How Top Sales Teams Win Business

What is one quality that separates top sales teams from ones that flounder? Crisp pipeline management.

After all, your sales pipeline shouldn’t feel like a guessing game. And you shouldn’t have to ask every rep “where things are at” to get a clear picture of how the revenue forecast is coming together.

Whether it’s vague deal stages, starting deals too early, having a billion steps, or any combination of the above, pipeline mess and deal friction are a reality that we see every day. So we created this guide sharing the tips we’ve implemented with hundreds of companies.

In this beginner’s guide, you’ll learn the strategies and best practices top sales teams use in HubSpot to stay organized, automate tasks, and turn opportunities into wins. Let’s drive pipeline!

But first . . what Are HubSpot Deals?

Alphabet soup is a reality in any marketing or sales tool, so let’s make sure we’re talking about the same thing.

HubSpot Deals are at the core of managing your sales opportunities. In some other CRM systems these are called “opportunities” – but it’s prospect conversations that are qualified and moving toward an opportunity. You may have your own qualification process (such as requiring a decision-maker, budget, timeline, etc.

If your sales team doesn’t use this language already, a “deal” in HubSpot represents a potential sale that your team is working to close. Each deal includes critical information about the opportunity, such as the deal amount, expected close date, and the associated contact or company.

These deals are visualized in pipelines, where each stage corresponds to a key milestone in your sales process.

Pipelines provide a clear, visual way to track progress, helping sales teams stay organized and focused. The flexibility of HubSpot Deals means you can customize them to align perfectly with your sales strategy—whether you’re running a straightforward process or dealing with more complex sales cycles.

So why are HubSpot Deals so valuable? They allow you to:

• Monitor the progress of opportunities in real time.
• Collaborate seamlessly across your sales team.
• Create better sales forecasts with reliable data.
• Centralize all deal-related activities for improved efficiency.

The intuitive interface makes it easy for your team to update deals, schedule follow-ups, and stay on top of next steps. Whether you’re leading a sales meeting or working solo, HubSpot Deals is designed to help you manage opportunities with less hassle and more focus.

Overview: The Key to Setting Up Deals in HubSpot

Setting up Deals in HubSpot is straightforward and flexible. But you’ll first want to set your pipeline stages (Settings >> Objects >> Deals). Let’s go over some of the broad strokes before we dive in:

1. Design with “CLOSE.” Before creating stages, adopt the CLOSE framework (next section) to build a pipeline that’s Concise, Linear, Objective, Supported, and Engaged. This avoids vague stages like “Qualified” and ensures deals move forward—not backward.
2. Master the Deal Board. The board view isn’t just visual—it’s actionable. Use drag-and-drop stages, deal tags, and saved filters to prioritize high-value deals. Top teams leverage “Insights Mode” for forecasting and spot stalled deals via “Last Activity” timestamps.
3. Copy Top Teams’ Habits. Automate follow-ups (e.g., tasks triggered by stage changes), close stale deals to declutter pipelines, and log loss reasons to identify bottlenecks.

CLOSE ensures your pipeline structure is strategic. The board turns structure into action. Habits lock in consistency. Clean strategy and a well-defined process will help you drive sales, and position you to better leverage automation.

With a clear pipeline and simple stages, you’ll spend less time managing data and more time focusing on deals that matter.

Use The “CLOSE” Framework for Better Deal Pipelines

When it comes to setting up and managing your deal pipeline, keeping things clear and effective is critical. That’s where the CLOSE framework comes in. It’s a simple, easy-to-remember checklist to make sure your pipeline works like a well-oiled machine:

Concise

• Don’t overload your pipeline with unnecessary stages. Focus on key milestones—things that matter for tracking and forecasting.
• Example: Use stages like “Demo Scheduled” and “Proposal Sent,” not every single action like “Demo Follow-up Sent” or “Proposal Drafted.”

Linear

• Deals should flow left to right through the pipeline without jumping backward.
• Avoid stages like “On Hold,” which can muddy your data and stall deals.

Objective

• Stage names should be clear and leave no room for interpretation.
• Example: “Demo Scheduled” is better than “Qualified” because it’s based on a concrete action, not someone’s opinion.

Supported

• Every deal stage should have proof behind it—an activity or logged update that shows why it’s there.
• Example: If a deal is in “Proposal Sent,” the email or document should be attached to the deal record.

Engaged

• Only include deals where the prospect is actively involved in the sales process.
• Use other tools (like the lead object or lifecycle stages) for early-stage prospects who aren’t ready to engage yet.

By sticking to CLOSE, you’ll build a pipeline that’s easier to manage, provides reliable data, and helps your team focus on real opportunities.

