How to Customize Your Sales Pipeline

No two businesses follow the same sales process. Yet, many teams struggle with rigid, one-size-fits-all pipelines that don’t align with how they track and close deals.

• Leads slip through the cracks due to poor follow-up tracking
• Sales reps waste time on unqualified prospects instead of focusing on high-value deals
• Managers can’t get accurate sales forecasts because pipeline stages don’t reflect real deal progress

A customized sales pipeline solves these problems—helping you track opportunities, prioritize deals, and automate follow-ups in a way that fits your workflow.

With BIGContacts, you can fully customize your pipeline to match your sales stages, products, and commission structures. This guide will show you how to build a pipeline that works for your team—so you can focus on closing deals instead of managing data.

Step 1: Access the Sales Pipeline Settings

To customize your pipeline, follow any of these steps:

Go to Admin > Manage Modules > Customize Pipeline

Click the gear icon in the top-right corner and select Customize Pipeline

Go to Sales Pipeline in the left sidebar and click Customize

This opens the settings where you can adjust your sales stages, products, commission splits, and more.

Step 2: Customize Your Sales Stages

Your sales pipeline stages represent the key steps a deal goes through from lead to closure. Before setting them up in BIGContacts, it’s best to map out your process on paper to ensure accuracy.
 

1. Identify your key sales stages – For example:

   • Initial Contact
   • Qualification
   • Proposal Sent
   • Negotiation
   • Closed Won / Closed Lost
      

2. Define confidence levels – This is the likelihood that an opportunity at a given stage will close.
   Example: If 3 out of 10 deals typically close at the "Proposal Sent" stage, set confidence at 30%.
    

3. Set your sales cycle – Enter the average number of days it takes for a deal at that stage to close.
   Example: If deals in the "Negotiation" stage take an average of 30 days to close, enter 30 days.

Why This Matters

• Helps forecast revenue based on deal stages.
• Allows sales reps to focus on high-probability opportunities.
• Improves pipeline organization by defining clear progress steps.

Step 3: Automate Follow-Ups Using Sales Stages (AutoPilot)

Once your sales stages are set up, you can automate follow-ups using AutoPilot. AutoPilot allows you to automatically send emails or create tasks based on how long a sales opportunity remains in a specific stage—helping ensure timely and consistent follow-ups.

 

Note: AutoPilot is configured separately from pipeline settings, but it relies on the sales stages you created earlier.

Access AutoPilot

Navigate to: Marketing → Campaigns → AutoPilot

On the AutoPilot page, click Add AutoPilot to create a new automation rule.

Create an AutoPilot Rule

When you click Add AutoPilot, the Create an AutoPilot window opens. Configure the following required details:

1. Select the Sales Opportunity Stage

Choose the Sales Opportunity Stage where the automation should apply (for example, Initial Meeting).
The AutoPilot rule will monitor opportunities in this stage.

2. Specify the Day in Stage

Enter the day in stage when the action should occur.
This determines how many days an opportunity must remain in the selected stage before AutoPilot triggers the action.

Example:
Trigger a follow-up email if an opportunity stays in the Initial Meeting stage for 5 days.

3. Choose the Action Type

Select the action AutoPilot should perform:

• Email – Automatically sends an email.

• Task – Automatically creates a task for a user.

Configure Email Actions (If Email Is Selected)

If you choose Email as the action, configure the following fields:

• Email From – Select who the email should be sent from (for example, the user the contact is assigned to)

• Email Subject – Enter the subject line for the automated email

• Email Body – Compose the email content using the editor

These emails are sent automatically when the stage and timing conditions are met.

Configure Task Actions (If Task Is Selected)

If you choose Task as the action, you can automatically assign follow-up tasks to ensure sales reps take timely action on stalled opportunities.

Save the AutoPilot Rule

After completing the required details, click Save. The AutoPilot rule becomes active and runs automatically to monitor opportunities and trigger actions based on stage duration.

Step 4: Add & Manage Products in Your Pipeline

In BIGContacts, you can track sales opportunities at both the deal level and product level.

Adding Products & Services

1. Navigate to the Customize Pipeline section.
2. Add product categories (e.g., Software, Consulting, Hardware).
   
   
3. Assign specific products/services to each category.
   
   

Setting Default Pricing & Commissions

• Enter a default price for each product/service (editable per deal).
• Assign commission rates for upfront and recurring payments.

Note:

• If you don’t track commissions, set 100% in the "Upfront Commission Rate" field.
• If you track recurring commissions, set start dates and frequency.

Step 5: Set Up Commission Splits (Optional)

If multiple team members work on a deal, you can split commissions accordingly.

Use Cases for Commission Splits:

1. Shared Opportunities – If two reps collaborate on a deal, you can divide the commission.
2. Lead Transfers – If a rep passes a lead to another team member, commissions can be shared based on contribution.

To set this up:

1. Navigate to Commission Splits under the Customize Pipeline section.
   
   
    
2. Assign team members and split percentage.
3. Save and apply to relevant deals.
   
   

Finalizing Your Sales Pipeline Setup

Now that your sales pipeline is customized, you can start adding opportunities, tracking deals, and automating follow-ups.

Next Steps:

• Add Your First Opportunity – Learn how to create and manage deals in your pipeline.
• Use Sales Reports – Analyze pipeline performance and optimize for better results.
   

If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out to BIGContacts support.