If you’re running a B2B sales team, you already know that off-the-shelf pipeline stages rarely fit your real process. Maybe you’re stuck with vague stages like “Qualification” and “Negotiation”—or you’re just ignoring half the pipeline because it doesn’t reflect what actually happens. This guide is for anyone fed up with generic CRM workflows and wants to make Attention work the way your sales team really sells.
Below, we'll walk through how to customize pipeline stages in Attention. You’ll get direct advice on what’s worth tweaking, what to skip, and how to avoid overcomplicating things.
Why bother customizing pipeline stages?
Let’s be real: most sales CRMs ship with default stages that look neat in a demo but turn into clutter in practice. If you’re serious about tracking deals, coaching reps, or forecasting accurately, your pipeline should match what actually happens in your sales cycle.
Custom stages let you:
- Clarify next steps for your team (no more “what does Discovery even mean?”)
- Spot bottlenecks quickly
- Get more realistic forecasts
- Avoid “zombie” deals rotting in no-man’s-land
That said, don’t fall into the trap of making a stage for every tiny step. Complexity is the enemy here.
Step 1: Map your real sales process (before touching Attention)
Before you even log in, sketch out your real sales process on paper or a whiteboard. Ignore what your current CRM says. What actually happens from first contact to closed deal?
Questions to ask: - How do leads come in? (Inbound, outbound, referrals, etc.) - What are the non-negotiable steps every deal goes through? - Where do deals get stuck most often? - Which handoffs matter? (e.g., SDR to AE, AE to Solutions Engineer)
Pro tip:
If your team can’t agree on what a stage is called or what it means, that’s a sign it’s too fuzzy. Get specific.
Common B2B sales stages (for reference): - New Lead - Qualified - Discovery/Needs Analysis - Proposal Sent - Negotiation - Contract Sent - Closed Won/Lost
Don’t just copy this list—adapt it. If you never send formal proposals, skip that stage. If you have a legal review for every deal, add it.
Step 2: Review your current pipeline in Attention
Log into Attention and look at your active pipeline. Don’t just glance at the names—click into deals and check what actually happens at each stage.
Look for: - Stages nobody uses (the graveyard) - Deals getting stuck forever (the bottlenecks) - Stages that mean different things to different people
What to ignore: - Vanity stages (“Demo Completed”) if you don’t care when it happens - Stages that exist only because “the CRM required it”
Pro tip:
Ask your team which stages they skip or fudge. That’s your signal to clean up.
Step 3: Plan your new pipeline stages
Armed with your real-world process and a list of what’s not working, draft your ideal set of stages. Here are some guidelines:
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Each stage should represent a clear action or milestone.
If you can’t explain what it means in one sentence, it’s too vague. -
Keep it to 5–8 stages max.
More than that, and you’re just making busywork. -
Define entry/exit criteria for each stage.
For example: - Qualified: “Rep has confirmed budget, authority, need, and timeline.”
-
Proposal Sent: “Formal proposal sent to decision-maker.”
-
Decide if you need separate pipelines for different products or sales motions.
If your SMB and Enterprise sales look nothing alike, it might be worth it.
What works:
- Stages that map to buyer actions (e.g., “Contract Under Review”)
- Simple, repeatable criteria
What doesn’t:
- Stages named after internal lingo (“Blue Sheet Submitted”) that no one outside sales gets
- Stages that try to track every minor activity
Step 4: Customize pipeline stages in Attention
Now for the hands-on part. In Attention, pipeline stages are pretty flexible. Here’s how to update them:
- Navigate to Pipeline Settings
- Usually, you’ll find this in the sidebar under “Pipelines” or “Settings.”
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Choose the pipeline you want to customize.
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Edit, add, or delete stages
- Rename existing stages to match your new plan.
- Add new stages by clicking “Add Stage” or similar.
- Drag stages to reorder them so they match your sales flow.
-
Delete stages you’re not using—don’t be sentimental.
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Set clear descriptions or criteria
- Most CRMs (including Attention) let you add a short description to each stage.
Use this to spell out what needs to happen for a deal to move forward. -
Example:
“Negotiation – All terms discussed, final approval pending.” -
Save changes and communicate with your team
- Don’t just quietly update the pipeline and hope people notice.
Announce the new stages, explain what’s changed, and why.
Watch out for:
- Breaking automations or reports that expect the old stages.
(Test before you go live.)
- Syncing issues if you integrate with other tools (Slack, email, etc.)
Pro tip:
If you’re nervous about deleting old stages, export your pipeline first. That way, you have a backup.
Step 5: Get buy-in and train your team (without putting them to sleep)
This is where most pipeline projects die—your team ignores the new stages and keeps doing things the old way. Here’s how to avoid that:
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Show, don’t tell.
Walk through a real deal and show how it moves through the new pipeline. -
Document stage definitions somewhere easy to find.
A Google Doc or Notion page is fine. Overkill is worse than nothing. -
Ask for feedback after a week.
If reps are confused or bottlenecks pop up, tweak your stages.
Don’t make it a once-and-done project. -
Reward accuracy, not speed.
It’s better for a deal to stay in “Negotiation” for a week than to get shoved to “Contract Sent” just to make numbers look good.
What to ignore:
- Long, formal training sessions.
People learn by doing, not by sitting through a 45-slide deck.
Step 6: Review and adjust regularly (but not obsessively)
No pipeline setup is perfect on day one. After a month or a quarter, look at your data:
- Are deals flowing smoothly, or is there a new bottleneck?
- Are reps skipping stages?
- Is forecasting any better?
Tweak as needed. But don’t fall into the trap of tweaking every week—give it time to settle.
Pro tip:
Set a reminder to review pipeline stages every quarter. That’s usually enough.
What to skip (unless you love headaches)
-
Overly granular stages
If a stage only applies to 5% of deals, it probably doesn’t need to exist. -
Multiple pipelines for every sales rep or region
Unless your process is wildly different, this just creates confusion. -
Custom fields for every possible scenario
Keep the number of required fields low. You can always add more later.
Quick FAQ
Q: Can I have different pipelines for different teams in Attention?
A: Yes, but only do this if your teams use truly different processes. For minor differences, stick to one pipeline and use tags or fields.
Q: What if I mess up my pipeline stages?
A: You can usually edit or revert changes, but export your data first just in case.
Q: Do I need to update automations and reports when changing stages?
A: Absolutely. Any workflows, alerts, or dashboards that depend on old stage names will probably break.
Keep it simple and iterate
Customizing your pipeline stages in Attention isn’t about making the perfect process on day one. It’s about reflecting the way your team really sells—and making your CRM an actual asset, not just a reporting tool. Start simple, get your team on board, and don’t be afraid to tweak as you go. The best pipeline is the one people actually use.