Track accounts through clear stages: researched account, buyer conversation, qualified opportunity, estimate, proposal and won work. Give every open record a next action and keep vendor approval separate from a project.
Define stages by evidence
| Stage | Evidence needed | Next decision |
|---|---|---|
| Researched account | A business and property fit your service criteria | Who should be approached? |
| Buyer conversation | A relevant person has responded or spoken with you | What are they asking for? |
| Qualified opportunity | Fit, responsibility, context and next step are confirmed | Is estimating the right action? |
| Estimate in progress | Sufficient scope and access to assess work | What remains to price responsibly? |
| Proposal delivered | The buyer received a defined commercial offer | How and when is the decision made? |
| Won work | The buyer accepted the agreed terms | What must happen before mobilization? |
Keep vendor registration in a separate account field. An approved vendor may have no current project. A buyer can also request an estimate before a full vendor process is complete. The pipeline should reflect the real buying sequence.
Put one person in charge of the next step
For each record, name the person responsible for the next action and the date it is due. “Follow up” is too vague. “Confirm site access with the property manager before scheduling the estimator” is actionable.
Capture the original buyer message or a faithful call note. Separate their stated facts from your assumptions. Record the scope discussed, decision participants, requested timing, constraints and unresolved questions. A teammate should be able to pick up the conversation without asking the buyer to repeat everything.
Use a closed or nurture status for records that are no longer active. Keep a reason: no fit, no response, no current need, competitor selected, timing moved or buyer declined. An account can be worth maintaining even when a particular project is lost.
Review progress using comparable groups
Measure stage changes for opportunities created in a defined period. Give the group enough time to progress through your actual sales cycle before comparing it with a fully matured group. Current-month wins divided by current-month leads can be misleading when the wins came from older work.
Report account fit, relevant conversations, estimates, proposals, wins and acquisition cost separately. Review project contribution and estimating effort alongside volume. Add the source so you can distinguish referrals, inbound search, repeat accounts and outbound introductions.
A provider’s report should reconcile with your records. If you rejected a handoff because it was outside your service area, record the reason in both systems. If the buyer asked only for future vendor consideration, keep that stage visible.
Use a focused weekly review
Review overdue actions, estimates waiting for missing information, proposals without a decision date and accounts that changed timing. Resolve ownership before adding more prospects. A growing list is not useful if replies sit unanswered.
Then review a few new and lost records with the estimator. Look for repeated mismatches between the outreach brief and the work you want. Adjust the account criteria or qualification questions using that evidence.
Use the qualification guide to define handoffs and the economics calculator to test planning assumptions. These are operating tools, not forecasts of results.
Sources & editorial note
This guide combines Sourci’s recommended workflow with the industry references below. It is not a claim about past Sourci customer results.
Put this into practice
Download the account research worksheet (CSV) · Download the opportunity handoff worksheet (CSV)
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