Pipeline Stages

Policy Stack includes five default pipeline stages that cover the standard advisor-to-client journey. You can rename stages, add custom ones, and define a checklist blueprint for each stage to match your practice's process.

Default Stages

Initial Contact

The prospect has been identified and first contact has been made or attempted. You have their name and some contact information. No substantive conversation has occurred yet.

Typical duration: Days to weeks Exit criteria: You've had a substantive intro conversation and confirmed interest in learning more

Discovery

You're in active conversation exploring the prospect's situation. You may have shared educational materials, run an initial concept overview, or held a discovery call. The prospect is engaged and considering whether whole life banking fits their goals.

Typical duration: 1–4 weeks Exit criteria: Prospect decides to move forward with a policy application

Proposal

You've moved past education and into specifics. You may have shared a carrier illustration, discussed policy structure, or presented a proposal tailored to their situation. The prospect is evaluating before committing.

Typical duration: 1–2 weeks Exit criteria: Prospect signs the application

Application

The application is submitted and in the carrier's underwriting process. Your active work here is limited — mostly staying in communication, answering questions, and tracking status.

Typical duration: 2–8 weeks (underwriting-dependent) Exit criteria: Policy is issued and in force

Active

The policy is in force. The client has (or will soon have) a Policy Stack account. This is technically the end of the pipeline — from here, they move into your client CRM for ongoing management.

When a deal reaches Active, you'll be prompted to link it to the client's Policy Stack account (connected or seated). Once linked, the deal and client profile are connected.

Customizing Stages

To rename a stage or add a custom stage:

Stage Checklist Blueprints

Each stage can carry a checklist blueprint. The blueprint is the default set of tasks that new or moved deals inherit when they enter that stage.

Use it for the repeatable work that belongs to the stage itself:

• Discovery questions to confirm before moving forward
• Documents to collect before illustration
• Application packet steps
• Delivery and onboarding follow-through

Deal-level checklist edits remain available on the card and the deal detail page. Those edits customize the individual deal without changing the stage blueprint for future deals.

Stage Metrics

Each stage column header shows:

• Number of deals currently in that stage
• Total estimated deal value in that stage (if deal values are entered)
• Average days deals spend in that stage (rolling 90-day average)