Deal Pipeline Management

Deals represent sales opportunities as they move through your sales process. This guide covers everything you need to know about managing your sales pipeline in TightBlocks.

Table of Contents

• Overview

• Understanding the Deal Pipeline

• Creating Deals

• Deal Stages and Customization

• Moving Deals Through Stages

• Deal Values and Forecasting

• Deal Activities and Notes

• Winning and Losing Deals

• Pipeline Views

• Pipeline Reports and Analytics

• Deal Automation

• Best Practices

Overview

Deals help you:

• Track sales opportunities from lead to close

• Visualize your sales pipeline

• Forecast revenue

• Measure sales performance

• Identify bottlenecks in your process

Deal Lifecycle

A typical deal moves through these phases:

1. Created - New opportunity identified

2. Qualified - Determined to be a good fit

3. Proposed - Solution presented

4. Negotiated - Terms discussed

5. Closed - Won or lost

Understanding the Deal Pipeline

What is a Pipeline?

A pipeline is a visual representation of your sales process. It shows:

• All your deals organized by stage

• Deal values and probability

• How opportunities progress toward closing

• Where deals are getting stuck

Pipeline Views

TightBlocks offers multiple pipeline views:

Kanban Board View (Default):

• Visual columns for each stage

• Drag and drop deals between stages

• See deal cards with key information

• Color-coded by priority or status

List View:

• Table format showing all deals

• Sortable columns

• Detailed information visible

• Best for bulk operations

Forecast View:

• Organized by close date

• Grouped by month or quarter

• Shows weighted revenue (value × probability)

• Helps with revenue forecasting

Pipeline Stages

Default stages (customizable):

1. Lead - Initial interest expressed

   • Probability: 10%

   • Goal: Qualify the opportunity

2. Qualification - Assessing fit

   • Probability: 25%

   • Goal: Understand needs and budget

3. Proposal - Solution presented

   • Probability: 50%

   • Goal: Demonstrate value

4. Negotiation - Discussing terms

   • Probability: 75%

   • Goal: Agree on pricing and terms

5. Closed Won - Deal won!

   • Probability: 100%

   • Revenue counted

6. Closed Lost - Deal lost

   • Probability: 0%

   • Record reason for loss

Note: Administrators can customize stages to match your specific sales process. See Deal Stages and Customization.

Creating Deals

Manual Deal Creation

Method 1: From Deals Page

1. Go to Deals in the sidebar

2. Click + New Deal button

3. Fill in the deal form:

   • Deal Name (required) - Descriptive name (e.g., "Acme Corp - Enterprise Plan")

   • Contact (required) - Primary contact for this deal

   • Company (optional but recommended) - Organization

   • Value (required) - Estimated deal value

   • Currency - Select your currency

   • Stage (required) - Current pipeline stage

   • Expected Close Date - Target close date

   • Probability - Likelihood of closing (0-100%)

   • Description - Notes about the opportunity

4. Click Save

Method 2: Quick Create

1. Press c or click + in top navigation

2. Select Deal

3. Fill in required fields

4. Click Save

Method 3: From Contact or Company

1. Open a contact or company record

2. Go to Deals tab

3. Click + New Deal

4. Contact/company is pre-filled

5. Complete the form

6. Click Save

Deal Naming Conventions

Use clear, consistent naming:

Recommended formats:

• [Company] - [Product/Service] (e.g., "Acme Corp - Enterprise Plan")

• [Company] - [Deal Type] - [Value] (e.g., "TechStart - Consulting - $50K")

• [Contact] - [Product] (e.g., "John Smith - Premium Subscription")

Best practices:

• Include company name for easy identification

• Specify product or service being sold

• Keep it concise but descriptive

• Use consistent formatting across your team

Required vs. Optional Fields

Required for deal creation:

• Deal name

• Contact (primary contact)

• Value

• Currency

• Stage

Highly recommended:

• Company

• Expected close date

• Probability

• Description

Optional but useful:

• Products/line items

• Tags

• Custom fields

• Source (how the deal originated)

Deal Stages and Customization

Default Stages

TightBlocks comes with standard sales stages that work for most businesses. Each stage has:

• Name - Stage label

• Probability - Default win probability

• Order - Position in the pipeline

Customizing Stages

Note: Requires administrator permissions

Adding a Stage:

1. Go to Settings → Pipeline → Stages

2. Click + Add Stage

3. Enter:

   • Stage Name (e.g., "Discovery")

   • Probability (e.g., 15%)

   • Description - What happens in this stage

4. Drag to position in the pipeline

5. Click Save

Editing a Stage:

1. Go to Settings → Pipeline → Stages

2. Click the stage to edit

3. Update name, probability, or description

4. Click Save

Deleting a Stage:

