How to create sales pipeline on HubSpot

beginner 8 min read Updated 2026-03-18

Quick Answer

Create a sales pipeline in HubSpot by navigating to Settings > Objects > Deals, then clicking 'Create pipeline' and defining your deal stages. Customize stage properties, probabilities, and automation settings to match your sales process.

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Prerequisites

Active HubSpot account
Admin or Super Admin permissions
Basic understanding of your sales process
Access to Sales Hub

Step-by-Step Instructions

Access Pipeline Settings

Log into your HubSpot account and click the Settings gear icon in the top navigation bar. In the left sidebar, navigate to Objects > Deals. You'll see the current pipeline configuration page where all existing pipelines are displayed.

Ensure you have the necessary permissions to create pipelines - only users with Admin or Super Admin access can modify pipeline settings.

Create New Pipeline

Click the Create pipeline button in the top right corner of the Deals page. Enter a descriptive name for your pipeline in the Pipeline name field. Choose whether this pipeline will be used for Deals or Tickets from the dropdown menu.

Use clear, descriptive names like 'Enterprise Sales Pipeline' or 'Inbound Lead Pipeline' to distinguish between different sales processes.

Define Deal Stages

Click Add stage to create your first deal stage. Enter a stage name like Prospecting, Qualification, or Proposal. Set the Probability percentage for each stage (0-100%). Add a brief description explaining what activities happen in this stage. Repeat this process for all stages in your sales process.

Typically, probabilities increase as deals progress: Prospecting (10%), Qualified (25%), Proposal (50%), Negotiation (75%), Closed Won (100%).

Configure Stage Properties

For each stage, click the Actions dropdown and select Edit stage. Set Required properties that must be completed before moving to the next stage. Configure Stage automation rules like automatic task creation or email notifications. Specify if the stage should Rotate deal owner or trigger other workflows.

Use required properties strategically to ensure data quality - for example, require 'Budget' and 'Decision Maker' fields before moving to the Proposal stage.

Set Pipeline Permissions

In the pipeline settings, scroll to the Pipeline access section. Choose who can use this pipeline by selecting Everyone, Specific teams, or Specific users. If selecting specific access, use the dropdown menus to choose the appropriate teams or individual users who should have access to create deals in this pipeline.

Consider creating separate pipelines for different sales teams or product lines with restricted access to maintain data organization.

Configure Deal Rotation (Optional)

If you want to automatically assign deals to team members, scroll to the Deal assignment section. Enable Rotate deals to and select the team members who should receive deals. Choose the rotation method: Round robin, Least recently assigned, or Based on deal amount.

Deal rotation works best for inbound leads where you want to distribute opportunities fairly among team members.

Review and Save Pipeline

Review all your pipeline settings including stage names, probabilities, required properties, and permissions. Click Create pipeline to save your configuration. The new pipeline will appear in your pipeline list and become available for creating new deals immediately.

After creating the pipeline, test it by creating a sample deal to ensure all stages and automation work as expected.

Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Cannot see the Create Pipeline button

Verify you have Admin or Super Admin permissions. Contact your HubSpot administrator to grant the necessary access rights for pipeline management.

Pipeline stages not appearing in deal creation

Check that the pipeline is set to Active status and that your user account has permission to access the pipeline. Navigate to Settings > Objects > Deals to verify pipeline settings.

Required properties not enforcing before stage movement

Ensure the required properties are properly configured in each stage settings. Go to the stage configuration and verify that the properties are marked as Required to move to next stage rather than just Required.

Deal rotation not working automatically

Check that team members are properly assigned to the pipeline and have active User status. Verify the rotation rules are enabled and that deals are being created in the correct pipeline with rotation configured.

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