{"id":43573,"date":"2020-07-03T15:04:35","date_gmt":"2020-07-03T15:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"\/us\/en\/blog\/?p=43573"},"modified":"2025-07-16T01:23:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T08:23:38","slug":"sales-pipeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/sales-pipeline\/","title":{"rendered":"How to build a 4-phase sales pipeline in 5 steps"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the surface, selling seems pretty straightforward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You fill your potential buyer in on what you have to offer, and they pick the solution that best meets their needs\u2014it\u2019s just one simple decision that takes someone from \u201cprospect\u201d to \u201cbuyer.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But when you start to dig deeper, you\u2019ll find the sales process is actually <\/span>much, much<\/span><\/i> more involved. Although it seems like a relatively simple process, deciding whether or not to buy (and what to buy) involves a lot of education and decision making. Potential buyers need the right information at the right time\u2014and the right amount of nudging to eventually cross the threshold into becoming a buyer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have just one prospect, knowing what information your prospect has already absorbed or what their needs are can be pretty easy to keep an eye on. But you\u2019ll (hopefully) never have <\/span>just<\/span><\/i> one potential customer. If you\u2019re trying to manage the needs, questions, and expectations of dozens (or even hundreds or thousands) of customers, doing this manually will be\u00a0 challenging\u2014and you\u2019ll likely end up missing a few important touchpoints.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To effectively manage all potential customers\u2019 sales processes, you need a \u201csales pipeline.\u201d But what is a sales pipeline and why is it important? Keep reading to find out:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n