1. Go to Settings → Pipeline → Stages

2. Click ⋮ menu next to the stage

3. Select Delete Stage

4. Choose what to do with deals in this stage:

   • Move to another stage

   • Delete deals (rarely recommended)

5. Confirm deletion

Stage Probabilities

Probabilities indicate the likelihood of winning:

• Used for weighted forecasting

• Higher stages = higher probability

• Can be overridden per deal

• Affects pipeline reports

Typical probability progression:

• Lead: 10-15%

• Qualification: 20-30%

• Proposal: 40-60%

• Negotiation: 70-80%

• Closed Won: 100%

• Closed Lost: 0%

Moving Deals Through Stages

Drag and Drop

In Kanban View:

1. Go to Deals → Board View

2. Click and hold a deal card

3. Drag to the new stage column

4. Release to drop

5. Deal updates automatically

Manual Stage Change

From Deal Detail Page:

1. Open the deal

2. Click the Stage dropdown

3. Select new stage

4. Optionally add a note about why the stage changed

5. Click Save or just select (auto-saves)

From Deal Edit Form:

1. Click Edit on the deal

2. Change the Stage field

3. Update other fields if needed

4. Click Save

Stage Change Tracking

TightBlocks automatically tracks:

• When a deal moves between stages

• Who moved it

• How long it spent in each stage

• Notes added during the move

View in the deal's Activities tab under "Stage Changes."

Automated Stage Movement

Set up workflows to automatically move deals:

• After a specific number of days

• When certain activities are completed

• Based on email responses

• When tasks are completed

See Deal Automation for details.

Deal Values and Forecasting

Setting Deal Values

Simple Value:

Most deals have a single total value:

1. Enter the value in the Value field

2. Select Currency

3. Set Probability (defaults to stage probability)

With Products:

For deals with multiple products/services:

1. Add products using Products section

2. Set quantity and price for each

3. Total value calculates automatically

4. See Deal Products and Line Items

Currency Support

TightBlocks supports multiple currencies:

• Set per deal

• Reports can show in different currencies

• Exchange rates updated daily (configurable)

• Conversion to base currency for reporting

Setting Currency:

1. When creating/editing a deal

2. Select from Currency dropdown

3. Value is stored in that currency

4. Converted for reports if needed

Probability and Weighted Forecasting

Probability:

• Default probability comes from the stage

• Can be overridden per deal

• Represents % likelihood of closing

• Scale: 0% (definitely lost) to 100% (definitely won)

Weighted Value:

• Calculated as: Deal Value × Probability

• Used for more accurate forecasting

• Accounts for risk

Example:

• Deal Value: $100,000

• Probability: 50%

• Weighted Value: $50,000

Revenue Forecasting

Forecast by Period:

1. Go to Reports → Pipeline Forecast

2. Select time period (month, quarter, year)

3. View:

   • Total pipeline value

   • Weighted pipeline value

   • Expected close by period

   • Historical close rates

Forecast Reports Show:

• Deals grouped by expected close date

• Weighted revenue by stage

• Comparison to quota (if set)

• Win rate trends

• Best case / worst case scenarios

Deal Activities and Notes

Activity Timeline

Every deal has an activity timeline showing:

• Emails with the contact

• Calls and meetings logged

• Notes and updates

• Stage changes

• Task completions

• Files attached

Access from the Activities tab on the deal detail page.

Logging Activities

Quick Note:

1. Open the deal

2. Click Add Note button

3. Type your note

4. Click Save

Detailed Activity:

1. Open the deal

2. Go to Activities tab

3. Click + Log Activity

4. Select type:

   • Call - Phone conversation

   • Meeting - In-person or virtual meeting

   • Email - Manual email log

   • Note - General observation

5. Fill in details:

   • Date and time

   • Duration

   • Description

   • Outcome

6. Click Save

Notes Best Practices

Good notes include:

• What happened - Summary of the interaction

• Key takeaways - Important information learned

• Next steps - What needs to happen next

• Concerns - Any objections or risks

• Decision makers - Who was involved

Example note:

Meeting with Sarah (CFO) and Tom (VP Sales)

Key Takeaways:
- Budget approved for Q2
- Need 3 user licenses initially, expanding to 10 by Q3
- Primary concern is data migration from current system

Next Steps:
- Send migration plan by Friday
- Schedule technical demo with their IT team
- Follow up on pricing for 10 licenses

Risk: Timeline is tight - need to close by March 31

@Mentions

Tag team members in notes:

1. Type @ in a note

2. Start typing a name

3. Select the team member

4. They'll receive a notification

Use for:

• Requesting help

• Sharing important updates

• Delegating tasks

Winning and Losing Deals

Marking a Deal as Won

When you close a deal successfully:

