Step by Step Guide to Managing Leads Pipeline in Nooks for GTM Teams

If you’re running a GTM (go-to-market) team, you already know that managing your leads pipeline is rarely as easy as the demos make it look. Juggling multiple sources, keeping tabs on reps, and making sure leads don’t fall through the cracks—yeah, it’s a mess. This guide is for GTM leaders and anyone who’s sick of losing track of prospects or bouncing between spreadsheets, CRMs, and Slack threads.

We’ll walk through how to actually use Nooks to run your pipeline—step by step, in plain English, minus the hype. You’ll get honest advice on what works, what’s not worth your time, and a few tricks that’ll save you some headaches.

Step 1: Get Set Up the Right Way

Before you start clicking around, take five minutes to set up Nooks so it works for you—not the other way around.

  • Import your current leads: Don’t bother with manual entry unless you have no choice. Use Nooks’ CSV import or native integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce, Outreach, etc.) to get your leads in. If your CRM isn’t supported directly, export to CSV and upload.
  • Set up lead sources: Tag your leads by source (website, events, cold outbound, referrals). It’s not just for reporting—knowing where leads come from helps you focus on what’s working.
  • Define your pipeline stages: Skip the 8-stage “best practices” template. Use stages that match how your team actually works. Typical stages:
    • New/Inbound
    • Contacted
    • Qualified
    • Demo Scheduled
    • Proposal Sent
    • Closed (Won/Lost)
  • Clean up as you go: If you imported a bunch of old junk leads, archive or delete them now. You’ll thank yourself later.

Pro tip: Don’t overthink your initial setup. You can tweak stages and tags later, but if you start with messy data, you’ll have a mess forever.

Step 2: Organize Your Pipeline for Visibility

Nooks wants you to see everything in one place, but if you’re not careful, you’ll end up with noise instead of signal.

  • Use filters and views: Set up saved views for reps, regions, or lead source. For example, have a “My Leads - Inbound Only” view and a “Stuck Deals” view for anything sitting too long in one stage.
  • Customize fields: Hide the fields you don’t use. If you’re never going to care about “Company LinkedIn,” get rid of it from your main view.
  • Prioritize leads: Use Nooks’ scoring or just a good old-fashioned flag to focus on hot leads. Fancy scoring can help, but beware of trusting AI to tell you who to call if you already know your best-fit customers.

What to ignore: Don’t get lost in endless custom fields, or you’ll waste more time updating records than talking to leads.

Step 3: Assign and Track Ownership

If everyone owns everything, nobody owns anything. Pipelines slip when it’s not clear who’s supposed to do what.

  • Assign leads to specific reps: Use Nooks’ assignment tools so each lead has a name next to it. It’s not just for accountability—if a lead is sitting untouched, you’ll see it.
  • Set reminders and tasks: Create follow-up tasks or reminders for yourself or your team. If you rely on memory, you’ll miss stuff.
  • Use comments and activity logs: When in doubt, leave a quick note in the lead record—especially if you hand off between reps. It’s simple, but it keeps everyone in the loop.

Pro tip: Don’t make reps fill out a “next steps” field if nobody ever reads it. Use tasks and comments for real communication.

Step 4: Work Your Pipeline Every Day

A pipeline is a living thing, not a report you check once a week.

  • Start your day in your pipeline: Use your filtered view (e.g., “My Leads - Contacted” or “Demos This Week”) as your daily home base.
  • Bulk actions save time: If you’re sending the same follow-up to 10 leads, use Nooks’ bulk editing or email tools. But don’t spam—personalized beats automated, every time.
  • Move leads through stages: Don’t let leads stay in “Contacted” forever. Move them forward or close them out. Stale pipelines = fake pipeline coverage.
  • Log your activity: Even if it feels like busywork, try to log calls, emails, and meetings. This keeps your pipeline honest. Nooks can auto-log some activities if you integrate your email/calendar.

What works: The teams who update as they go (not at the end of the week) have way fewer surprises at forecast time.

Step 5: Review, Clean, and Optimize

Pipelines rot if you ignore them. Make cleanup part of your weekly routine.

  • Review stuck leads: Create a view for leads that haven’t moved in 14+ days. Reach out or close them out—don’t let them stall forever.
  • Archive dead leads: Don’t be sentimental. If a lead’s gone cold, move it out. You can always revive it later, but don’t let it clutter your active pipeline.
  • Refine your process: Are certain stages always backed up? Are reps not updating notes? Fix the process, not just the data.
  • Run reports that matter: Don’t drown in dashboards. Track:
    • Conversion rates between stages
    • Time in stage
    • Source performance (which channels give you real pipeline)
  • Share what you learn: If you spot a pattern (e.g., leads from webinars always close faster), tell your team. Nooks makes sharing easy, but don’t just dump reports—give context.

Pro tip: Schedule a 30-minute pipeline review every Friday. It’s boring, but it keeps your numbers honest.

Step 6: Automate, but Don’t Abdicate

Nooks offers automation—just don’t let it run the show.

  • Auto-assign leads: New inbound leads can be routed to reps automatically. This works—just check that it’s fair and balanced.
  • Automated reminders: Let Nooks bug you about overdue tasks or stuck deals. But don’t rely on it to catch everything.
  • Email sequences: Use Nooks’ built-in sequences for cold outreach or follow-ups. But if everyone on your team uses the same template, your prospects will notice. Mix it up.
  • Integrate with your stack: Connect Nooks with your calendar, email, and CRM. Syncing saves time—but double-check that data isn’t going missing or duplicating.

What to ignore: Don’t automate lead scoring or outreach until you’re confident your pipeline stages and data are clean. Automation amplifies whatever’s already there—good or bad.

Step 7: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often

You’ll be tempted to build a “perfect” pipeline process from day one. Don’t bother. Start simple, see what works, and adjust as you go.

  • Limit your stages: More than five or six, and you’ll lose track.
  • Get feedback from the team: The people using the pipeline every day know what’s working and what’s a pain.
  • Update your process every month: Schedule time to review what’s helping and what’s slowing you down.
  • Don’t chase shiny features: If a fancy dashboard or AI “next best action” doesn’t actually help you close more deals, ignore it.

Wrapping Up

Managing your leads pipeline in Nooks isn’t magic, but it’s also not rocket science. Focus on getting your data in, making ownership clear, and reviewing your pipeline often. The rest—automation, reports, integrations—are just tools. If something feels too complicated, it probably is. Start simple, keep tuning, and remember: a clean, honest pipeline beats a bloated one every time.