HubSpot allows multiple pipelines for different sales processes. Most companies need only one pipeline, but you might need separate pipelines for new business vs renewals, or enterprise vs SMB sales, or direct sales vs partner-led deals.
Understanding pipeline vs stages
Pipeline: The overall sales process. Example: "Sales Pipeline," "Renewal Pipeline," "Partner Pipeline."
Stages: The steps within that process. Example stages in Sales Pipeline might be "Discovery call," "Demo delivered," "Proposal sent," "Negotiating," "Closed-won."
Each pipeline has its own set of stages. Deals live in one pipeline and move through its stages.
Review your default pipeline
Navigate to Settings > Objects > Deals > Pipelines.
You'll see at least one pipeline (usually called "Sales Pipeline" or "Default"). Click it to view its stages.
HubSpot's default stages:
- Appointment scheduled
- Qualified to buy
- Presentation scheduled
- Decision maker bought in
- Contract sent
- Closed won
- Closed lost
These generic stages probably don't match how you sell. Let's customise them.
Define your actual sales process
Before changing stages in HubSpot, document your real sales process on paper or whiteboard.
Ask yourself: "What are the major milestones a deal passes through from first conversation to close?"
Example B2B SaaS sales process:
- Discovery call completed
- Demo delivered
- Proposal sent
- Negotiating pricing/terms
- Contract sent
- Closed-won
- Closed-lost
Example enterprise sales process with longer cycle:
- Initial meeting
- Discovery completed
- Technical evaluation
- Business case presented
- Legal review
- Procurement/contracting
- Closed-won
- Closed-lost
Your stages should represent meaningful progress, not administrative tasks. "Sent email" isn't a stage. "Completed technical evaluation" is a stage because it represents real advancement toward close.
Customise pipeline stages
In Settings > Objects > Deals > Pipelines > [Your pipeline], edit stages:
Rename stages: Click stage name and rename to match your process. "Appointment scheduled" becomes "Discovery call completed."
Add stages: Click "Add stage" at the end of pipeline. Insert new stages representing your process.
Remove stages: Delete stages you don't use. Hover over stage > Click three dots > Delete. Warning: If you have deals in this stage, you'll need to move them first.
Reorder stages: Drag stages to correct order. Stages should flow left-to-right in the sequence deals actually progress.
Stage automation: For some stages, you might want HubSpot to automate entry. Example: when a deal's "Contract sent date" property is filled, automatically move deal to "Contract sent" stage. Configure this in stage settings > "Automatically move deals to this stage when."
Stage probability
Each stage represents a likelihood of closing. Discovery calls close at 10-20%, but deals in negotiating stage close at 60-80%.
Set probability for each stage by clicking the stage > "Win probability" field.
These probabilities calculate weighted pipeline value (covered in Chapter 7). If you have £100k of deals in "Discovery" stage (20% probability) and £100k in "Negotiating" stage (70% probability), your weighted pipeline is £20k + £70k = £90k.
Calibrate probabilities based on historical data: What percentage of deals at each stage actually close? If 30% of deals in "Proposal sent" historically closed, set that stage to 30% probability.
Multiple pipelines
If you need separate pipelines for different sales processes, create additional pipelines.
In Settings > Objects > Deals > Pipelines, click "Create pipeline."
Name it clearly: "Renewal Pipeline," "Enterprise Sales Pipeline," "Partner Pipeline."
Configure stages for this pipeline following the same process as above.
When creating deals, you'll choose which pipeline they belong to. Deals in different pipelines don't mix in reports or board views (unless you explicitly include both).
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