How to set up and use sales funnels in CRM

Working on a deal usually involves several steps; e.g., a) first contact, b) discussing details, c) drafting of documents, d) invoice payment, e) execution of works, f) acceptance of works. Or quite a different sequence of actions: a) appeal to a client, b) an interview with a client, c) agreement on the final text to be published, d) publishing of an interview.

A sequence of actions, or stages, which you complete one by one while working on a deal is called a funnel. It’s up to you to decide which stages you want to have available for marking as completed to get the best control over your own and your team’s work.

Setting up funnels

1. Go to “Settings → Sales funnels” screen.
2. Change the default funnel according to your needs:
   • rename default stages;
   • delete the stages that you don’t need;
   • add missing stages.
3. Or add a new funnel:
   • type funnel name;
   • select one of available base colors for the funnel color scheme or enter your custom base color;
   • add required stages.
4. Set up access: select user groups defined in Team app who must be able to work with the new funnel.
5. Add more funnels with appropriate stages if you use several different procedures within your company for working with clients’ deals.

When adding stages to a funnel, keep in mind that a standard stage named “Close” will be appended to your stage list. It is used to mark a deal as successfully completed or lost.

How to use different funnels

A deal in CRM is always linked to a funnel. How do deals get into specific funnels?

The exact procedure depends on the method by which a deal is created. If you add it manually, then you simply select the desired funnel from a list.

If a deal is created from a message submitted via a website form or from a received email message, then the funnel it will get into must be selected when you set up a web form or connect an email address to CRM.

Once added, a deal can be manually transferred from stage to stage as you complete various parts of work within a deal completion procedure. So, step by step, you will transfer a deal towards the last “Close” stage. On that stage, you will have to anser the question about whether a deal is being completed successfully or must be marked as lost.

The final “Close” stage is not available on the funnel-editing screen in CRM settings. It is a built-in system stage that is automatically appended to the editable stage list of any funnel.