CRM: Lead Pipeline

Overview

The Lead Pipeline is the primary workspace for tracking leads from first contact through close. It organizes leads by stage, shows each lead's status, latest activity, and next recommended step at a glance, surfaces whether the AI is currently handling the conversation, and lets reps act on a lead without leaving the page.

Scope

This article covers the six pipeline stages and what each means, the table columns and how to read them, the AI Handling tag and what it means for rep behavior, the quick actions available on each lead, how to search, filter, sort, and update a lead's stage, and the permissions that govern what each user sees.

Navigation

Fullpath Dashboard → CRM → Lead Pipeline. 

Direct URL: https://dashboard.fullpath.com/crm/pipeline 
 

Roles and permissions

• Any CRM user can open the Lead Pipeline and see their own assigned leads.
   
• Users with the Other Profiles — Leads permission can also see leads assigned to other team members, see the Assignee column, and use the assignee filter to view a specific rep's pipeline.
   
• The Next Recommended Step column follows task visibility: with the Other Profiles — Tasks permission a user sees tasks across the team; without it, only their own tasks drive that column.
   
• A user with no CRM access does not see the Lead Pipeline at all.

Page overview

The page has three areas:

• Page header — an assignee filter (for users who can view other reps) and a customer-name search box.
   
• Stage tabs — six tabs, left to right in order of progression, each showing a live count of the leads in that stage.
   
• Pipeline table — a sortable, paginated table of the leads in the selected stage. You can show 10, 25, 50, or 100 leads per page.

The table loads once an assignee context is set. Reps see their own leads automatically; managers select one or more reps in the assignee filter, and the table loads after at least one is chosen.

Pipeline stages

The pipeline has six stages. A lead moves between them when a rep changes the stage from the table, and automatically as events occur. The pipeline reflects the sales pipeline only — service records and records that exist only in the DMS (Dealer Management System) do not appear here.

• New Lead — received but not yet engaged by a human rep. If the Lead Handling agent is working the lead, an AI Handling tag appears and the rep should hold off on manual outreach. A lead being handled only by the AI stays in New Lead with that tag until a human engages.
   
• Rep Outreach — a human rep is actively working the lead. A New lead moves here when a call, email, or text is logged on it. This stage reflects human contact only; AI-handled leads stay in New Lead.
   
• Appointment Set — an appointment has been created for the lead. The appointment's state (set, shown, or no show) appears in the Last Activity column. If the appointment is deleted, the lead returns to Rep Outreach.
   
• Proposal — a deal has been started in Desking. Leads here show a desking status — one of Desking, Review, Application, Decision, Menu, Documents, Done, or Submitted.
   
• Sold — the deal is closed-won. Sold can be set in the CRM and is tied to a DMS sale signal. The tab count is month-to-date (MTD) only.
   
• Lost — the lead was marked lost, either manually by a rep or automatically after a configured period with no activity. The tab count is MTD only.

Table columns

The table shows the following columns. The Assignee column appears only for users who can view other reps' leads.

• Customer — the customer's name (click to open their record), the lead's up type (internet, phone, or walk-in), and the submission date. A sparkle icon next to the name reveals an AI-generated summary of the customer on hover — useful context before you act.
   
• Vehicle of Interest — the vehicle on the lead (condition, year, make, model, trim). If none is attached, an add (+) button lets you add one.
   
• Status — the lead's current stage as an inline dropdown you can change directly (see Updating a lead's stage). Alongside it, Proposal leads show a desking status, and leads the AI is actively handling show an AI Handling tag.
   
• Last Activity — the most recent interaction and when it happened: inbound or outbound calls, emails sent or received, texts sent or received, walk-ins, and appointment state (appointment set, shown, or no show). Messages sent by the AI are labeled as such.
   
• Next Recommended Step — the next task on the lead, shown with a plain label (for example, follow-up call, send text, confirm appointment) and its timing. Tasks due today are highlighted; overdue tasks show in red.
   
• Assignee — a color-coded avatar with the assigned rep's initials; hover for the full name.
   
• Quick actions — at the end of each row, buttons to text, email, call, or set an appointment, each opening in a slide-over panel. A channel's button is hidden or disabled when the customer can't be contacted that way.

The AI Handling tag

When the Lead Handling agent currently owns a lead's conversation, an AI Handling tag appears in the Status column. This is the signal that the agent is mid-sequence and the rep should not send manual messages on that lead. The detailed handling categories (for example, Needs a human, AI Active Conversation, Unresponsive) are managed on the Conversations page; the pipeline shows the single AI Handling tag only while the AI is actively working the thread.

To take over a lead the AI is handling, turn off the AI on that conversation first (see Important to note).

Searching, filtering, and sorting

• Search by customer name — type in the search box in the page header; results apply after a short delay. Click the × to clear.
   
• Filter by assignee — the assignee filter in the page header narrows the pipeline to one or more reps. It is available to users who can view other reps' leads.
   
• Sort — click a sortable column header to sort, and click again to reverse. The sortable columns are Customer, Assignee, Last Activity, and Next Recommended Step. The table is sorted by Next Recommended Step by default.

Updating a lead's stage

You can change a lead's stage directly from the table without opening the customer record:

• Open the stage dropdown in the Status column for that lead.
   
• Select the new stage.
   
• The change saves immediately and the tab counts refresh. The dropdown is briefly disabled while the save completes.

The desking status and the AI Handling tag are set by the system and the AI — they are not selectable.

Important to note

• Rep Outreach means human contact. Leads handled only by the AI stay in New Lead with the AI Handling tag until a human rep engages or the agent completes its sequence.
   
• Sold and Lost counts are month-to-date. They reset at the start of each month. To review earlier closed or lost leads, use the Leads log or Sales log.
   
• Do not manually contact a lead while the AI Handling tag is showing. The Lead Handling agent is mid-sequence, and manual outreach can disrupt it. To take over, open the lead's conversation, open AI Conversation Preferences, and turn off the AI follow-up and AI reply toggles — follow-up must be turned off before reply can be.
   
• The Vehicle of Interest reflects the lead, not necessarily the vehicle sold. In the Sold stage, treat it as reference only.
   
• A newly created lead's next step may take a moment to appear. The Task Builder generates the first task shortly after the lead is created; refresh after a short wait if the Next Recommended Step is briefly empty.

Troubleshooting

The table shows a spinner and never loads. No assignee context has been set. For a manager, confirm at least one rep is selected in the assignee filter.

A tab count doesn't match the number of rows. Counts and rows load independently, so a brief mismatch during loading is normal. If it persists after a full reload, contact Technical Support.

The Status dropdown is greyed out. A stage update for that lead is still saving. Wait for it to finish, then try again.

The Next Recommended Step is empty for a lead. No open task is currently linked to it. Create one from the customer record, or wait for the Task Builder to generate one from the lead's activity.

A quick action button is missing or disabled. The customer can't be contacted on that channel — for example, they've opted out of texts or have no email on file.