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Second pipelines, building and reviewing

When a second pipeline is worth it, how to describe who belongs on it, the order to build a pipeline in, and what to check after two weeks​

This page continues Design a pipeline that fits your business, which covers the eight questions and the six decisions.

Step 3 — Decide whether you need a second pipeline​

Add a pipeline only when one of these is true:

  • the customers go through different steps (a rental and a purchase; retail and wholesale);
  • a different team owns them;
  • they are a different audience altogether, such as suppliers or job applicants. For those, also turn on This pipeline serves a different kind of customer and write the goal as complete instructions.

Do not create a pipeline per product if the steps are the same; one pipeline with a clear entry stage is easier to run. You can have up to five.

Then decide how leads reach it, in this order of reliability:

  1. By source — a connected account, an ad or Any ad, set under Which new contacts come here. Use it when the source tells you who the customer is.
  2. By campaign — a WhatsApp campaign that adds its recipients to the pipeline.
  3. By what the customer says — fill in Who belongs here on the pipelines and the bot suggests the right one for each new lead; a person accepts.

Write Who belongs here as a description of the customer and what they ask about: "People asking about dental treatments or dental appointments." Avoid internal labels ("Segment B") and avoid goals ("Sell more whitening").

Step 4 — Build it​

  1. + New pipeline: start from the closest template, or with the default stages, so the pipeline has Won and Lost.
  2. Rename, add, delete and reorder stages on the Board until they match your list.
  3. Check which stage has the Entry badge.
  4. Configure stage on each open stage: instruction, exit condition, who handles it, automatic event.
  5. Pipeline settings: goal, who closes the sale, how the bot moves contacts, who receives new contacts.
  6. For a second pipeline: Which new contacts come here and Who belongs here.

Limits to keep in mind: 15 stages per pipeline; goal 4,000 characters; stage instruction 1,000; exit condition 400; who belongs here 300.

What a complete pipeline draft contains​

Before building, write the whole pipeline down. A draft is complete when it has:

  • the pipeline's name, and Who belongs here if you will have more than one pipeline;
  • the Goal;
  • Who closes the sale and How the bot moves contacts;
  • every open stage in order, each with its name, What the bot does in this stage, When it leaves this stage (or a note that it stays empty because a person moves the lead), Who handles it, and its Automatic event if any;
  • which stage is the entry stage;
  • who drags leads to Won and Lost;
  • Who receives new contacts, and for a second pipeline, how leads reach it.

Step 5 — Review after two weeks​

  • Leads pile up in one stage: its exit condition is too strict, or it is empty.
  • You keep ignoring the bot's suggestions for a stage: rewrite that stage's exit condition.
  • Cards jump two stages at once by hand: a stage in between is not real; delete it.
  • The entry stage is full of people who are not leads: decline them, and check the ad and comment switches.
  • Nobody closes leads: agree who drags to Won and Lost, or set an automatic event.