Sales Pipeline Stages: A Template for Indian SMBs

A simple sales pipeline for Indian SMBs has six stages: New Lead → Contacted → Qualified → Proposal Sent → Negotiation → Won/Lost. Each stage has clear exit criteria, every open deal has a dated next action, and you track conversion between stages to see exactly where deals leak.

The 6-stage template

Why exit criteria matter

Without them, one salesperson's "Qualified" is another's "they replied once". Clear criteria make your pipeline honest and your forecasts useful.

Qualification: keep it simple

Use a lightweight check (BANT-style):

• Budget: can they afford the solution?
• Authority: are you talking to the decision-maker?
• Need: is the problem real and urgent?
• Timeline: when do they want to start?

Two out of four? Keep nurturing. Four out of four? Fast-track.

Metrics to watch

Industry variations

• Real estate: add "Site Visit Scheduled" and "Site Visit Done". See real estate CRM
• Education: "Counselling Done" and "Application Submitted"
• B2B services: "Discovery Call" and "Proposal Review"
• E-commerce B2B: "Sample Sent" and "Trial Order"

Setting it up in RapBooster CRM

1. Create your stages (drag to reorder)
2. Add required fields per stage (for example, budget before Qualified)
3. Automate: auto-assign new leads, send a WhatsApp acknowledgement, create follow-up tasks
4. Build a weekly dashboard: pipeline value, stage conversion, lost reasons
5. Hold a 20-minute weekly pipeline review

RapBooster CRM is one plan at ₹1,799/month (₹1,499/month billed yearly, excl. GST) with 5 users included, and it covers the pipeline, automation, lead scoring and every other business app. See pricing.

The golden rule

Every open deal must have a next action with a date. No date means no deal: it's a wish. Pair this with the 5-touch follow-up rule.

Running a 20-minute weekly pipeline review

A good review is short and focused. Use this agenda:

1. Numbers (3 minutes): new leads, deals won and lost, pipeline value vs last week
2. Stuck deals (7 minutes): any deal in the same stage for more than two weeks. What's the blocker, and what's the next action?
3. Big deals (5 minutes): the top 5 by value. Are they on track? Who needs help?
4. Lost reasons (3 minutes): patterns this week, such as price, timing or a competitor
5. Commitments (2 minutes): each rep states their key actions for the week

Pipeline hygiene rules

• No deal without a value and an expected close date
• No deal without a next task
• Deals stuck for 30+ days must be updated or closed
• Lost deals need a reason
• Duplicate contacts are merged immediately

Forecasting made simple

Assign a probability to each stage based on your historical conversion (for example Qualified 20%, Proposal 40%, Negotiation 70%). Multiply each deal's value by its stage probability and add them up. That's your weighted forecast. It won't be perfect, but it's far better than gut feel, and it improves as your data grows.

Example: a digital agency pipeline

The bottom line

A pipeline is a shared language for your sales team. Keep stages few and clear, measure conversion between them, and never let a deal sit without a next step.