How to manage and assign pipeline stages in Twain for efficient deals tracking

Sales pipelines shouldn’t feel like a second job. If you’re sick of bouncing between spreadsheets or clunky CRMs, and you just want a clear view of your deals, this guide’s for you. Twain cuts through a lot of that noise, but you still need to set things up in a way that works for you—not the other way around.

Below, I’ll walk you through how to manage and assign pipeline stages in Twain. You’ll get honest advice on what to care about, what to skip, and how to keep your process from turning into a swamp.

1. Understand What a Pipeline Stage Is (and Isn’t)

Before you start dragging deals around, it’s worth getting clear on what pipeline stages actually do for you.

  • Pipeline stages are just labels for where a deal sits in your sales process. Think “New lead,” “Qualified,” “Proposal sent,” etc.
  • They’re not magic. They don’t close deals for you. But they do help you (and your team) see what needs attention.
  • If you have too many stages, everything gets fuzzy. Too few, and you lose track of what’s actually happening.

Pro tip: Write down your real sales steps on a sticky note before you touch any software. You’ll spot the stages that matter—and the ones that don’t.

2. Set Up or Review Your Pipeline Stages in Twain

Twain makes it easy to tweak your pipeline, but don’t rush it. Garbage in, garbage out.

Steps:

  1. Log in and find your pipeline.
    Once you’re in Twain, head to the Deals or Pipeline section—usually in the main sidebar.

  2. Look at the default stages.
    Twain comes with a few out of the box. They might be close, but odds are you’ll want to rename, remove, or add some.

  3. Edit stages to fit your real process.

  4. Rename stages to match your lingo.
  5. Add new stages if you’re missing key steps (e.g., “Demo booked” or “Contract sent”).

  6. Delete anything you never use—don't keep “Negotiation” if you never actually negotiate.

  7. Keep it simple.

  8. Most teams only need 4-7 stages.
  9. If you’re not sure, start with: New, Qualified, Proposal, In Review, Won, Lost.

What to ignore:
Fancy color-coding, emoji, or extra fields you “might use someday.” Focus on clarity and speed.

3. Assign Deals to the Right Stage

Here’s where the rubber meets the road. Deals only move forward if you know where they really stand.

Steps:

  1. When adding or importing a deal, pick the right starting stage.
  2. If it’s a new inbound lead, start at “New.”

  3. If you’re halfway through talks, drop it into “Proposal” or wherever it fits.

  4. Move deals as soon as something meaningful happens.

  5. Had a real conversation? Move it to “Qualified.”

  6. Sent a contract? Move it to “In Review” or “Contract sent.”

  7. Use drag-and-drop (if available).

  8. Twain lets you drag deals between stages in the pipeline view.

  9. This is faster and less error-prone than editing each deal.

  10. Don’t fudge it.
    If you’re not sure where a deal belongs, ask yourself: What’s the last real action the customer took? That’s your stage.

Honest take:
If you try to “game” the pipeline to make your numbers look better, you’re just lying to yourself. Keep it real, even if it stings.

4. Review and Update Your Pipeline Regularly

A pipeline only works if it’s current. If deals collect dust in the wrong stage, you lose track and forget to follow up.

Steps:

  1. Set a recurring time to review.
  2. Block 10–15 minutes every week (or daily, if you’re high-volume).

  3. Make it a habit. Coffee in one hand, Twain in the other.

  4. Clean up stale deals.

  5. Move anything that’s gone cold to “Lost” or “Stale.”

  6. Don’t let old deals hang around just to pad your numbers.

  7. Spot bottlenecks.

  8. If deals pile up in one stage, ask why. Is it a slow approval process? Not enough follow-up?

  9. Use this insight to tweak your process, not just your pipeline.

  10. Adjust stages as your process changes.

  11. Did you add a new product or sales step? Update your pipeline.
  12. You don’t need to overhaul everything every month, but don’t let the pipeline get crusty.

What doesn’t work:
Waiting for “the end of the quarter” to clean house. You’ll forget what happened, and your follow-ups will sound out of touch.

5. Assign Owners and Collaborators (If You’re Not Solo)

If you’re working with a team, clear ownership is everything. Deals without owners get lost in the shuffle.

Steps:

  1. Assign a primary owner for each deal.
  2. Twain lets you assign deals to specific users.

  3. One owner per deal is best. If “everyone” owns it, nobody does.

  4. Use collaborators for handoffs.

  5. If someone else needs to step in (legal, technical, etc.), add them as a collaborator or tag them in notes.

  6. Twain usually lets you @mention or share deals with teammates.

  7. Make ownership changes explicit.

  8. If a deal switches hands, update the owner in Twain right away.
  9. Don’t rely on Slack messages or emails—update the source of truth.

What to skip:
Don’t bother tracking every tiny interaction or CC’ing the whole company. Focus on who’s actually moving the deal forward.

6. Use Filters and Views to Stay Focused

A long list of deals is overwhelming. Twain’s filters and views can help, but don’t overcomplicate things.

Steps:

  1. Filter by stage, owner, or date.
  2. Want to see just your “Proposal sent” deals? Filter by stage.

  3. Need to check what’s on your plate this week? Filter by owner and close date.

  4. Save views you use often.

  5. Twain lets you bookmark or save custom views for quick access.

  6. Create a “This week’s follow-ups” view if that keeps you on track.

  7. Avoid too many custom views.

  8. One or two focused views beat a dozen you never open.

Pro tip:
If you’re still exporting to Excel, ask yourself why. Most of what matters should be visible in Twain—if not, tweak your pipeline or filters.

7. Automate What Makes Sense (But Don’t Go Overboard)

Automation can help, but only if it actually saves you time.

Smart automations to consider:

  • Auto-assigning new leads to the right owner based on source or territory.
  • Automated stage changes when a specific field is updated (e.g., moving to “Proposal sent” when you upload a document).
  • Reminders for stale deals so nothing slips through the cracks.

What to avoid:

  • Overcomplicated workflows that break with every exception.
  • Automations you have to “babysit” or constantly fix.
  • Anything that makes your process harder to explain to a new team member.

Honest take:
If you’re spending more time editing automations than selling, you’ve gone too far.

8. Common Pitfalls (and How to Dodge Them)

  1. Too many stages.
    More isn’t better. If you’re confused about where a deal goes, your buyer will be too.

  2. Not keeping stages updated.
    Out-of-date pipelines are worse than none at all.

  3. Using pipeline as your to-do list.
    Your pipeline should track status, not every tiny task. Use notes or reminders for follow-ups, not extra stages.

  4. Ignoring feedback from the team.
    If people are skipping certain stages or making up their own, your process needs a reality check.

Keep It Simple and Iterate

No CRM or pipeline process is perfect out of the box—not even Twain’s. The goal isn’t to have the fanciest setup, but one that’s dead simple to keep current. Start with the basics, resist the urge to overcomplicate, and tweak as you go.

Deal tracking is about clarity, not complexity. Set up your stages, keep them updated, and you’ll spend less time managing your pipeline—and more time actually closing deals.