Sales pipeline

Selling without a clear pipeline is working blind. One day you remember to call a prospect and the next it slips your mind entirely, while another opportunity has been waiting two weeks for a proposal you never sent. Deals rarely die because the client lost interest, they die because nobody followed up in time. This pipeline places each opportunity in a column based on its real status, so you can see at a glance how many prospects are cold, how many are in proposal and how many are about to close.

It works for the salesperson managing their book alone and for the small team splitting accounts. Each card is a specific opportunity with its client, and it moves left to right as the conversation matures. The point is not to have many columns but to keep every deal in the one it truly belongs to: when that holds, the funnel reads itself and you know exactly where to spend your energy this week.

The five stages of the funnel

The board splits the sale into five phases, from first search to signed client:

Prospect

This is where everything that is not yet a conversation lives, just a name and a hunch that it might fit.

• Identify a potential client that fits what you sell
• Find the direct contact of the person who decides

Contacted

You broke the ice. The goal of this column is a real conversation, not just a message sent.

• Send a first message that is personal and has a clear reason
• Schedule a call to understand their need

Proposal

The client shows interest and it is time to put it in writing. The clearer the quote, the fewer rounds later.

• Prepare a proposal tailored to what they asked for
• Send the quote with terms and timelines

Negotiation

The yes is close but there are loose ends. Almost every deal passes through here, it is not a bad sign but the home stretch.

• Handle objections about price, timing or scope
• Agree on terms that work for both sides

Closed

Deal won. Closing well is also starting the relationship that comes next on the right foot.

• Sign the contract and get everything in writing
• Send a welcome and explain the next steps

How it works in Foco

When you import the template, Foco creates the "Sales" workspace with these five columns already set up and each opportunity as a card. On desktop you drag a card from one column to the next as the deal advances; on mobile you switch stages with the tabs at the top. Every card takes a date for the next action, a reminder so you never miss a call, and a voice note to record what the client said without typing anything.

Because Foco handles several workspaces at once, you can keep this pipeline next to your other projects and see them all in Panorama, each in its own color, so you know in a moment how many deals are hot without opening anything else.