheet. List every step your team actually takes to move a deal forward. Focus on what really happens, not what you wish happened.
  • Talk to your reps. Ask: “When do you move a deal to the next stage? What triggers it?” If they shrug, you need clearer criteria.
  • Aim for 5-7 stages, max. Too many and no one will keep up. Too few and you lose detail.

Example: - Discovery Call - Solution Fit Confirmed - Proposal Sent - Legal/Procurement - Verbal Commit - Closed Won/Lost

Pro Tip:
Write a one-sentence rule for each stage, like “Proposal Sent = customer has received a formal quote.” This cuts down on confusion and future bickering.

Step 2: Set Up Custom Deal Stages in Setsail

Now that you’ve got your map, it’s time to build it inside Setsail. Here’s how:

  1. Log in as an admin. Only users with admin or similar permissions can change pipeline settings.
  2. Go to Settings → Deal Stages. The exact menu wording might change, but look for anything that says “Pipeline,” “Stages,” or “Deal Setup.”
  3. Review the current stages. Setsail will show you the defaults. Don’t be afraid to delete or rename these—blank slates are good.
  4. Add new stages.
    • Click “Add Stage” or similar.
    • Name each stage clearly. Avoid jargon or inside jokes.
    • (Optional) Add descriptions or criteria so reps know when to use each stage.
  5. Order matters. Drag and drop stages to match your real sales flow.
  6. Save your changes. Don’t rely on auto-save. Hit the button.

What works:
- Keeping names short and obvious. - Using descriptions for clarity. - Matching the CRM order to real-life steps.

What doesn’t:
- Overcomplicating with “micro-stages” that nobody will update. - Letting every rep invent their own stages—keep it standardized.

Step 3: Assign Stages to Deals (and Make It Stick)

You’ve got shiny new stages, but they’re worthless if they don’t get used. Here’s how to roll them out:

  1. Bulk update existing deals. In Setsail, go to your deals list and use bulk edit tools to move deals into the right new stages. This prevents a “data swamp” where nothing matches.
  2. Train your team. Hold a quick call or record a video. Show what each stage means and when to move deals. Give concrete examples.
  3. Set stage movement rules. If Setsail lets you, require certain fields or activities before moving forward (e.g., can’t move to “Proposal Sent” until a quote is attached).
  4. Monitor usage. For the first month, check reports to see if deals are actually moving through all stages. If not, ask why.

Pro Tip:
Don’t punish mistakes early. If deals are stuck or mislabeled, it’s usually a sign your stages are confusing—or reps need more clarity.

Step 4: Use Custom Stages for Real Sales Tracking

Now for the part that actually helps you: better sales tracking.

  • Pipeline forecasting:
    Custom stages let you see how many deals are at each specific milestone. This makes forecasts more realistic—no more “everything’s at 70% probability.”
  • Spotting bottlenecks:
    If deals pile up at “Legal/Procurement,” you know where to focus your attention. This is way more useful than just seeing “In Progress.”
  • Coaching reps:
    Detailed stages make it easier to spot where reps get stuck or skip steps. Use this for coaching, not just reporting.
  • Cleaner data for reports:
    The more your stages match reality, the less you have to “massage” data for your boss or board slides.

What to ignore:
- Don’t go overboard with custom reports or dashboards right away. Get a month of clean data first. - Skip tracking “ghost stages” like “Follow-up Sent.” If it’s not a real milestone, don’t make it a stage.

Step 5: Tweak and Improve (but Don’t Obsess)

No sales process is perfect right out of the box. Here’s how to keep things working:

  • Review after 30-60 days:
    Are stages being used? Where do deals get stuck? Ask reps for honest feedback.
  • Kill unused stages:
    If a stage is empty or everyone’s confused by it, delete or rename it. Don’t let your pipeline get bloated.
  • Keep documentation updated:
    If you change criteria for a stage, update your one-sentence rule and share it. Surprises kill adoption.
  • Resist the urge to tinker constantly:
    Too many changes and you’ll lose buy-in. Make tweaks quarterly, not weekly.

Wrap-Up: Keep It Simple and Iterate

Custom deal stages in Setsail can make your sales tracking way more useful—but only if you keep things simple, match your real process, and get your team on board. Don’t waste time chasing the “perfect” pipeline. Start with clear, honest stages, use them for a while, and improve as you go. Sales is messy; your CRM should make it less so, not more.

If you’re not sure which stages to use, just pick the ones that reflect real-world milestones. You can always adjust later. The goal isn’t to impress anyone with complexity—it’s to get answers you can actually use.