ChirplyA practical example
A service business might use New inquiry, Qualified, Proposal and Decision as open stages. A contact requesting two separate projects can have two deals because each opportunity has its own value and outcome.
How to use this concept
Define the evidence required to enter each stage. Qualified might mean that the need, decision process and timing have been established. A consistent entry rule makes a stage count useful across different team members.
Keep an owner and a next action on active opportunities. Reviewing a pipeline then becomes a practical discussion about what needs to happen next, alongside the value represented by the open work.
Use one cohort when measuring conversion. Deals won this month may have entered the pipeline months earlier. Weighted value applies assumptions to open opportunities; actual revenue requires the appropriate billing and accounting records.
How is a deal different from a contact?
A contact represents a person. A deal represents a particular sales opportunity involving that person. Keeping them separate lets a business follow repeat purchases and multiple projects without creating a new contact for every opportunity.