A brand emails you: âAny update on that campaign?â Which one? Did they get your rates? Did they approve the draft? You spend ten minutes scrolling your inbox to answer, and by then the moment has passed. This used to be a common occurrence for us:
Weâve had some business disagreements over the years but one of the biggest was over what to say to a brand. It was all because we had a different understanding of where the relationship was. One of us thought it was much farther along and wanted to take a more direct approach than the other. We wasted two hours of time only to find out when emotions calmed down the next day that we werenât on the same page. The whole thing couldâve been avoided and the brand wouldâve had a response sooner.
Why naming stages helps
A deal that is just âin the worksâ gets treated like every other deal in the works. A stage tells you what to do next. A brand you havenât pitched needs research. One youâve pitched needs a nudge. One youâve booked needs dates and a contract. Same list, very different jobs.
The six stages
Prospecting: a brand that fits, but you havenât reached out yet. Next: send the first email.
Proposed: youâve sent an offer or your rates. Next: follow up in about a week.
Negotiating: terms are moving: rates, dates, deliverables. Next: reply quickly and check in every few days.
Booked: itâs a yes. Next: get it in writing, put the dates on your calendar and note the deliverables.
Completed: the work is done. Next: send the invoice if you havenât, make sure it gets paid, and ask about next time.
Passed: a no, or a ânot now.â Next: write down why, and set a date to ask again if the timing was the problem.
Why âPassedâ gets its own column
A no isnât nothing. It tells you which pitches miss, and a ânot nowâ in March can be a yes in September. Moving a deal to Passed, with a note and a date to revisit, beats deleting it or letting it sit in the middle of your list.
One rule: every deal sits in exactly one stage
Every deal is in exactly one stage, and every stage has a next action. If you canât pick a stage, you donât know where the deal stands yet, and thatâs the thing to find out today.
Try this today
Take your list of open deals, the one with a next step and a date from last time. Next to each deal, write its stage. Anything you canât place goes to the top of todayâs list. It takes about ten minutes. In a spreadsheet, add a column. In a notebook, use six headings.
In Creator Business System, the desktop app weâre building, the deal board uses these six stages.
-Trisha & Bobð
Want the free Deal Stage Guide?
Itâs a one-page PDF with the six stages, what each one means, and what to do next. Drop your email below to get it. Youâll also get a new lesson every other Tuesday and a peek at what weâre building.
