Kanban method
Sales Kanban columns: from prospect to close
How to choose pipeline Kanban columns, set exit criteria, and limit work in progress at each stage.
Sales Kanban columns are the visible stages of the pipeline. Each column should answer one question: what is true when an opportunity sits here, and what must happen before it leaves?
A column is not a decorative label. If two columns describe the same decision, merge them. If a stage lasts weeks with no exit rule, it becomes a parking lot.
A split that holds for most B2B sales
| Column | What is true | Exit criterion |
|---|---|---|
| Prospect | Contact identified, not yet qualified | Buyer has stated a need |
| Qualification | Need, stakeholder, and timing sketched | Agreement for a proposal or demo |
| Proposal | Offer or demo sent | Written reply from the buyer |
| Negotiation | Objections, legal, or procurement engaged | Decision: won or lost |
| Won | Explicit agreement | Handoff to onboarding |
| Lost | Refusal or abandonment | Reason recorded |
Rename the labels to match your sales cycle. A very short transactional cycle can merge proposal and negotiation. A cycle with a proof of concept can add a Proof column, if that column has an end date.
Limit WIP column by column
The Kanban method does not only cap the total. It caps each stage:
- Qualification: enough to fill this week’s demos.
- Proposal: as many quotes as the team can follow up within five days.
- Negotiation: often the bottleneck. A low limit forces a close or a disqualification.
When a column is full, you do not add a card. You move one out — forward, or to Lost.
Two boards, not one junk drawer
Many teams start with a triage board: to do, in progress, waiting, done. That is useful for the inbox. It is not a pipeline.
The second board uses the sales columns above. The same conversation can be “in progress” as a task and “proposal” as a deal. Mixing both into one row of columns makes the board unreadable. The handoff is described in the sales pipeline guide.
What does not belong in a column
- A seller’s name. That is a filter, not a stage.
- “Urgent.” Urgency is a priority on the card, not a step in the cycle.
- One column per product, unless the buying process is actually different.
Amount, probability, and next action live on the card, not in the column title. They feed the forecast.
Bottom line
A sales board holds if every column has a definition and an exit. Start short, set a work-in-progress limit, and add a stage only when a real decision is missing. Colossales separates TODO triage from the Pro pipeline inside Gmail, so the columns stay the ones in the sales cycle.
Frequently asked questions
How many columns should a sales board have?
Five to seven for a typical B2B cycle: prospect, qualification, proposal, negotiation, won, and lost. Add a column only when a distinct decision happens there.
Do you need a Lost column?
Yes. Without an explicit exit, dead opportunities stay in the pipeline and inflate the forecast.
Should the TODO board and the pipeline board share columns?
No. TODO sorts work (to do, in progress, waiting, done). The pipeline describes the sales cycle. One card can sit on both without duplicating the conversation.