Method 1: Move to Closed Won Stage

1. Drag the deal to Closed Won column (board view)

2. Or select Closed Won from Stage dropdown

3. The deal is marked as won

Method 2: Win Deal Button

1. Open the deal

2. Click Mark as Won button

3. Optionally add:

   • Actual close date (defaults to today)

   • Actual value (if different from estimated)

   • Win note

4. Click Confirm

What Happens:

• Deal moves to Closed Won

• Probability set to 100%

• Counted in won reports

• Close date recorded

• Activity logged

Marking a Deal as Lost

When a deal doesn't close:

Method 1: Move to Closed Lost Stage

1. Drag the deal to Closed Lost column

2. Or select Closed Lost from Stage dropdown

Method 2: Lose Deal Button

1. Open the deal

2. Click ⋮ menu → Mark as Lost

3. Select loss reason (required):

   • Lost to competitor

   • Budget constraints

   • No decision/timing

   • Not a good fit

   • Other

4. Add note with details

5. Click Confirm

What Happens:

• Deal moves to Closed Lost

• Probability set to 0%

• Not counted in revenue

• Loss reason recorded for analysis

• Activity logged

Loss Reasons Analysis

Analyze why deals are lost:

1. Go to Reports → Loss Analysis

2. View:

   • Most common loss reasons

   • Loss rate by stage

   • Loss rate by competitor

   • Average time to loss

Use insights to:

• Improve your process

• Adjust pricing

• Enhance product

• Better qualify leads

Reopening Closed Deals

If you need to reopen a closed deal:

1. Open the deal

2. Click ⋮ menu → Reopen Deal

3. Select stage to move to

4. Add note explaining why

5. Click Confirm

Pipeline Views

Kanban Board View

Visual pipeline with drag-and-drop:

Features:

• Columns for each stage

• Deal cards show key info (name, value, contact, company)

• Drag to move between stages

• Color-coded by age, priority, or value

• Click card to view details

Filtering Board View:

• Filter by owner, contact, company, tags, date range

• Search within board

• Saved filters for quick access

Customizing Cards:

• Settings → Board View → Card Display

• Choose which fields appear on cards

• Set color-coding rules

List View

Table format for detailed analysis:

Features:

• All deals in a sortable table

• Customizable columns

• Bulk selection and operations

• Export to CSV/Excel

Available Columns:

• Deal name

• Value

• Weighted value

• Stage

• Contact

• Company

• Owner

• Expected close date

• Probability

• Age (days in pipeline)

• Last activity

• Tags

• Custom fields

Sorting and Filtering:

• Click column headers to sort

• Use filters for complex queries

• Save views for reuse

Forecast View

Revenue forecasting dashboard:

Features:

• Deals grouped by close date

• Show by month, quarter, or year

• Weighted vs. unweighted values

• Quota comparison (if set)

Metrics Displayed:

• Total pipeline value

• Weighted pipeline value

• Expected revenue by period

• At-risk deals (past expected close date)

• Win rate trends

Pipeline Reports and Analytics

Pipeline Metrics

Key metrics to track:

Volume Metrics:

• Number of deals in pipeline

• Number of deals by stage

• New deals created (this period)

• Deals won (this period)

• Deals lost (this period)

Value Metrics:

• Total pipeline value

• Weighted pipeline value

• Average deal size

• Total won revenue

• Revenue by stage

Efficiency Metrics:

• Win rate (won / total closed)

• Average sales cycle length

• Average time per stage

• Conversion rate by stage

• Velocity (deals moving through)

Activity Metrics:

• Activities per deal

• Days since last activity

• Deals with no recent activity

Pipeline Health Reports

Identify pipeline health issues:

At-Risk Deals:

• Past expected close date

• No activity in X days

• Stuck in same stage too long

• Low engagement (few activities)

Pipeline Coverage:

• Pipeline value vs. quota

• Recommended: 3-4× quota in pipeline

• Coverage by rep or team

Stage Conversion:

• Conversion rate between stages

• Where deals are dropping off

• Bottlenecks in your process

Pipeline Velocity:

• How fast deals move through

• Time in each stage

• Faster = more efficient

Custom Reports

Build your own reports:

1. Go to Reports → Create Custom Report

2. Select Deals as data source

3. Choose:

   • Metrics: What to measure (count, sum, average)

   • Dimensions: How to group (stage, owner, month)

   • Filters: Which deals to include

4. Select visualization:

   • Table

   • Bar chart

   • Line graph

   • Pie chart

5. Save report for reuse

Deal Automation

Workflow Triggers

Automate deal management with workflows:

Common Triggers:

