Deal pipeline software is usually configured once, by somebody enthusiastic, and the enthusiasm is the problem. Stages get added because each one describes a real distinction, and every addition is individually defensible. Twenty stages later nobody can pick one without rereading the definitions, so they pick the same three, and the pipeline stops describing anything. This page sets out why six to ten works, and how to cut a bloated one back.
The test is whether picking takes thought
An analyst updating a record after a call should know the right stage instantly. If they have to reread the definitions, there are too many, and what happens next is that everybody defaults to the safest-sounding option. A pipeline where 70% of records sit in one stage is not a distribution, it is a symptom.
Stages should be observable, not judgemental
An NDA is back or it is not. Materials are out or they are not. An IOI has arrived or it has not. Those are facts anybody would record identically. Stages like warming up or seriously interested depend on who is asked and produce a pipeline that means different things to different people.
One stage set per process type, not per team
A sale and a raise genuinely differ and deserve different stage names. Two partners preferring different words for the same step do not. The rule that keeps this from sprawling is that a new stage set needs a different process, not a different preference.
How to cut one back
Pull twelve months of records and count how many ever sat in each stage. Stages with almost no traffic are either being skipped or being avoided, and both mean they can go. Merge them into their neighbours, announce the change once, and expect the record to get more accurate within a month.
Questions people ask about deal pipeline software
How many stages should a sell-side process have?
Six to ten, all observable. Pitched, mandated, materials, in market, IOIs in, meetings, LOI, diligence, closed is nine.
Can different teams have different stages?
Only if they run different processes. A different preference for words is not a different process.
What does a bloated pipeline look like?
Most records sitting in two or three stages while the rest carry almost no traffic. Count the traffic and merge the empty ones.