Lead pipeline
Set up the stages your leads move through, and learn what happens when a lead is won, lost or reopened.
A pipeline is the list of stages a lead passes through on its way to becoming a customer. Each site has one pipeline, and every lead on that site sits in exactly one of its stages.
The pipeline is a Pro feature. See Basic and Pro plans.
The stages you start with
Every site gets these five stages automatically. You don’t have to set anything up before your first lead arrives.
| Stage | Kind | Colour |
|---|---|---|
| New | Open | Blue |
| Contacted | Open | Violet |
| Qualified | Open | Amber |
| Won | Won | Green |
| Lost | Lost | Gray |
New leads start in the first open stage in your list. With the default pipeline that is New.
Open, won and lost
Every stage has a kind, and the kind decides how PageFork treats the leads in it.
| Kind | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Open | Work in progress. The lead shows on the board and in the list. |
| Won | Closed successfully. |
| Lost | Closed without a sale. |
You can have several stages of each kind. For example two open stages called “Quote sent” and “Negotiating”, or two lost stages called “Too expensive” and “No reply”.
Editing the pipeline
Owners and admins can edit stages. Members can use the pipeline but not change it.
- Open Leads and switch to the Board view.
- Click the settings icon at the right end of the filter bar and choose Edit stages.
- Make your changes in the Pipeline stages dialog.
- Click Save.
Nothing changes until you save. Cancel throws away your edits.
| To… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Add a stage | Click Add stage. It appears at the bottom as a gray, open stage. Give it a name. |
| Rename a stage | Type over the name. Leads keep their stage when you rename it. |
| Change the colour | Click the coloured dot and pick one of eight colours. |
| Change the kind | Pick Open, Won or Lost in the dropdown. |
| Reorder | Drag a row, or use the up and down arrows. On a phone, use the arrows. |
| Delete a stage | Click the bin icon, then choose where its leads go. |
The order in the dialog is the order of the columns on the board and of the steps on the lead page.
Deleting a stage
When you delete a stage that already exists, a line appears under the list: Move leads in stage to. Choose one of the remaining stages. You can’t save until every deleted stage has a destination.
When you save, the leads are moved for you:
- The move appears in each lead’s timeline.
- Moving leads into a won or lost stage closes them. Moving them into an open stage reopens them.
- This kind of move does not trigger destinations. It’s housekeeping, not a sales event.
- Any destination that was set to fire on the deleted stage stops listening for it.
Limits and rules
- A pipeline has between 1 and 12 stages.
- It must keep at least one open, one won and one lost stage.
- Stage names are up to 40 characters and can’t be empty.
- You can only change a stage’s kind while it is empty. Move its leads to another stage first, then change the kind.
If a save is refused, the message says which rule was broken.
Closing a lead
Moving a lead into a won or lost stage closes it. You can do that from the Won and Lost buttons on the lead page, by dragging the card on the board, or with a bulk action in the list.
When a lead is closed:
- The closing date is recorded and shown on the lead page.
- The lead’s timeline records that it was marked won or lost.
- It disappears from the board and the list. Turn on Show closed to see closed leads again.
- Its open follow-ups no longer appear on the calendar.
- The person is free to have a new lead. The next time they submit a form, a fresh lead is created in the first open stage instead of being attached to the closed one.
The closed lead is never deleted. It stays on the person’s page and under Other leads from this person.
Lost reason
When you click Lost on the lead page, a box asks Why was it lost? The reason is optional and can be up to 500 characters. Click Mark lost to confirm.
The reason is shown next to the closing date on the lead page and is included in the CSV export. It’s cleared if the lead later moves to a stage that isn’t a lost stage.
Dragging a card into a lost column, or moving leads with a bulk action, closes them without asking for a reason.
The Won and Lost buttons use the first won stage and the first lost stage in your pipeline. If you have more than one, reach the others from the board with Show closed on, or with Move to stage in the list.
Reopening a lead
A closed lead shows a Reopen button on its page. Clicking it moves the lead to your first open stage and clears the closing date.
There is one rule: a person can only have one open lead at a time. If the person already has another open lead, reopening is refused with “This person already has another open lead” and a link to open that lead. Carry on with the open one, or close it first.
The same rule applies when you drag a closed card back into an open column or reopen leads in bulk.
Stages and automations
A stage change is the one lead event that can reach other tools. A destination can be set to fire when a lead enters a particular stage, for example to tag a subscriber when a lead is won.
Only leads that carry a form submission can trigger destinations. See Adding leads by hand.