Move the opportunity through different stages

An opportunity goes through different stages (also known as pipeline phase) as you make progress and get more details about the opportunity. Each stage defines the information that you should've collected about the opportunity to methodically progress and increase your chances of winning the deal.

Note

• It's important to keep the stage current as it's used in sales charts and dashboards. For example, the funnel chart displays the opportunities in different stages.
• If your organization has multiple business process flows for the opportunity entity, the Pipeline Phase field stores the last stage change information done on the opportunity record through any business process flow. If you're using multiple business process flows on opportunity, exercise your discretion while using this field.

License and role requirements

Requirement type	You must have
License	Dynamics 365 Sales Premium, Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise, or Dynamics 365 Sales Professional More information: Dynamics 365 Sales pricing
Security roles	Any primary sales role, such as salesperson or sales manager More information: Primary sales roles

Move the opportunity to Qualify stage

When you've gathered the basic details about the customer, move the opportunity to the Qualify stage.

1. Select Qualify in the process bar and specify the following details about the customer:

   

   Field	Description
   Identify Contact	Select the contact who will be working on the opportunity from the customer's end.
   Identify Account	Select the customer for the opportunity.
   Purchase Timeframe	Select the purchase timeframe of the customer.
   Estimated Budget	Enter the estimated budget of the customer. This is different from the estimated revenue. Depending on the budget the customer has, you can decide the products that best fits the budget.
   Purchase Process	Select whether the purchase decision is made by an individual or committee.
   Identify Decision Maker	Mark as complete if you've identified the decision maker. More information: Add stakeholders and decision makers for the opportunity

2. Select Next Stage.
   The opportunity moves to the Develop stage of the process.

Move the opportunity to Develop stage

When you've gathered specific details about the customer need, move the opportunity to the Develop stage.

1. Select Develop in the process bar and specify the following details:

   Field	Description
   Customer Need	Enter what interests the customer, such as specific product requirements.
   Proposed Solution	Enter the plan for what your organization can offer the account, such as product details.
   Identify Stakeholders	Select mark complete if you've added contacts in the Stakeholders. These are contacts from the customer's end who will be involved in pursuing the opportunity. More information: Add stakeholders and decision makers for the opportunity
   Identify Competitors	Select mark complete if you've added the competitor information. More information: Add competitors for the opportunity

2. Select Next stage.
   The opportunity moves to the Propose stage of the process.

Move the opportunity to Propose stage

When you've ready to propose the solution to the customer, move the opportunity to the Propose stage.

1. In the Propose stage, select mark complete next to each of the following steps that you've completed:

   Field	Description
   Identify Sales Team	Select mark complete if you've added the sales team members. More information: Add sales team for the opportunity
   Develop Proposal	Select mark complete if you've created a proposal for the opportunity. This optional step indicates that you've included notes about how the account will be approached. You can add the proposal as attachment to the opportunity in the Files tab.
   Complete Internal Review	Select mark complete if you've completed an internal review of the proposal.
   Present Proposal	Select mark complete if you've presented the proposal to the stakeholders.

2. Select Next stage.
   The opportunity moves to the Close stage of the process.

The next step is to create a quote and send it to your customer. More information: Create a quote and send it to your customer

Move the opportunity to Close stage

When the opportunity materializes, you can move the opportunity to the Close stage.

1. In the Close stage, select mark complete next to each of the following steps that you've completed:

   Field	Description
   Complete Final Proposal:	Select mark complete if you've created a final proposal for the opportunity. You can add the proposal as attachment to the opportunity in the Files tab.
   Present Final Proposal	Select mark complete if you've presented the final proposal to the customer.
   Confirm Decision Date	Select the date by when you're expecting a decision from customer.
   Send Thank You	Select mark complete if you've sent a thank you note to the customer.
   File De-brief	Select mark complete if you've created a de-brief for the opportunity.

2. Select Finished when you're done with all the activities.
   You can now close the opportunity as Won or Lost. More information: Close opportunities as won or lost