Pipedrive follow-up: how to make sure every deal has a next step scheduled

BOTrento Team6 October 20269 min read

Why deals in Pipedrive end up with no next step

In small companies it usually goes like this. A salesperson sends a quote, ticks off the activity "send quote" and doesn't schedule another one because they're waiting for the client to reply. The deal then sits in the "Quote sent" stage and nobody notices it. That lasts until the client gets in touch, or until it's clear they never will.

The most common causes:

• The activity is closed and no new one is scheduled. People treat finishing a task as the end of the work, not as the moment to plan the next step.
• Stages describe a status, not the next action. A name like "Negotiation" doesn't tell you what should happen next or when.
• Communication happens outside the CRM. The reply lands in a personal inbox, the salesperson answers from their phone and nothing changes in Pipedrive.
• Writing the reminder takes effort. If someone has to dig up what was offered and then work out what to say, the follow-up gets put off.

The first three causes come down to setup and discipline. The fourth is about capacity, and that's where a draft reply prepared in advance helps.

The one-next-step rule: activities and stages

An activity is a commitment, not a note

Every activity should have three things: a verb (call, send, confirm), a due date and an owner. "Get back to the client" is too vague. "Call to confirm the event date and guest numbers – Thursday" is an activity you can complete, and check whether it happened.

Stages reflect the client's decisions

Name each pipeline stage after what has to happen for the deal to move forward. For an event company or an equipment rental business, for example:

A deal with no activity is an error, not a status

Agree as a team that no open deal may be left without a scheduled activity. If the client still doesn't respond after the last follow-up, mark the deal as lost and give a reason. The pipeline then shows what's really happening. For how often to chase and what to write, see quote follow-up: when to chase, what to write and when to stop.

Setting up follow-up in Pipedrive step by step

1. Review your pipeline stages. For each stage, write one sentence on what must be true for the deal to move on. If you can't, merge or rename the stage.
2. Simplify activity types. Most companies need only call, email, meeting and task. Fewer types mean less hesitation when planning.
3. Define a default next step for each stage. For "Quote sent", for example, that's a follow-up email a few working days after the quote goes out. If your setup allows it, have the activity created automatically when a deal moves into that stage.
4. Connect email to the CRM. Correspondence with the client should be visible on the deal, so whoever writes the follow-up knows what's already been said.
5. Create a filter for open deals with no scheduled activity. This is your main control view, and ideally it's empty.
6. Create a second filter for overdue activities. It shows where a promised step didn't happen.
7. Make a loss reason mandatory. Without one, deals get closed without explanation and you can't learn from them.
8. Prepare follow-up templates for the most common situations (see below). Store them somewhere the team will actually use them.

To track results in numbers as well, see 6 KPIs a small business needs to track every week.

Weekly pipeline review: a checklist

The setup alone won't keep things on track. You need a regular habit: a short weekly meeting, ideally on the same day and at the same time, that covers only the exceptions:

• "No scheduled activity" filter: add a next step to every deal, or close it.
• "Overdue activities" filter: give each one a new, realistic date and a reason.
• Deals stuck in one stage for unusually long: decide what will move them on, or close them as lost.
• New enquiries from the past week: does each one have a reply and an owner?
• Lost deals: do the loss reasons make sense, and do any keep coming up?

Don't go deep into individual deals in this meeting. The aim is that, by the end, every open deal has an owner, a verb and a date. For a routine for new enquiries, see how to handle sales enquiries fast without losing any.

Follow-up email templates you can use right away

Follow-up after a quote has been sent

Dear [client name],
A quick reminder about the quote for [event / rental] on [date]. If anything is missing or you'd like the scope adjusted, I'm happy to revise it. We're holding [date] for you for now, but I'd like to confirm it so we can reserve equipment and staff.
Would a short call on [day] or [day] suit you?
Kind regards,
[your name]

Follow-up when details for the quote are missing

Dear [client name],
To send you an accurate quote, I need three more details: [number of guests], [venue] and [arrival / set-up time]. As soon as I have them, I'll send the quote by [date].
Thank you,
[your name]

Last follow-up before closing

Dear [client name],
I've followed up on the quote for [event] a few times and don't want to keep chasing you. I'll assume the timing isn't right and close this on my side. If anything changes, just reply to this email and we'll pick it up again.
Kind regards,
[your name]

For more texts for the first reply to an enquiry, see the article on handling sales enquiries. For how AI can work on top of your CRM, see AI on top of your CRM: drafting replies and quotes with human approval.

How BOTrento handles it: a next-step draft ready for approval

Pipedrive is good at showing where a next step is missing, but it won't write a reply that takes the deal's history into account. BOTrento Chief of Staff is a managed process. It reads incoming enquiries and client replies, then prepares drafts of emails, quotes and next steps. Pipedrive stays your main record of deals.

• Human approval. Nothing is sent without someone approving it. The salesperson checks the draft, edits it if needed and sends it.
• One pilot, one process. You start with a measured pilot with a fixed scope: one mailbox, one record system (CRM or spreadsheet) and one type of deal, such as quote follow-up.
• Your own API keys. You pay for AI directly to the provider you choose. Our help page on your own API keys explains how to add and remove them.
• Data. We store your data on servers in Germany (EU). The text needed for each task is processed by the model provider you choose with your own key, so this isn't a closed computation. For specific legal questions, we recommend consulting a lawyer.

In an internal pilot over 7 days, the process handled 35 enquiries and prepared 18 emails, 24 quotes and 15 actions. Our guarantee covers taking over and fixing defects in the process we deliver, plus the process KPIs we agree with you. It doesn't cover turnover or the number of orders. You can see the process in practice in the process demo, and the plans are on the pricing page.