How do I set up a sales pipeline in HubSpot?

Go to Settings (gear icon) > Data Management > Objects > Deals, open the Pipelines tab, then create or select a pipeline. On the Configure tab add and order your stages, set a win probability for each, and save. Use the Automate tab for stage-triggered actions and conditional stage properties to require fields on stage moves.

What deal stages should a B2B pipeline have?

Name each stage after something the buyer did, in past tense, so a rep cannot advance a deal alone. A common starting point is New Inquiry, Discovery Scheduled, Discovery Completed, Demo Done, Proposal Sent, Proposal Reviewed (next step confirmed), Contract Sent, Closed Won and Closed Lost. Adjust the list to the commitments your buyers actually make.

How should I set deal stage probabilities in HubSpot?

Start from your own stage-to-close history if you have it, otherwise from conversion benchmarks, and set them in the Probability column of the pipeline editor. Probabilities feed weighted pipeline, so recalibrate each quarter: if weighted pipeline and actual closed revenue keep disagreeing, the probabilities are wrong, not the forecast.

What are conditional stage properties in HubSpot?

They are fields attached to a pipeline stage that appear, and can be required, when a deal is created in or moved into that stage. A good baseline is Closed Lost Reason before Closed Lost, Amount before Contract Sent and Next step before Discovery Completed.

Should leads and deals live in the same HubSpot pipeline?

No. Use the Leads object and a lead pipeline for prospecting and qualification, and create a deal only for a qualified opportunity with an amount, a decision-maker and a close date. The lead object and lead pipelines require Sales Hub Professional or Enterprise; on Starter, use a single qualifying deal stage as a workaround.

How do I find stalled deals in HubSpot?

Open the sales workspace, go to the Deals tab and select the Stalled Deals preset view. It lists open deals that have been in their current stage longer than your historical average. Pair it with a workflow that alerts managers when a deal sits in one stage for more than 14 days.

Interactive walkthrough

HubSpot Sales Pipeline Setup: Interactive Walkthrough

Click through a full HubSpot sales pipeline build, from buyer-verified deal stages and win probabilities to required fields, stage automations and stalled-deal coaching. Built by JayOh on fictional data, so you can see exactly where each setting lives before you touch your own portal.

What you’ll learn

Where pipeline settings live in HubSpot (Objects > Deals > Pipelines)
How to write deal stages a rep cannot fake
How to set and test win probabilities against weighted pipeline
How to require fields with conditional stage properties
Which stage automations to switch on first (and the Salesforce sync catch)
How to use the sales workspace Stalled Deals view to coach

Use Next or your arrow keys. Click the numbered markers in the guide to jump to each setting. This is a JayOh training walkthrough with fictional data, not the HubSpot product.

Common mistakes and what good looks like

We audit HubSpot portals that have run for years. The same six pipeline problems show up in most of them, usually in portals managed by experienced admins. If your stage list needs a rethink first, start with our guide to sales stage architecture.

Stages that track rep activity

"Proposal Sent" or "Following up" can be reached without the buyer doing anything, so deals pile up and weighted pipeline inflates.

Good: Every stage is a past-tense buyer event: Discovery Completed, Proposal Reviewed, Next Step Confirmed.

One pipeline for every inquiry

Trial sign-ups, downloads and renewals all become deals, so AEs wade through cold records and nobody trusts the board.

Good: Leads object for pre-qualification; deals only with an amount, a decision-maker and a close date.

Probabilities nobody calibrated

Default percentages stay in place for years, so the weighted number leadership forecasts from is fiction.

Good: Probabilities set from your own stage-to-close history and reviewed every quarter.

Optional data on late-stage deals

Contracts go out with no amount, and closed-lost deals have no reason, so you cannot see why you lose.

Good: Conditional stage properties require Amount, Closed Lost Reason and Next step on the stage move.

A parking-lot stage

"In negotiation" with loose entry rules collects deals that stopped moving and props up the forecast.

Good: A tight entry definition plus a workflow alert when a deal sits in one stage for more than 14 days. Both, not one.

Automation before process

Stage-change automations and AI agents layered onto vague stages just move bad deals faster.

Good: Stages, probabilities and required fields first; automation once reps use the structure consistently.

Area	Weak	Acceptable	Strong
Stage definitions	Named for rep actions	Mix of rep and buyer events	Every stage is a verifiable buyer event, past tense
Probabilities	Never changed from defaults	Set once at launch	Recalibrated quarterly against actual close rates
Required fields	None	Amount only	Amount, Next step and Closed Lost Reason enforced on stage moves
Stalled deals	Found in pipeline review by accident	Reviewed when someone remembers	Stalled Deals view reviewed weekly plus a 14-day stage alert

A clean pipeline is the base for an honest forecast. See how we approach pipeline forecasting hygiene, the lifecycle automation that feeds leads into it, and CRM deduplication before you layer AI on top.

HubSpot sales pipeline setup FAQ

How do I set up a sales pipeline in HubSpot?: Go to Settings (gear icon) > Data Management > Objects > Deals, open the Pipelines tab, then create or select a pipeline. On the Configure tab add and order your stages, set a win probability for each, and save. Use the Automate tab for stage-triggered actions and conditional stage properties to require fields on stage moves.
What deal stages should a B2B pipeline have?: Name each stage after something the buyer did, in past tense, so a rep cannot advance a deal alone. A common starting point is New Inquiry, Discovery Scheduled, Discovery Completed, Demo Done, Proposal Sent, Proposal Reviewed (next step confirmed), Contract Sent, Closed Won and Closed Lost. Adjust the list to the commitments your buyers actually make.
How should I set deal stage probabilities in HubSpot?: Start from your own stage-to-close history if you have it, otherwise from conversion benchmarks, and set them in the Probability column of the pipeline editor. Probabilities feed weighted pipeline, so recalibrate each quarter: if weighted pipeline and actual closed revenue keep disagreeing, the probabilities are wrong, not the forecast.
What are conditional stage properties in HubSpot?: They are fields attached to a pipeline stage that appear, and can be required, when a deal is created in or moved into that stage. A good baseline is Closed Lost Reason before Closed Lost, Amount before Contract Sent and Next step before Discovery Completed.
Should leads and deals live in the same HubSpot pipeline?: No. Use the Leads object and a lead pipeline for prospecting and qualification, and create a deal only for a qualified opportunity with an amount, a decision-maker and a close date. The lead object and lead pipelines require Sales Hub Professional or Enterprise; on Starter, use a single qualifying deal stage as a workaround.
How do I find stalled deals in HubSpot?: Open the sales workspace, go to the Deals tab and select the Stalled Deals preset view. It lists open deals that have been in their current stage longer than your historical average. Pair it with a workflow that alerts managers when a deal sits in one stage for more than 14 days.

Want this set up right in your portal?

JayOh builds HubSpot pipelines, required fields and stage automations for B2B SaaS and PE-backed revenue teams, then measures whether the forecast got more accurate.

Talk to JayOh