Thinking about getting your sales process out of your head and into something you can actually manage? Good. This guide is for small teams or solo founders who want to set up a basic, no-nonsense sales pipeline in Praiz without drowning in jargon or endless features you’ll never use.
You don’t need to be a CRM expert. If your “system” so far is a spreadsheet and a few sticky notes, you’re in the right place.
Why a Sales Pipeline Matters (and What to Ignore)
First, let’s get something straight: a sales pipeline is just a way to track where your deals are, from “maybe interested” to “money in the bank.” It’s not magic, and it won’t fix a bad product or a lazy sales process. But it will give you a clear view of what’s actually happening, so you can stop guessing and start doing.
Ignore any feature that promises to “revolutionize” your process. Focus on tracking deals, moving them forward, and knowing what needs your attention.
Step 1: Sign Up and Get the Basics Right
Start with the basics. Head to the Praiz signup page and create your account. You’ll need an email, a password, and maybe your company details if you want to invite teammates later.
Pro tip: Don’t waste time tweaking your profile picture or perfecting your company logo at this stage. Get into the product and start setting up your pipeline. You can make things pretty later.
Step 2: Understand the Praiz Layout
When you first log in, you’ll land on the dashboard. Praiz keeps things straightforward, but here’s where you should focus:
- Pipelines: This is where your deals live.
- Stages: These are the steps each deal moves through (e.g., New Lead, Contacted, Proposal Sent, Won, Lost).
- Deals: Each opportunity or lead you’re working.
Ignore any tabs labeled “Insights,” “Integrations,” or “Automation” for now. Get your core pipeline working first—trust me, you’ll have plenty of time to get fancy later.
Step 3: Create Your First Pipeline
Praiz might offer a default pipeline, but I recommend setting up your own so it matches how you actually sell.
- Go to Pipelines. There’s usually a button like “Create Pipeline” or “New Pipeline.”
- Name your pipeline. Something like “Sales Pipeline” or get more specific if you have multiple products.
- Define your stages. Keep it simple to start:
- New Lead
- Contacted
- Demo/Meeting Scheduled
- Proposal Sent
- Negotiation
- Won
- Lost
You can always tweak these later. Don’t overthink the names; just use what makes sense to you and your team.
What doesn’t work: Creating too many stages upfront. It just adds confusion. Start with the basics and adjust as you learn.
Step 4: Add Your First Deals
You can’t manage what isn’t there. Start by adding a handful of real leads or deals you’re working on—don’t worry about importing your 10-year-old contact list.
- Click “Add Deal” or the plus (+) button in your pipeline.
- Fill in the basics: company name, contact name, estimated value, and any notes.
- Assign a stage (most likely “New Lead” for now).
Pro tip: If you’re moving from a spreadsheet, just add your top 5-10 active deals to get going. Don’t try to migrate everything at once, or you’ll get stuck cleaning up data for days.
Step 5: Customize Deal Fields (But Don’t Go Overboard)
Praiz lets you add custom fields to deals (e.g., industry, lead source, priority). This is handy—within reason.
- Add fields you’ll actually use. For example, “Expected Close Date” can help you forecast.
- Skip anything you’re adding “just in case.” You can always add more later.
What works: Less is more. The more fields you add, the less likely you are to keep things updated.
Step 6: Set Up Basic Reminders and Tasks
You want to follow up, not forget. Praiz offers simple task or reminder features.
- For each deal, set a follow-up date or task (e.g., “Call back in 3 days”).
- Use reminders for important next steps, not for every little thing.
What doesn’t work: Relying on memory or sticky notes. The whole point is to have a system that nudges you.
Step 7: Invite Your Team (If You Have One)
If you’re solo, skip this step. If you’ve got a small team:
- Use the “Invite” or “Add User” button to bring people in.
- Assign deals or pipeline stages so everyone knows who owns what.
- Set permissions if you want to limit access (optional).
Pro tip: Don’t invite the whole company on day one. Start with sales folks only; you can always loop in others later.
Step 8: Start Using Your Pipeline Daily
Here’s where most people fall off: they set up the pipeline and never touch it again. Make it a habit:
- Move deals to the next stage as things progress.
- Mark deals as “Won” or “Lost” when they’re finished (don’t let them linger!).
- Log quick notes about calls or emails right in the deal.
What works: Ten minutes a day is enough to keep things current. If you need more than that, your pipeline is too complicated.
Step 9: Ignore Reports and Automations (For Now)
Praiz has dashboards and reporting tools, but in your first month, focus on using the pipeline, not analyzing it. Fancy charts won’t help if your pipeline isn’t up to date.
Once you have a few weeks of data, then you can start looking at:
- Which stage deals get stuck in
- Your average time to close
- Basic win/loss ratios
But don’t let these distract you from actually moving deals forward.
Step 10: Review and Adjust Your Process
After a couple of weeks, block off 30 minutes to review:
- Are your stages working, or do you need to combine or rename them?
- Are you missing any fields you wish you had?
- Is everyone actually using the system, or are deals falling through the cracks?
Don’t be afraid to make changes. The best pipeline is the one that fits your real workflow, not someone else’s idea of a “perfect” process.
What to Do Next
That’s it. You’ve got a working sales pipeline in Praiz, and you didn’t waste time on fluff. Keep it simple. Use it every day. Tweak things as you learn what works for you and your team.
Don’t get paralyzed chasing the “perfect” setup. The best CRM is the one you actually use. And when you’re ready, you can start exploring integrations and reports—but only after your pipeline runs itself.
Now, go move those deals.