• Deal Created - When a new deal is added

• Deal Stage Changed - When moved between stages

• Deal Value Changed - When value is updated

• Deal Won - When marked as closed won

• Deal Lost - When marked as closed lost

• Deal Overdue - Past expected close date

• Deal Stale - No activity for X days

Automated Actions

Task Creation:

• Create tasks when deal reaches a stage

• Assign to owner or team

• Set due dates relative to stage change

Email Notifications:

• Notify owner when deal is stale

• Alert manager when large deal is won

• Send to team when deal needs help

Deal Updates:

• Auto-update probability based on activities

• Set expected close date based on stage

• Tag deals based on value or characteristics

Integration Actions:

• Create invoice when deal is won

• Update external systems via webhook

• Sync to accounting software

Example Workflows

1. New Deal Follow-up:

• Trigger: Deal created

• Action: Create task "Qualify opportunity" due in 2 days

• Action: Send email template "New Lead Response"

2. Stale Deal Alert:

• Trigger: Deal has no activity for 14 days

• Action: Email owner "Deal needs attention"

• Action: Create task "Follow up with contact"

3. Large Deal Notification:

• Trigger: Deal value > $50,000 and stage = Proposal

• Action: Notify sales manager

• Action: Tag deal as "high-value"

4. Won Deal Process:

• Trigger: Deal won

• Action: Create task "Onboard customer"

• Action: Create invoice from deal products

• Action: Send congratulations email to team

See Workflow Automation for detailed workflow creation.

Best Practices

Pipeline Management

1. Keep the Pipeline Clean

• Remove outdated deals

• Mark lost deals promptly

• Archive old closed deals

• Maintain accurate probabilities

2. Regular Reviews

• Weekly pipeline reviews with team

• Identify at-risk deals

• Discuss deals stuck in stages

• Plan next actions for each deal

3. Stage Discipline

• Define clear criteria for each stage

• Don't skip stages

• Move deals based on customer actions, not time

• Document why deals move forward or backward

4. Activity Tracking

• Log all meaningful interactions

• Set reminders for follow-ups

• Track engagement levels

• Note changes in buying signals

Deal Qualification

Use a qualification framework like BANT:

Budget:

• Does the prospect have budget allocated?

• What's the budget range?

• Who controls the budget?

Authority:

• Who makes the buying decision?

• Are you speaking with decision makers?

• Who else needs to approve?

Need:

• What problem are they solving?

• How urgent is the need?

• What happens if they don't solve it?

Timeline:

• When do they need to implement?

• What's driving the timeline?

• Are there any deadline constraints?

Only advance deals that meet your qualification criteria.

Forecasting Accuracy

1. Honest Probability Assessment

• Don't inflate probabilities

• Base on real customer signals

• Adjust as situation changes

• Use historical data to calibrate

2. Expected Close Dates

• Set realistic dates

• Update when timeline changes

• Don't keep pushing dates out

• Mark as lost if timeline is indefinite

3. Deal Values

• Be conservative with estimates

• Update when you have better information

• Track actual vs. estimated for learning

4. Pipeline Coverage

• Maintain 3-4× your quota in pipeline

• Earlier stages need higher coverage

• Factor in your historical win rate

Team Collaboration

1. Deal Ownership

• Every deal has a clear owner

• Owner is responsible for progress

• Can involve others but maintains ownership

2. Team Selling

• Use @mentions to involve team members

• Create tasks for others' involvement

• Document who spoke with whom

• Share key insights in notes

3. Deal Handoffs

• Document thoroughly before handoff

• Include all context and history

• Introduce new owner to contact

• Set clear expectations

Data Quality

1. Complete Information

• Fill in all key fields

• Don't leave required fields blank

• Add products for accurate reporting

• Include relevant tags

2. Accurate Tracking

• Update stage when it changes

• Log activities promptly

• Keep notes current

• Adjust close dates as needed

3. Consistent Naming

• Follow naming conventions

• Include company name

• Specify product/service

• Keep it descriptive

Performance Optimization

1. Monitor Key Metrics

• Win rate

• Average deal size

• Sales cycle length

• Pipeline velocity

• Activity levels

2. Identify Bottlenecks

• Where do deals get stuck?

• Which stages have low conversion?

• What causes deals to be lost?

• How can you improve?

3. Continuous Improvement

• Review won and lost deals

• Learn from successes and failures

• Refine your process

• Update stage definitions

4. Coaching and Training

• Share best practices

• Review deals as a team

• Mentor newer reps

• Celebrate wins and learn from losses

Related Articles

• Contact Management - Manage deal contacts

• Company Management - Company-level deals

• Activities & Tasks - Track deal activities

• Workflow Automation - Automate deal processes

• Reports & Analytics - Pipeline reporting

• Invoicing & Billing - Convert deals to invoices

• FAQ - Common questions

Last Updated: January 2026