How to set up a sales pipeline in Orbit
To set up a pipeline in Orbit, create a pipeline, add stages that match how a deal actually moves, and drag contacts in as deals. For most solo businesses, five stages is the sweet spot: Lead, Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Won. Fewer, clearer stages close more deals than long, fuzzy ones.
How do I set up a sales pipeline in Orbit?
Open the Deals area and follow these steps. Five minutes to a working pipeline.
- 1Create a new pipeline and name it for the work it tracks, like "New business" or "Coaching clients". The free plan includes one pipeline.
- 2Add your stages left to right in the order a deal moves. Start with the five below if you are unsure.
- 3Drag a contact onto the board to create a deal, or open a contact and add a deal from their record. Set a value and an expected close date.
- 4Move deals by dragging them between stages as things progress. The board is your scoreboard for the week.
- 5Open a deal to see its full timeline: calls, emails, notes, and any tasks attached to it, all in one place.
The 5-stage pipeline for solo businesses
A clean, honest set of stages you can use as-is. Each one is a real decision point, not a vague mood.
- Lead. A new name with potential, not yet qualified. Niko and Kai can feed this stage automatically as suggestions you approve.
- Qualified. You have confirmed they have the problem, the budget, and a timeline. If not, they do not belong here yet.
- Proposal. You have sent a number. Wes, the proposal agent, will nudge stalled ones on day 3 and again on day 7.
- Negotiation. They are interested and you are sorting terms. Keep notes on what they pushed back on.
- Won. Signed. Move them out of the pipeline and into delivery, and let Ray handle the invoice reminders.
Why fewer stages close more deals
Every extra stage is another place a deal can sit and rot. Long pipelines feel thorough but they hide stalls: a deal parked in "Sent follow-up #2" for a month looks busy when it is actually dead. Five stages force a clear answer at each step, which is the whole point of pipeline management.
If you are coming from a spreadsheet, the discipline of stages is the upgrade. A board makes a stuck deal visible in a way a row of cells never does. For the full reasoning, see how to track deals without spreadsheets.
A stage should describe a decision the buyer made, not an action you took. "Qualified" is a buyer state. "Sent email" is just activity. Name stages after the buyer and your board tells the truth.
Keep exploring
Frequently asked questions
How many stages should a sales pipeline have?+
For a solo business, five stages works best: Lead, Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Won. Fewer, clearer stages force a real decision at each step and make stalls visible. Long pipelines feel thorough but tend to hide dead deals.
How do I add a deal to a pipeline in Orbit?+
Drag a contact onto the pipeline board to create a deal, or open a contact record and add a deal there. Set a value and an expected close date. The deal gets its own timeline with calls, emails, notes, and tasks.
Can I have more than one pipeline in Orbit?+
The free plan includes one pipeline, which is enough for most solo operators. Additional pipelines are part of the upcoming Pro plan. One clean pipeline almost always beats several half-maintained ones for a one-person business.
How do Orbit agents work with my pipeline?+
Several agents feed and tend your pipeline. Niko and Kai suggest new leads, Wes nudges stalled proposals, and Sam flags deals that have gone stale. Each one delivers a card you approve, so nothing moves in your pipeline without your say-so.
What is the best pipeline for a service business?+
Lead, Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Won covers most service businesses cleanly. Qualified means you confirmed the problem, budget, and timeline. Proposal means a number is out. Keeping it to five stages stops deals from hiding in vague middle steps.
Build a pipeline that tells the truth
Five clean stages, deals you can drag, and agents that tend them for you. Free plan, no credit card.
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