If your sales pipeline feels like someone else’s to-do list, you’re not alone. Out-of-the-box deal stages rarely fit real life. Maybe your team skips “Qualified” and jumps straight to “Demo Booked.” Or maybe you want to track handoffs to Customer Success. Either way, customizing your deal stages can make your pipeline way less confusing—and a lot more useful.
This guide is for anyone using Closershq who wants to ditch the default stages and set up something that actually matches how your team sells. Whether you’re a sales manager, RevOps, or the one person at your startup who draws the short straw, I’ll show you exactly how to do it, where to watch out for gotchas, and what’s not worth fussing over.
Why bother customizing deal stages?
Let’s be honest: if your deal stages are just there because “that’s how the CRM came,” you’re probably not getting much from your pipeline view. Here’s why it pays to make deal stages your own:
- Clarity. Everyone knows what’s happening with each deal—no more “Wait, what does ‘Negotiation’ mean for us?”
- Better reporting. Stages that match your real process give you data you can actually use.
- Fewer headaches. Reps stop guessing where to put deals. Less nagging, more closing.
But don’t overthink it. The best deal stage setup is one your team will actually use. You can always tweak it later.
Step 1: Map out your actual sales process
Before you touch Closershq, you need to know what your process really looks like. Forget what you wish your process was—just write down what actually happens, step by step.
Quick exercise:
Grab a notepad or start a doc. For your last 5-10 closed deals, jot down the major steps from first contact to closed/won (or lost). What stages did they actually go through?
Look for: - Steps everyone hits (like “Demo Scheduled”) - Steps that only happen sometimes (like “Legal Review”) - Handoffs (e.g., from SDR to AE, or sales to onboarding)
Pro tip: Ask your team. Reps will tell you if a stage is a waste of time or never used.
Step 2: Decide on your stage list (and keep it short)
Now, boil down your messy real-world process into a clean list of stages. You want the fewest stages that still make sense—usually 5 to 7 is plenty.
Common stages: - New/Incoming - Qualified - Demo Scheduled - Proposal Sent - Negotiation - Closed Won - Closed Lost
But don’t just copy these. If you never send formal proposals, skip that stage. If “Negotiation” is really just a back-and-forth while the contract is out, maybe just call it “Contract Sent.”
What to ignore:
Don’t create stages for every micro-action (“Follow-up Email #2”). More stages = more confusion. Focus on the big steps.
Step 3: Get admin access in Closershq
You’ll need admin rights to customize deal stages. If you don’t have them, find the person who does (or bribe them with coffee).
Step 4: Editing deal stages in Closershq
Here’s how you actually make the changes:
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Log in and go to your pipeline settings.
Find “Settings” in the sidebar, then look for “Pipelines” or “Deal Stages.” (Names can change as products update—if you don’t see it, use the search bar in settings.) -
Pick the pipeline you want to edit.
If you have multiple pipelines (for different teams or product lines), make sure you’re editing the right one. -
Edit existing stages or add new ones.
- To rename a stage, click the pencil/edit icon next to its name.
- To add a new stage, look for an “Add Stage” or “+” button.
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To delete, use the trash or “Remove” icon (but see the warning below).
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Reorder stages by dragging and dropping.
Your pipeline should flow left-to-right (or top-to-bottom) in the order deals actually move. -
Save your changes.
Don’t trust autosave—look for a “Save” or “Apply” button just to be safe.
Heads-up:
Deleting a stage will usually reassign deals in that stage to “Uncategorized” or the next available stage. Make sure you know where those deals will go so nothing falls through the cracks.
Step 5: Define what each stage actually means
This is the most overlooked (and most important) part. Each stage should have a clear, one-sentence definition. Otherwise, everyone will make up their own rules.
Example definitions: - Qualified: The lead has a real need, authority, and budget. No tire-kickers. - Proposal Sent: We’ve sent detailed pricing and terms to the buyer. - Closed Won: Contract signed, money in the bank (or purchase order in).
Add these definitions to Closershq:
- Some CRMs let you add descriptions or notes to each stage. If Closershq supports this, use it.
- If not, document your stage definitions somewhere your team will actually look (internal wiki, pinned Slack post, etc.).
Pro tip:
Review these definitions as a team every quarter. If a stage is always misunderstood, rewrite or rethink it.
Step 6: Test your new pipeline
Don’t just set it and forget it. Move a few test deals through the pipeline yourself or with a rep. Look for:
- Stages that nobody knows how to use
- Bottlenecks (deals pile up in one stage)
- Any unexpected weirdness with automations, alerts, or reports
If something feels off, fix it now. It’s easier to tweak before everyone gets used to the new setup.
Step 7: Roll it out to the team (without drama)
You don’t need a 60-slide deck. Just send a quick announcement: - List the new stages and what they mean - Why you made the change (“so our pipeline actually matches how we sell”) - Who to bug if something looks broken
What to skip:
Don’t overexplain. Most reps just want to know which button to click.
A few honest tips on deal stage “best practices”
- Don’t chase trends.
You don’t need eight micro-stages just because a sales influencer said so. - One pipeline per process.
If you have radically different sales motions (e.g., SMB vs. enterprise), set up separate pipelines if Closershq allows. Otherwise, compromise. - Automate carefully.
Automations (like triggering emails when a deal hits “Proposal Sent”) can save time—but only if your stage definitions are rock solid. - Review, don’t obsess.
If a stage is always empty, ask why. But don’t tweak every week unless there’s a real problem.
Summary: Keep it simple, tweak as you go
Customizing deal stages in Closershq isn’t hard, but it does take a little thought. Map your real process, clean up your stages, and make sure everyone knows what each one means. Avoid the urge to make it perfect on day one—you’ll learn what works (and what’s just busywork) as you go. Iterate, ignore the hype, and you’ll have a pipeline your team actually wants to use.