# Funnel Stages

Funnel stages in HockeyStack represent the steps in your sales and marketing journey, from first touch to closed deal. Configuring them correctly ensures accurate attribution, conversion reporting, and pipeline metrics.

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### What are funnel stages?

Each funnel stage is a **milestone** in your journey. You define it by:

* **A name** (e.g. MQL, Pipeline, Closed Won)
* **A goal** — the event or CRM moment that marks when someone reaches that stage (e.g. “Lead qualified” date, “Opportunity created” date)

Some stages also use a **deal amount field** so HockeyStack can report revenue and pipeline value.

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### How to configure:&#x20;

Set them up in **Atlas → Categorize → Funnel Stages.**&#x20;

### Types of funnel stages

HockeyStack uses three kinds of stages.&#x20;

#### 1. Person-level stages

**What they are:** Steps in an **individual contact’s** journey (e.g. Lead → MQL → SQL).

**Typical examples:** Lead, MQL, SQL, Demo Booked.

**In your CRM:** Usually tied to the Lead or Contact object (one record per person).

**Use:** Track how individuals move through top-of-funnel and see which channels drive leads and qualified contacts.

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#### 2. Company or opportunity-level stages

**What they are:** Steps in the **account or deal** journey (e.g. Deal Created → Negotiation → Closed Won).

**Typical examples:** Deal Created, SQO, Negotiation, Proposal Sent.

**In your CRM:** Usually tied to the Opportunity or Deal object (one record per opportunity/company).

**Use:** Track deal progression, conversion between deal stages, and pipeline by stage.

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#### 3. Outcome stages (required)

These three stages are **fixed** and must be configured:

| Stage           | Meaning                                                                 |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Pipeline**    | Open opportunities — used for pipeline value and “in pipeline” metrics. |
| **Closed Won**  | Won deals — used for revenue and win rate.                              |
| **Closed Lost** | Lost deals — used for loss tracking and conversion analysis.            |

For each of these you must:

* Choose the **goal** that defines when a record is in that stage (e.g. opportunity stage = “Closed Won”, or a specific close-date logic).
  * All customers onboarded after Feb 10, 2026 will be able to set only CRM-based goals.&#x20;
  * All customers who have configured Non-CRM-based goals will be able to continue using them. Reach out to your dedicated Customer Success/Support team if there are any questions.&#x20;
* Choose the **deal amount field** (e.g. your CRM’s opportunity amount or deal value field) so HockeyStack can report pipeline and revenue.

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### Order of stages

Stages are interpreted in a standard order:

1. Person-level stages (contact journey)
2. Company/opportunity-level stages (deal journey)
3. Pipeline → Closed Won → Closed Lost (outcomes)

You can add as many person-level and company-level stages as you need; the three outcome stages stay at the end.

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### Where funnel stages are used

* **Attribution:** Counts and amounts per stage; conversion rates between stages; time between stages; cost per stage.
* **Reports and dashboards:** Filter and group by stage; pipeline and revenue by stage.
* **Odin (AI):** Stage definitions are used so Odin can answer questions about funnel, pipeline, and revenue.

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### Best practices

1. **One stage = one moment in time.** Each stage should be defined by a **date** (e.g. “MQL Date”, “Close Date”), not by “current stage name” alone. HockeyStack uses “when did this happen?” not “what is the current stage?”
2. **Match your CRM.** Stage names and goals should align with how you report in Salesforce, HubSpot, or your CRM so numbers are comparable.
3. **Keep outcome stages distinct.** Use one goal for Pipeline, one for Closed Won, one for Closed Lost. Don’t reuse the same goal for multiple outcome stages.
4. **Validate with a closed period.** After setup, compare HockeyStack counts to your CRM for a past month (e.g. last month) to confirm alignment.

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### Summary

<table><thead><tr><th width="239.828125">Type</th><th>Tracks</th><th>Examples</th><th>Deal amount?</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Person-level</td><td>Contact journey</td><td>Lead, MQL, SQL</td><td>No</td></tr><tr><td>Company/opportunity-level</td><td>Deal journey</td><td>Deal Created, SQO</td><td>No</td></tr><tr><td>Pipeline</td><td>Open opportunities</td><td>Pipeline</td><td>Yes (required)</td></tr><tr><td>Closed Won</td><td>Won deals</td><td>Closed Won</td><td>Yes (required)</td></tr><tr><td>Closed Lost</td><td>Lost deals</td><td>Closed Lost</td><td>Yes (optional)</td></tr></tbody></table>

Configure your stages under **Atlas → Categorize → Funnel Stages**. Each stage needs a name and a goal; Pipeline, Closed Won, and Closed Lost also need a deal amount field.


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