Nine stages from first lead to repeat purchase. Closers see where the deal is, what's blocking it, and what to do next — whether the deal starts fresh or arrives from an existing pipeline.
01Lead
A new lead lands in the workspace from an ad, referral, form, QR link, inbound call, email, event, partner, or import. Source, intent, contact, company, and context are captured on arrival.
Required work
- Capture source: form, QR campaign, import, manual, or referral
- Match or create contact and company on first touch
- Stamp received date, time, time zone, and inbound channel
- Preserve QR path and campaign code on the lead record
- Route to the right owner without losing intent
02Qualify
The lead is checked for fit, budget, authority, need, timing, and strategic value. The owner runs the qualifying call, scores the lead, and decides whether to invest sales time.
Required work
- Score fit, budget, authority, need, and timing
- Run the qualifying call against a guided brief
- Capture qualification notes against the lead record
- Record disqualification reason and archive if rejected
- Promote qualified leads to a real deal record
03Discover
The discovery call surfaces the real problem, the wall behind it, and what success looks like. The deal record fills with the situation, what has been tried, and the future state the buyer wants.
Required work
- Run the discovery call against a guided brief
- Capture situation, history, and prior attempts
- Identify the blocker and the desired future state
- Attach stakeholders and decision authority to the deal
- Update stage confidence with first-hand evidence
04Scope
The tech call agrees terms, price, timeline, and stakeholders in principle. The deal becomes a defined path with an expected value, a close date, and a list of what still has to land.
Required work
- Define offer, terms, and expected deal value
- Confirm timeline, stakeholders, and decision path
- Set close date and stage confidence
- List required files and due-diligence checklist
- Lay out the meeting plan and follow-up cadence
05Design
The high-level design, proposal, or plan is delivered. Documents, scope, and commitments converge into one shared artifact the buyer can react to.
Required work
- Draft proposal, plan, or scope document
- Attach supporting design, references, and comparables
- Confirm scope with represented client and stakeholders
- Track open questions and outstanding decisions
- Move the deal toward verbal commitment
06Close
The closing call lands the verbal yes. Terms are accepted, the investment is agreed, and the deal commits — even before paperwork moves.
Required work
- Run the closing call against a guided brief
- Capture verbal commitment and accepted terms
- Record the decision and close summary on the deal
- Surface any remaining blockers for a clean handoff
- Queue the signature and invoice path automatically
07Sign
Contract is signed. Invoice fires. Payment routes through the connected provider. Delivery work queues with full context attached.
Required work
- Generate the final contract and signed terms
- Issue invoice and route payment through the connected provider
- Post payment status back to the deal timeline
- Land the prepared action in the approval lane before send
- Hand off to delivery with owner and relationship context
08Deliver
The customer receives what was sold. Onboarding tasks, delivery milestones, support route, and the relationship owner travel with the same deal record.
Required work
- Open onboarding tasks and assign owners
- Track delivery milestones and success markers
- Attach delivery notes, contracts, and access provisioning
- Define the support route and primary point of contact
- Keep the represented-client portal scoped to the deal
09Expand
The customer is evaluated for renewal, repeat purchase, referral, upsell, cross-sell, or partner transition. Outcome and next offer attach to the same record without losing context.
Required work
- Review outcome and capture satisfaction
- Identify renewal, upsell, cross-sell, and referral paths
- Trigger expansion offers from prior deal history
- Open the next deal record without losing relationship context
- Feed expansion data back into account and pipeline forecast