Pipeline Types Overview

1. Paid/Website Pipeline

• Entry: Automatic via API

• Initial Status: New Deal

• Priority: High (1-hour response during business hours)

• Automation: Creates opportunity record with website form data

2. Software Advice Pipeline

• Entry: Automatic via API

• Initial Status: New Deal

• Priority: Highest (Immediate/1-hour response during business hours)

• Automation: Creates opportunity record with Software Advice data

3. Relationship/Referral Pipeline

• Entry: Manual

• Initial Status: New Deal

• Priority: Highest (1-hour response required)

• Notes: Highest close rate channel overall

4. Outbound Pipeline

• Entry: Manual

• Initial Status: New Deal

• Campaign Tracking Required

• Automation: Need to work on automated entry from external sources as we scale

5. Talent Select Pipeline

• Entry: Both API and Manual

• Initial Status: New Deal

• Notes: Becoming more of an add-on to the Flex service as we scale into 2025 but worth asking about on a discovery call with larger opportunities

New Deal Stage

• Default stage for all new opportunities

• Automation:

  • Assigns to Chris for initial call

  • Adds secondary sales associate as owner via RoundRobin automation

  • Triggers internal notifications

Active Stage

• Manual Movement Required

• Trigger: Two-way communication established

Scheduled Stage

• Automatic Movement

• Trigger: Calendar booking completed

• Automation:

  • Updates opportunity stage

  • Sends internal notification in slack

Showed Stage

• Automatic Movement

• Trigger: Meeting marked as completed

• Automation:

  • Updates stage

  • Triggers follow-up task for Sales Associate opp owner

Plan Review Stage

• Manual Movement by Chris

• Required Actions:

  • SQL tag addition check as they must be fully qualified to make this movement

  • Slack channel creation for team coordination

• Automation:

  • Growth Plan meeting review meeting type should move lead to to the correct pipeline stage

Verbal Stage

• Manual Movement

• Required: Documented verbal commitment, contract should be already sent

Closed Won/Lost Stages

• Manual Movement

• Required: Outcome documentation

• Automation:

  • Updates all systems

  • Triggers appropriate onboarding or close-out processes

Stage Movement Rules

Automated Movements

1. New → Active: Never automatic

2. Active → Scheduled: Triggered by calendar booking

3. Scheduled → Showed: Triggered by meeting completion

4. Showed → Plan Review: Never automatic (could look at automating from calendar booking meeting type)

5. Plan Review → Verbal: Never automatic

6. Verbal → Closed: Never automatic

Special Automation Tags

Send-To-Trial Tag

• Trigger: Manual addition

• Automation Actions:

  • Sends trial link email "Great speaking to you today.....here's the trial link"

  • Create opportunity in new trial pipeline

  • Go ahead and manually mark deal as lost if it's not Flex qualified

SQL Tag

• Trigger: Manual addition

• Automation Actions:

  • Creates Slack channel (look into)

  • Updates Facebook/Marketing retargeting audiences

  • Triggers EOM deal tracking

Lost Deal Automation

• Trigger: Stage change to Lost

• Required: Loss reason selection

  • Common reasons include:

    • No real business

    • No budget

    • Bad use case

    • Competition specific reasons