If you’re using Apollo to track your sales pipeline, you already know: messy contact stages mean deals slip through the cracks. This guide is for hands-on sales folks, ops leads, or anyone trying to wrangle their team’s pipeline out of Notepad chaos and into something that actually works. We’ll walk through what matters, what doesn’t, and how to keep your Apollo contact stages up-to-date—without turning it into a second job.
Why Contact Stages Matter—And Where People Screw Up
Contact stages are the backbone of any sales pipeline. They tell you who’s cold, who’s cooking, and who just needs a nudge to sign. But here’s the thing: most teams either overcomplicate their stages or ignore them entirely.
Common mistakes: - Too many stages: If your reps need a decoder ring to understand “Prospect > Engaged > Replied > Qualified > Discovery > Demo > Proposal > Verbal Commit,” you’ve gone too far. - Vague definitions: “Interested” means something different to everyone. If you can’t explain a stage in one sentence, simplify it. - Outdated stages: Contacts get stuck in “Demoed” for months because no one updates them. That’s not pipeline visibility—it’s wishful thinking.
The goal is simple: use contact stages to know exactly where every deal stands, at a glance.
Step 1: Audit and Clarify Your Contact Stages
Before you touch Apollo, sketch out your ideal funnel. Don’t let the software dictate your process—define your stages based on how your team actually works.
How to do it: 1. List your major milestones. Usually, these are things like: - New/Uncontacted (You haven’t reached out yet) - Contacted (You’ve sent an email/call/LinkedIn message) - Replied (They wrote back) - Qualified (You know they’re a fit) - Demo/Meeting Set - Negotiation/Proposal - Closed/Won or Lost 2. Write a one-sentence definition for each. Example: “Contacted = We sent a first-touch email or call, but haven’t heard back.” 3. Cut anything you can’t explain or don’t use. Less is more.
Pro tip: Get buy-in from the team. If reps don’t agree on what each stage means, your updates will fall apart fast.
Step 2: Set Up (or Clean Up) Stages in Apollo
Once you have your list, it’s time to make Apollo match your process—not the other way around.
How to update stages in Apollo: 1. Go to Settings > Stages. - In Apollo, you’ll find this under the admin panel. If you don’t see it, you might need admin rights—ask your ops person. 2. Edit, add, or delete stages as needed. - Rename vague ones. - Delete stages you don’t use. - Add missing stages that match your process. 3. Reorder the stages. - Drag-and-drop until they match your real-life sales flow.
Honest take: Apollo’s stage editing is pretty straightforward, but it’s easy to leave old stages behind—don’t. If you’re cleaning up, do it in one go and let the team know what’s changed.
Step 3: Update Contacts—Without Losing Your Mind
The real headache is getting all your contacts into the right stage. Here’s how to do it without spending a weekend buried in spreadsheets.
Bulk Updates
- Filter your contacts by current stage or other criteria.
- Example: Find everyone stuck in “Demo Scheduled” for over 30 days.
- Select the contacts you want to move.
- Use checkboxes to pick 50 at a time, or use the “select all” option if you trust your filter.
- Click “Update Stage” and pick the right one.
- Apollo lets you bulk-change stages. Don’t overthink it—if you’re unsure, default to an earlier stage and move them forward as you confirm.
When not to bulk-update: If your data is messy (duplicates, old contacts, leads that ghosted you a year ago), take an hour to review before you move hundreds at once. Sometimes, a little manual cleanup saves a lot of headaches later.
Manual Touch-Ups
For high-value deals or contacts where the next step is fuzzy, review them one by one. This is worth it for: - Big accounts - Anyone in negotiation - Anything that looks off (e.g., “Closed/Won” but no contract signed)
Step 4: Make Stage Updates Part of Your Workflow
This is where most teams drop the ball. Updating contact stages shouldn’t be a “when I remember” thing—it should be built into your day.
What works: - After every call or email, update the stage. No exceptions. - Set aside 10 minutes a week to review stuck contacts. If someone’s been in the same stage for weeks, move them or figure out what’s blocking them. - Automate where you can. Apollo can auto-update stages based on email replies, but don’t blindly trust it—automation misses nuance.
What doesn’t work: - Blaming the CRM. If your team ignores updates, the software won’t save you. - Doing it all yourself. Train your team and hold them accountable.
Step 5: Use Stages for Real Pipeline Visibility (Not Just Reporting)
Stages aren’t just for your manager’s dashboard—they’re for you. Use them to spot what’s working, what’s stuck, and what needs your attention.
Ways to use stages effectively: - Review by stage, not by list. Start your day looking at “Replied” or “Needs Follow-Up” instead of scrolling blindly through your contacts. - Spot bottlenecks. Too many contacts sitting in one stage? That’s where your process breaks down. - Run simple reports. Apollo’s reporting is fine for basics—don’t expect magic, but you’ll see your conversion rates and drop-offs if your stages are clean.
Ignore: Fancy dashboards and endless custom fields. If you can’t act on a metric, ditch it.
Step 6: Keep It Simple—And Iterate
You won’t get your stages perfect the first time. That’s fine. The best teams review and tweak their stages every quarter, not every year.
How to keep improving: - Get feedback from the team. What’s confusing? What’s missing? - Trim dead stages. If you haven’t used a stage in months, kill it. - Don’t chase trends. Stick to what works for your process, not what some “sales thought leader” says.
Wrapping Up: Don’t Overcomplicate It
A clean, simple set of contact stages in Apollo is the difference between a pipeline you trust and one you ignore. Start with clear definitions, make regular updates a habit, and don’t let the tool run your process. Forget the bells and whistles—just focus on moving deals forward, stage by stage. As your team grows, keep tweaking. The simpler your stages, the easier it is to spot what matters and win more deals.