Master Your Pipeline with the HubSpot Deal Board

The “deal board” is where the magic happens. It’s a simple, visual way to see all your sales opportunities and keep them moving through the pipeline. Think of it as your command center for managing deals.

Navigating Your HubSpot Deal Pipeline Like a Pro

Here’s what makes the board view so useful:

• Pipeline Stages: Each column represents a stage in your sales process (e.g., “Demo Scheduled” or “Proposal Sent”). Deals move left to right as they progress.
• Deal Cards: Each deal shows key details like the deal name, amount, close date, and who’s involved. You can drag and drop deals between stages as milestones are reached.
• Team Meetings: The board view is perfect for running sales meetings. Use it to quickly review deals, highlight priorities, and identify next steps.

The board is also customizable. Need to see something specific, like deals above a certain value or only your deals? Use filters or save a custom view to focus on what matters most.

Bottom line: The board view keeps your pipeline organized, helps your team stay on the same page, and makes tracking progress a breeze.

How Top-Performing Teams Close Deals in HubSpot CRM (Using the Right Features)

Managing and closing deals in HubSpot CRM is all about staying organized, tracking progress, and keeping your sales process moving forward. Here’s how you can use HubSpot’s tools and features to streamline deal management and close more sales:

1. High Performing Teams Keep Their Pipeline Clean and Focused

• Regular updates: Make sure your deals are always in the correct stage of your pipeline. Use the drag-and-drop feature in the board view to quickly move deals as they progress.
• Close stale deals: If a deal has gone cold or stalled, don’t let it clog up your pipeline. Close it as “Lost” and create a new deal if the prospect re-engages later. 

Pro tip: If you have a lot of stale deals in your pipeline, this may be a signal that your organization is starting the deal creation process too early.

2. High Performing Teams Prioritize Their Deals

• Use deal tags: HubSpot’s deal tags make it easy to spot priority deals. For example, tag high-value deals or those missing a next step.
• Show insights: Click the “Show Insights” button to see a summary of your pipeline, including totals and weighted values. This helps you focus on the deals with the highest closing potential.
• Saved views: Create custom views to focus on the deals that matter most, like “My Deals” or “This Month’s High-Value Deals.”

Setting Up and Using HubSpot Saved Views

3. High Performing Teams Stay on Top of Activities (And Don’t Let Things Fall in the Cracks!)

• Last and next activities: Each deal card shows the last activity (e.g., an email or call) and the next scheduled activity (e.g., a follow-up meeting). Use this information to keep the deal moving forward.
• Log everything: Record emails, calls, and meetings directly in the deal record so your team has a complete history of interactions.

Persistence pays: 92% of salespeople give up after no sales on the 4th call, while 60% of customers say no four times before saying yes.

4. High Performing Teams Leverage Automation to Keep Things Moving

• Create follow-up tasks: Use workflows to automatically create follow-up tasks when a deal moves to a new stage. For example, when a deal reaches “Proposal Sent,” HubSpot can assign a task to the salesperson to follow up in three days.
• Conditional stage properties: Require sales reps to input critical details (like the decision-maker or deal amount) before moving a deal to the next stage. This ensures your pipeline stays accurate and complete.

Automation matters: if you follow up with leads within 5 minutes, you’re 9x more likely to convert them.

5. High Performing Teams Communicate Clearly with Prospects

• Email Templates: Save time by using HubSpot’s email templates for common follow-ups. Personalize them as needed to keep the conversation engaging.
• Meeting links: Use HubSpot’s meeting scheduler to make it easy for prospects to book time with you directly.

HubSpot Scheduling Page Setup – Email Available Time Slots

6. High Performing Teams Close Deals Confidently

• Close when ready: When a deal reaches the final stage, mark it as “Closed Won” or “Closed Lost.” HubSpot will automatically log the close date and keep your data clean.
• Track reasons for loss: If a deal doesn’t work out, log the reason. This helps you spot patterns and improve your sales process.

7. High Performing Teams Continuously Review Deal Data to Improve Results

• Review metrics: HubSpot tracks deal properties like time spent in each stage, conversion rates, and close probabilities. Use these insights to identify bottlenecks and make improvements.
• Optimize your pipeline: Adjust stages, tags, or automation based on what’s working (or not). A flexible pipeline is key to long-term success.

HubSpot Deals can transform how you manage and close sales. By staying organized, using automation, and focusing on key opportunities, you’ll simplify your sales process and boost results.

Deal cleanup and revenue forecasting are some of the biggest wins we help clients with. Book a free call to see how we can reduce friction, improve win rates, and increase sales team performance.