If your sales pipeline feels more like a guessing game than a process, you’re not alone. Most B2B teams get stuck chasing leads, updating spreadsheets, or clicking around CRMs that promise a lot but deliver little. If you want a straight-shooting approach to tracking and actually improving your pipeline, this guide’s for you. We’ll walk through setting up Koala, using it to get real answers, and avoiding the usual traps.
Why Bother with Pipeline Tracking?
Before we get into the how-to, here’s a reality check: Tracking your pipeline isn’t about making pretty charts for your boss. It’s about understanding what’s actually moving deals forward and what’s just busywork. The right tool should help you:
- See where deals really get stuck (not just where you think they do)
- Focus your team’s energy on what wins deals
- Spot patterns—good or bad—before they cost you real money
Koala claims to keep things simple and actionable. Let’s see how that holds up.
Step 1: Get Your Data into Koala (But Don’t Overthink It)
Before Koala can help, you need your pipeline data in there. Don’t let “data migration” stop you—perfection isn’t the goal. Here’s what actually matters:
- Start with what you have: Most teams can export leads and deals from whatever CRM, spreadsheet, or inbox they’ve been using.
- Import basics first: Deal name, company, value, stage, and owner. Skip the 20 custom fields—you can always add more later.
- Connect your email, if you want: Koala offers integrations with Gmail/Outlook. This is handy for automatic contact tracking, but only if you’re comfortable with it.
Pro tip: Don’t waste a week cleaning your data. You’ll find gaps and duplicates no matter what—just get it in and clean up as you go.
Step 2: Set Up (and Name) Your Pipeline Stages
The default pipeline in Koala will work, but it’s probably too generic for your business. Here’s what matters:
- Fewer stages are better: 5–7 is usually plenty (e.g., New Lead, Qualified, Proposal Sent, Negotiation, Closed Won, Closed Lost).
- Name stages like real humans talk: If your team says “Demo Scheduled” instead of “Evaluation,” use that.
- Be honest about “Closed Lost”: Don’t just shove deals out of sight. Make it easy for reps to mark lost deals, and track why.
What to ignore: Fancy stage names, color-coding every column, or trying to map every internal process detail. The goal is clarity, not a workflow diagram for the ages.
Step 3: Actually Use the Pipeline—Every Deal, Every Time
A pipeline tool is only as good as the data you put in. Here’s how to keep things real:
- Add every real opportunity: If you wouldn’t call it a real sales opp, don’t clog your pipeline with it.
- Move deals as soon as something changes: Don’t batch updates for Friday afternoon. If a demo gets scheduled, move the deal. If a deal dies, mark it lost.
- Require a “next step”: Koala lets you add notes or tasks to each deal. Make it standard to log what’s next, even if it’s just “follow up in two weeks.”
Pro tip: If your reps are always behind on updates, your process is too complicated—or the tool is too clunky. Either way, simplify.
Step 4: Use Koala’s Filters and Views to Stop Guessing
This is where Koala actually starts to earn its keep. The point isn’t to stare at a list of deals—it’s to answer real questions, fast. Here’s how:
- Filter by stage, owner, or value: Want to see only deals in “Negotiation” worth over $10k? Two clicks.
- Sort by last activity: Find deals that have gone cold before they die on the vine.
- See pipeline by rep: Figure out who’s overloaded, and who’s sandbagging.
What works: Koala’s filters are simple. You won’t get lost in endless advanced search menus. What doesn’t: If you want multi-pipeline views or deep cross-team reporting, Koala’s not Salesforce (and that’s probably a good thing).
Step 5: Spot Bottlenecks (and Do Something About Them)
Now for the part everyone says they want: “pipeline optimization.” Here’s how to actually do it in Koala:
- Look for slow stages: If most deals stall in “Proposal Sent,” that’s your bottleneck—not the top of the funnel.
- Check win rates by stage: Koala gives you basic conversion metrics. If you’re losing 90% of deals at “Negotiation,” it’s time to fix your pitch or pricing.
- Review “Closed Lost” reasons: Over time, you’ll see patterns—bad fit, no budget, competitor, etc. Don’t just collect this info; use it to tweak your qualification process.
Pro tip: Don’t try to fix everything at once. Pick one bottleneck, experiment with a fix for a month, and see if things improve.
Step 6: Use Reports—But Don’t Let Them Become Homework
Koala’s reporting is straightforward. The dashboards won’t win design awards, but they’ll answer questions like:
- How much is in the pipeline right now?
- What’s my team’s average deal size and close rate?
- How long does it take to move a deal from start to finish?
What works: You can export data and make your own charts if Koala’s graphs aren’t enough. What doesn’t: If you’re looking for predictive AI or “magic” insights, you’ll be disappointed. Koala’s all about basics done well.
Step 7: Keep Things Simple, and Actually Use What You Learn
Here’s the part where most teams fail: They set up a tool, run a report, and then… nothing changes. Don’t fall into that trap.
- Review the pipeline as a team—weekly, not monthly: Use Koala as your shared scoreboard, not just a manager’s report.
- Act on what you see: If you spot stuck deals or trends, talk about why—and try something new.
- Iterate, don’t overhaul: If your pipeline feels cluttered, trim stages or fields. If nobody’s using a feature, drop it.
Honest take: Koala works best for teams that like to keep things moving. If you want endless customization, you’ll get frustrated. If you want a tool that tells you what’s happening and gets out of the way, you’ll probably be happy.
Final Thoughts: Don’t Overcomplicate It
Sales pipelines are supposed to make life easier, not harder. The best thing you can do is start simple, get your team on board, and use Koala to answer basic questions: Where are our deals? What’s working? What’s not?
You’ll never have perfect data or a flawless process. That’s fine. Keep it honest, keep it simple, and tweak as you go. That’s how you actually move the needle.