Design CRM stages that match real sales and delivery work.

Names such as New, Qualified and Won are not enough by themselves. For every stage, define what must be true before entry, who is responsible for the record, what happens next and which exceptions need review.

• Sales stage: where the opportunity is in the commercial conversation.
• Payment status: whether money is expected, authorised, captured, refunded or disputed.
• Delivery status: whether order or service delivery has started, stalled, completed or needs attention.
• Contact permission: whether and how the person may be contacted.

Automate a stage change only when the triggering fact is dependable. Where judgement or consent matters, create a task for a person instead of silently changing customer status.