Sales pipeline
A sales pipeline is a visual or structured view of all your opportunities, organized by stage from first contact to closed deal. It shows what is in progress and where deals stall.
The pipeline lists each opportunity and the stage it is in, such as new lead, contacted, meeting booked, proposal, and closed. Moving a deal forward or marking it lost keeps the view current.
It helps teams forecast, spot bottlenecks, and decide where to spend time. If many deals sit at one stage, that stage needs attention. Clear stage definitions, kept consistent, make the numbers trustworthy.
Outreach feeds the top of the pipeline. Positive replies and booked meetings become opportunities that move through the later stages. Pipeline is usually managed in a CRM, and the pipeline is different from the funnel metrics (acceptance, reply) that come before it.
Common questions
What is the difference between a pipeline and a funnel?
People use them loosely. A pipeline usually tracks individual deals by stage, while a funnel describes conversion rates between stages.
Where is a sales pipeline kept?
Most teams keep it in a CRM so everyone sees the same stages and deals.
Related terms
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