u/AltruisticSun7994

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Sharing this because it took me embarrassingly long to figure out and I wish someone had just told me.

Our pipeline had stages but no real definitions. Deals sat in "Proposal Sent" forever. Forecast calls were basically vibes.

The fix was exit criteria - specific things that have to be TRUE before a deal moves forward. Not tasks completed, actual evidence. Budget confirmed. Decision maker identified. Proposal actually viewed.

In HubSpot, I set required deal properties on stage changes (Pipeline Settings → each stage → required fields). That became the enforcement layer. Reps couldn't advance without filling in what we actually needed to know.

It sounds simple but it completely changed how we ran pipeline reviews. Instead of "how are you feeling about this one?" we'd ask "what's missing?" - way more useful conversation.

A few things I learned the hard way:

• Start with 2–3 criteria per stage max, you can add more once people are used to it
• Outcomes only, not activities ("budget confirmed" not "sent follow-up email")
• Sell it to reps as "this helps your forecast" or they'll fight you on it

Happy to share the property list I use if anyone's interested.