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    Template

    Deal stage templates

    Eight starting points for your sales process, with example exit criteria. Adapt the stages to the decisions your buyers make and keep won and lost outcomes separate.

    Elsa Lindqvist
    Elsa L.
    Editor

    Define what lets a deal move forward

    Give each open stage an entry condition, an exit condition, and an owner. Record the buyer evidence and the next action with a due date. A completed seller task alone may not show that the purchase has moved forward.

    Example exit criteria for a B2B sale

    Qualified
    Buyer confirms a problem you can solve and agrees to a discovery conversation.
    Discovery
    Buyer confirms the scope, decision process, budget range, and target date.
    Proposal review
    Buyer reviews the offer and identifies the remaining commercial questions.
    Contract review
    Required approvals and signatures are complete. Record the agreement before marking won.
    Won or lost
    Use two separate closed outcomes. For a loss, record the reason and close date. A deal can be lost from any open stage.

    Eight stage sets by business model

    Agency project

    1. Qualified
    2. Discovery
    3. Scope agreed
    4. Proposal review
    5. Contract review
    6. Won
    7. Lost

    Exit scope agreed when the buyer confirms deliverables, budget range, and target dates.

    Consultancy

    1. Qualified
    2. Diagnosis
    3. Approach agreed
    4. Proposal review
    5. Contract review
    6. Won
    7. Lost

    Exit diagnosis when the sponsor confirms the problem and how they will judge the result.

    B2B SaaS

    1. Qualified
    2. Discovery
    3. Evaluation
    4. Commercial review
    5. Contract review
    6. Won
    7. Lost

    Exit evaluation when the buyer reviews the agreed success criteria and names any remaining gaps.

    Outsourcing

    1. Qualified
    2. Requirements
    3. Team review
    4. Commercial review
    5. Contract review
    6. Won
    7. Lost

    Exit team review when the buyer accepts the proposed skills, coverage, and start date.

    Expansion

    1. Need confirmed
    2. Scope agreed
    3. Commercial review
    4. Won
    5. Lost

    Record the added value separately from the existing contract. Exit scope agreed when the customer confirms the added seats, service, or work.

    Retainer and renewal

    1. Renewal review
    2. Needs confirmed
    3. Terms review
    4. Renewed
    5. Not renewed

    Start with contracts due for renewal in a defined window. Exit terms review when the renewal is agreed. Map renewed and not renewed to separate closed outcomes.

    Referral and partner sourced

    1. Qualified introduction
    2. Discovery
    3. Scope agreed
    4. Proposal review
    5. Won
    6. Lost

    Enter after the prospect accepts an introduction and there is a sales opportunity. Track unaccepted introductions separately.

    Simple four-stage

    1. Qualified
    2. Decision
    3. Won
    4. Lost

    Exit qualified when the buyer confirms a need and agrees to review an offer. Add detail when the team can name a distinct decision it needs to track.

    Before you use a template

    • Try the definitions against recent won, lost, and open deals. Have two teammates assign stages independently, then clarify where they disagree.
    • Add a legal, security, or procurement stage when it is a distinct part of your process. Record the owner and next review date.
    • Separate new business and renewals when their stages differ. If they follow the same steps, a deal-type field may be enough.
    • Use your own closed-deal data to set probabilities. A stage name alone does not establish a win rate.

    Changing stages later

    Before renaming, merging, or deleting stages, check saved reports, automations, and integrations in your CRM. Write down the old-to-new mapping and keep a record of the change date. Test a few records and reports before applying the change to the whole pipeline.

    CRM behavior varies. HubSpot, for example, exposes stage names and internal IDs separately and requires distinct won and lost stages for its sales reports.

    HubSpot pipeline and stage documentation Checked 23 September 2026.

    Frequently asked questions

    Start with the fewest stages that describe distinct buying decisions. Keep won and lost separate. Add a stage when it has a clear entry condition, exit condition, and owner.

    It is the evidence needed to leave a stage. For example, discovery is complete when the buyer confirms scope, budget range, decision process, and timing. Write criteria your team can check.

    Use a separate pipeline when renewals have different steps or need a separate review process. If the stages are the same, consider a deal-type field and filtered reports.

    The effect depends on how your CRM, reports, and integrations reference stages. Check names, internal IDs, filters, and automation rules before changing them. Deleting or merging stages also needs a plan for existing records.

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