Trachte Dynamics CRM — Pipeline Visibility & Lead Stages

Overview

Gaining full visibility into the customer pipeline is 2026 Objective 1 for the Trachte engagement. The core problem: marketing activity (PPC, organic, seminars) cannot be evaluated for ROI because leads are not tracked from source through close in Dynamics CRM. This initiative, led by Mark on the sales engineering side and Sebastian on the marketing side, aims to fix that by defining lead stages, implementing them in Dynamics, and establishing clear ownership for keeping records current.

The decision to stay on Dynamics (rather than migrate to a new CRM) was confirmed in the December 2025 meeting. The rationale: Dynamics already has the necessary capabilities, and a migration is not justified if the replacement system wouldn't be fully utilized.

See also: ^[1] | ^[2]

The Problem

Without pipeline tracking, the team cannot answer basic questions:

• Which lead sources (PPC, seminars, organic) are generating qualified leads?
• Where in the funnel are leads dropping off?
• What is the actual cost per closed deal from any given channel?
• Are TrackRite or self-storage project leads converting at different rates?

The Bing Ads situation illustrates this gap directly: 42 conversions were recorded at ~$30/call, but because leads arriving via Bing are not tagged as such in Dynamics, there is no way to assess whether any of those calls became real opportunities. See ^[2] for the UTM fix.

Key Decisions

Proposed Lead Stage Framework

The following stage sequence was discussed as a starting point. Final stages need to be validated with Trachte's sales directors before implementation in Dynamics.

New → Qualified → Proposal → Negotiation → Won / Lost

Stage definitions to confirm:
- New — Lead has entered the system (form fill, phone call, trade show scan, etc.)
- Qualified — Lead has been contacted and confirmed as a genuine prospect
- Proposal — A quote or project proposal has been sent
- Negotiation — Active back-and-forth on terms/pricing
- Won / Lost — Deal closed or disqualified (with loss reason captured)

Robyn committed to reviewing this framework with the sales directors for each division (Trachte self-storage, TrackRite, RenewRite) before the January 9, 2026 meeting.

Key Results (2026 OKR)

1. Define and document lead stages — written definitions agreed upon by marketing and sales
2. Implement stages in Dynamics CRM — Mark (sales engineering) + Trachte IT to configure
3. Establish ownership for status updates — clear RACI for who moves a lead at each stage transition
4. Enable pipeline reporting — monthly view of leads by stage, source, and brand

Action Items

• [ ] Sebastian — Schedule Mark + Trachte IT meeting to begin Dynamics configuration (week of Dec 16, 2025)
• [ ] Robyn — Review proposed lead stages with sales directors for each division; gather feedback before Jan 9 meeting
• [ ] Mark — Finalize sales engineering proposal; deliver to Trachte team
• [ ] Sebastian — Add UTM parameters to all Bing Ads so source attribution flows into Dynamics (see ^[2])

Related Context

• FFI / TTS pipeline work is being scoped separately by Miranda and Zach (FFI GM). They are meeting weekly to define their own funnel. Marketing engagement for those brands is deferred to Feb/Mar 2026.
• Bing Ads attribution gap is the most immediate symptom of the missing pipeline visibility. 42 conversions recorded; zero tagged as "Bing" in CRM. UTM parameters are the near-term fix.
• Seminar leads are another untracked source that will need source tagging once stages are live.

Next Sync

Friday, January 9, 2026 — first meeting of the new year. Robyn to bring sales director feedback on lead stage definitions.