When “Lead,” “Qualified Conversation,“ and “Opportunity” are just labels, your CRM becomes a graveyard of guesses.
This guide shows you how to define your stages like a pro so your CRM becomes what it’s supposed to be – a disciplined instrument for learning, forecasting, and growing revenue systematically.
The Framework: Three Key Stages
For most early-stage B2B companies, these three stages preceding Closed-Win / Closed-Lost are enough:
Lead
Qualified Conversation
Opportunity
The key is not what your stages are – it’s what they mean.
Each stage needs two things:
Entrance criteria: The specific facts that must be true before a deal enters the stage.
Exit criteria: The specific facts that must be true before a deal can move forward.
No opinions. No feelings. Just facts.
Stage 1: Lead
What It Means
A Lead is someone that fits your Ideal Customer Profile but hasn’t yet had a real conversation with you.
They’re a name, not yet a relationship.
Entrance Criteria
Identified through outbound research, inbound request, event, or referral.
Fits your ICP filters.
Contact info verified.
Exit Criteria (Moves to Qualified Conversation)
You’ve had a scheduled, completed live conversation (email exchanges don’t count).
The conversation confirmed relevance (i.e., they actually have the problem you solve).
Example
If you sell workflow automation for clinics, Lead might mean:
“A clinic with more than 10 staff, using outdated manual scheduling, with an identified operations lead I can contact.”
Once you’ve spoken with that operations lead and confirmed they’re struggling with scheduling inefficiencies, it’s no longer a Lead – it’s a Qualified Conversation.
Stage 2: Qualified Conversation
What It Means
You’ve spoken directly with the person and verified that your solution might matter to them.
The goal here is to validate problem-solution fit, not sell features.
Entrance Criteria
Completed live conversation (Zoom, phone, or in-person).
The person acknowledges the pain or inefficiency you solve.
You’ve identified their role in the buying process = economic buyer.
Exit Criteria (Moves to Opportunity)
Prospect expresses intent to explore your solution (pilot, demo, evaluation).
You’ve defined next steps and what “success” looks like for that step.
Example
If you’re SaaS solution helping cities manage affordable housing, a Qualified Conversation might be:
“We’ve spoken with a city housing director who said their affordable housing reporting is manual and they’re open to piloting our tool next quarter.”
At that moment, you’ve validated pain and potential intent – move it to Opportunity.
Stage 3: Opportunity
What It Means
An Opportunity is an account actively evaluating your solution in a structured way.
You’re now validating solution-market fit – can you solve the problem in a measurable way?
Entrance Criteria
The person commits time or resources (demo, pilot, internal review).
Budget, authority, and timeline are known.
There is a clear path to a sale with specific income for the company.
Exit Criteria
You receive a formal yes/no decision.
If “yes,” success metrics and implementation steps are defined.
If “no,” reason for loss is documented.
Example
For a B2B SaaS selling to manufacturers:
“An operations VP agreed to a 60-day, $15,000 pilot using our workflow module in one plant. The goal: reduce downtime by 10%.”
That’s a textbook Opportunity: committed time, measurable outcome, and clear decision horizon.
How to Customize This for Your B2B Business
The best CRMs are contextualized.
Use this checklist to define each stage for your product and market:
What’s the smallest observable fact that proves a deal belongs in this stage?
e.g., “Demo scheduled” or “Pilot agreement signed.”
What do I need to learn before I move to the next stage?
e.g., “Do they have budget authority?” or “Do they measure this KPI?”
What action can I take to create that forward movement?
e.g., “Send mutual action plan” or “Request pilot success metrics.”
What specific event signals an exit from this stage?
e.g., “Completed live pilot,” “Decision made,” “Contract signed.”
Be sure to translate the framework (e.g., “The person commits time or resources”) into observable facts (e.g., “schedules a 60-minute demo with their technical lead.”)
Whatever it is – define it so that anyone on your team would make the same call looking at the same deal.
Generic criteria create false positives. Specific facts create consistent data.
Final Step: Enforce It
Document the detailed stages inside your CRM or as a shared “Stage Definitions” guide for your team..
Train your team (or yourself) to audit weekly: does each deal truly belong in its current stage?
Move deals backward if they don’t meet the entrance criteria.
That’s how you turn a messy CRM into a disciplined learning machine.
When your stages mean something, your data becomes trustworthy. When your data is trustworthy, your forecasts become real.
That’s when sales stops feeling random — and starts feeling repeatable.
Want expert help with your funnel stages? Let’s talk.