Lead Stages
Stages Your Team Agrees On. Reports That Still Compare.Custom lead stages with a hot, warm or cold rating built into each one.
Start with eleven ready-made stages, then add and order your own. Each stage carries a hot, warm or cold rating, so moving a lead re-rates it. Six fixed categories sit underneath every stage, so this quarter’s report still lines up with last quarter’s, however many stages you add.
- Eleven stages ready to use
- No limit on your own
- Included on every plan
How it works
- Your stages, in orderEleven ready-made, plus your own
- A rep moves the leadOne change on the record
- The rating followsHot, warm or cold comes from the stage
- Reports roll upInto six fixed categories
Everyone Reads a Lead the Same Way.
The rating sits on the stage, so moving a lead re-rates it. Nobody keeps a temperature field in step by hand.
Change the name of a stage and every lead sitting on it follows, without anyone touching a record.
Every stage rolls up to one of six fixed categories, so adding stages never breaks last quarter’s numbers.
Eleven stages arrive colored, ordered and rated, from New Lead through to Converted and Lost.
Your Stages, Set in Three Steps.
Start from Eleven
New Lead through Converted and Lost arrive colored, ordered and rated. Keep them, or take any you don’t use off the live list.
Add Your Own
Name each stage, pick a color and a category, rate it hot, warm or cold, and set its place in the order.
Move Leads Through
Reps change a lead’s stage as the calls happen. The rating follows the stage, and reports roll up by category.
What Are Lead Stages, and How Should You Set Them Up?
Lead stages in sales are the steps a lead moves through before there is a deal: from new, to contacted, to qualified, to converted or lost. Custom lead stages let you name those steps the way your team talks, so every rep reads a lead’s status the same way.
Adoptiv starts you with eleven lead status examples to use on day one: New Lead, Attempted to Contact, Contacted, Qualified, Not Qualified, Interested, Meeting Scheduled, Proposal Sent, Negotiating, Converted and Lost. Add as many of your own as you need, each with a name, color, description and place in the order.
Underneath, every stage belongs to one of six fixed lead lifecycle stages: new and initial contact, qualification, engagement, sales process, and two outcomes. You choose which category each stage sits in, and the fixed list is what keeps reports comparable after someone adds four new lead qualification stages.
Hot, warm and cold leads come from the stage, not a separate field, so moving a lead re-rates it. On lead stages vs deal stages: lead stages track where a lead has reached, and pipeline stages track the deal. Filter any list by stage with saved views, and see every move on the timeline.
Lead Status Tracking That Stays Consistent.
Colored, ordered and rated before anyone opens the settings page.
Add as many as your team needs, each in the list beside the starters.
Set on the stage, so a lead’s rating changes when its stage does.
Every stage rolls up to one, so reports compare quarter to quarter.
Change a stage’s name and every lead sitting on it follows.
A second stage with the same name can’t be created, so reports never split.
For Teams That Need One Shared Language.
Custom Lead Stages vs a Free-Text Status Column.
| What | A free-text status column | With Adoptiv |
|---|---|---|
| Naming | A free-text status column: Everyone types it their own way | With Adoptiv: Picked from one list of unique stage names |
| Renaming a stage | A free-text status column: Find and replace across every row | With Adoptiv: Change it once and every lead follows |
| Hot, warm or cold | A free-text status column: A second column to keep in step | With Adoptiv: Comes from the stage automatically |
| Reports over time | A free-text status column: Break when the list changes | With Adoptiv: Roll up to six fixed categories |
| Retiring a status | A free-text status column: Old values linger in the column | With Adoptiv: Off the live list, kept while leads still sit on it |
Lead Stages Questions, Answered.
What are lead stages?
The steps a lead moves through before there is a deal, such as Contacted, Qualified or Meeting Scheduled. They show your team where each lead stands and what comes next.
Can I create my own lead stages?
Yes, as many as you need. Each has a name, a color, a place in the order, a description, a category and an optional hot, warm or cold rating. Names are unique, so you can’t end up with two Qualified stages.
What happens to leads when I rename a stage?
They follow it. A lead points at the stage, not at its spelling, so every lead on it shows the new name without being touched.
Can I delete a lead stage?
You can take it out of the live list. A stage that still has leads on it stays until those leads move off it.
How do hot, warm and cold ratings work?
The rating belongs to the stage. Move a lead to a hot stage and the lead reads hot. Stages that mean finished can carry no rating at all.
Lead stages vs deal stages: what is the difference?
Lead stages track where a lead has reached before there is a deal. Pipeline stages track where the deal has reached once there is one.
What is a lead lifecycle?
The path a lead takes from first contact to a result. In Adoptiv every stage sits in one of six fixed categories, from new contact through to the two outcomes.
How many lead stages should I have?
Enough that every rep knows what each one means. Adoptiv starts you with eleven and has no limit on your own, and the six fixed categories keep reports tidy as the list grows.
Can I change which category a stage belongs to?
Yes, including for the eleven starter stages. The six categories themselves are fixed, which is what keeps reports comparable.
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