Trip pipeline

Each opportunity is a potential trip or client deal. The consultant owns its subject, expected close date, expected value, next step and primary contact. Status distinguishes new work from qualified work, proposal, negotiation and a closed outcome. Pipeline Command gives the manager the live stage view, value by stage and overdue follow-ups. The sales manager can open a stage on Pipeline Command and trace it to the opportunity owner, next step and due activities. The qualification and proposal receipts explain the recorded transitions.

• Starting record. Open the relevant client or opportunity before changing the trip work. Keep the organization and owner aligned with the rest of the case.
• Action and timing. Record what the consultant did, when the next response is due, and which person must act. The manager can then discuss a specific record.
• Review trail. Use the linked proposal, activity, decision or receipt to explain a change in stage. Keep the reason beside the affected trip.

Agree who owns each opportunity; how expected value and close date are updated; when a proposal is ready to send. Use a real client and a real proposed trip to test these choices. The sales manager should settle who edits commercial details, who handles follow-ups and how a consultant hands work to review. The first operating cycle should be small enough to inspect each transition by hand.

A client may ask for a revised itinerary while the opportunity remains open. Keep the client contact, proposal owner and next step current as that discussion changes. The agency should agree who updates the record after the conversation and when the manager expects to see it.

A consultant opens a potential team trip at a stated value and close date. After a qualification conversation, Qualify Opportunity records the activity, advances the opportunity to Qualified and writes a receipt. When the consultant submits the proposal, Submit Proposal logs the email activity, advances it to Proposal and writes another receipt. The manager can compare those steps with the next action before discussing the forecast. After the handoff, check the linked records from the opportunity and confirm that the owner and reviewer can each find the information needed for their part. A manager should be able to explain the current state from the record without asking the consultant to reconstruct it.

• Open Trip Pipeline — Compare open deals by owner, stage, expected value and close date.
• Opportunity Stage Board — See deals grouped by their current stage without date columns.

See the related process for the handoff, and the data model for the linked records.