Stage definitions

One table every report and every team reads from. Each row names the record the state lives on, who owns it, and the exit criteria: facts the buyer or the system confirms, not activities the seller logs.

Stage

Record · owner

Exit criteria · what must be true to move to the next stage

Pipeline

Highest forecast category

Lead

person or account · Marketing

identity known (email or domain) and not disqualified (student, competitor, existing customer contact); score over the threshold, or a demo or contact-sales request

no

none

MQL

person or account · Marketing → SDR

routed to an owner; a meeting is held and the AE accepts the need. Becomes an SQL at the gate

no

none

PQL

account · Product → Sales-assist

product usage threshold crossed at the account level; above the account-size threshold it is routed as sales-assist and becomes an SQL at the gate; below it, it stays self-serve

no

none

SQL · the gate

account state · AE; creates the opportunity

one definition for every source: meeting held, a need and a plausible budget owner confirmed, AE accepts. The opportunity record is created with amount, close date and owner, and Discovery starts

yes

Pipeline

Discovery

opportunity · AE

pain quantified by the buyer; buying group identified; decision timeline stated by the buyer, not assumed

yes

Pipeline

Solution fit

opportunity · AE, SE

success criteria agreed in writing; technical fit validated (demo, trial, or security review passed); champion confirmed

yes

Best case

Proposal

opportunity · AE, Deal Desk

priced proposal delivered to the economic buyer; buyer confirms it is under evaluation; amount and close date re-confirmed

yes

Commit

Negotiation

opportunity · AE, Deal Desk, Legal

verbal yes from the economic buyer; contract in redlines or procurement; signature date committed by the buyer

yes

Commit

Closed-won

opportunity → subscription · AE → Implementation

signed contract and billing terms on file; handoff record complete; subscription created; kickoff scheduled within the SLA

booked

Closed

Closed-lost

opportunity · AE

terminal from any opportunity stage; one reason from the fixed list is required; recycled to nurture after a cooling period

removed

Omit

Self-serve conversion

subscription · Product; system-created opportunity

payment event in the product; the system creates a closed-won opportunity with no owner activity so the ARR enters the same pipeline and waterfall reporting

booked

Closed

Onboarding

account · Implementation

first value reached: the success criterion from the handoff record is met and confirmed by the customer

ARR

none

Live · adopting

account · Customer Success

leaves only into a renewal opportunity (term minus 120 days), an expansion opportunity, or churn; the health score drives which

ARR

none

Renewal · expansion

opportunity · Account Management

runs the same opportunity stages with its own pipeline view and its own forecast call; closed-won updates the subscription; closed-lost on a renewal is churn

yes, separate

same categories

Forecast category is set by the rep on every open opportunity for the current period and checked by the manager; the stage only caps the highest category the deal may carry. Stages may be skipped forward when all criteria are already met; they are never moved backward silently. Stage dates are written by the system when the stage changes, which is what makes conversion and cycle-time reporting possible.