The Essence
The Deal is where commercial partnership gets explored and committed — and only that. The Deal tracks the sales process: from initial exploration of potential value, through evaluation and stakeholder alignment, to commitment. When a Deal closes, value creation begins elsewhere.
The Deal is not a project tracker, not a delivery container, not a revenue recognition vehicle. It's the relationship-focused handshake that says "we've agreed to work together." Everything that happens after that handshake lives in other objects.
This may seem limiting if you've used Deals as catch-all process containers. That's precisely the pattern we're breaking.
"The Deal is the relationship-focused handshake that says 'we've agreed to work together.' Everything that happens after that handshake lives in other objects."
Unified View Contribution
Revenue View
Primary contributor. Deals provide commercial opportunity visibility — what's being explored, what's likely to close, what's committed. But Deal data feeds forecasting and pipeline management, not revenue recognition. Revenue View requires Deals + Orders + Invoices + Payments working together.
Customer View
Supporting contributor. Deals connect Contacts and Companies to commercial intent. Knowing that a Contact is associated with an active Deal changes how you engage with them. But the Deal alone doesn't tell the customer story — it tells the commercial chapter.
Team Enablement
Supporting contributor. Deal ownership creates sales accountability. Deal stages enable sales process management. But delivery accountability lives in Service and Project objects.
Business Context
Supporting contributor. Deal patterns reveal market intelligence — which offerings sell, which stakeholder configurations close, which industries engage. Aggregate Deal data informs strategic decisions.
Sarah's Story
Sarah Chen's company, Precision Components Manufacturing, had multiple people engaging with Value-First content. Sarah attended Office Hours and asked strategic questions. Her colleague in IT explored technical documentation. Her CFO reviewed case studies about manufacturing transformation. Three Contacts, multiple Signals, clear organizational interest.
When Sarah requested a scoping conversation — an explicit hand raise — her Value Path stage moved to Hand Raiser. At this point, a Deal was created in the "Path to Value" pipeline at the "Discover Value" stage. Not because Signals had "converted," but because commercial partnership was now being actively explored.
The Deal didn't replace Sarah's Signals — they stayed active, now associated to the Deal for attribution context. The Deal added a new dimension: tracking the sales process alongside ongoing engagement tracking.
During "Discover Value," the Value-First team explored what transformation might look like for Precision Components. During "Evaluate Value," Sarah and her colleagues assessed fit — could Value-First's approach address their Data Trap and ERP integration challenges? During "Validate Value," Sarah navigated internal stakeholders: her CFO needed ROI justification, her IT director needed technical validation, her CEO needed strategic alignment.
Note what the Deal tracked: the sales process. It didn't track the technical evaluation happening in parallel (that lived in a Service object pipeline). It didn't track the assessment completion (that lived in Signal pipeline). It didn't track the specific questions being answered (that lived in Tickets). The Deal tracked commercial progression and stakeholder alignment.
When Sarah's organization committed — "Commit to Value" stage — contracts were signed. The Deal moved to "Value Activated." At that moment: • An Order record was created (the actual commercial transaction) • Service records were created (what would be delivered) • A Project record was created (the transformation work) • The first Appointment was scheduled (implementation kickoff) • All associated Contacts moved to "Value Creator" Value Path stage
The Deal's job was done. It reached "Value Activated" and stays there as historical record. Everything that happens next — implementation, delivery, expansion, renewal — lives in objects designed for those purposes.
What It Holds
Opportunity Context
Stakeholder Map
Sales Process
Forecast Data
Commercial Terms
What It Connects To
Primary Associations
The people involved in this commercial opportunity. Association labels clarify roles in the buying committee.
The organization this Deal represents. For multi-location accounts, typically the parent Company (contract holder).
The engagement that contributed to this opportunity. Maintains attribution without "converting" Signals away.
What offerings are being considered. Enables proper pricing and scope understanding.
When Deal closes, the Order captures the actual transaction.
What will be delivered and the transformation work that begins when Deal activates.
Contact-to-Deal Labels
Final budget authority
Ultimate authority
Internal advocate
Assesses technical fit
Will use delivery
Raises concerns
Deal-to-Object Labels
Contract holder
Transaction record
Offerings proposed
Current proposal
Delivery commitments
Transformation work
Why These Labels Matter
Complex sales involve multiple stakeholders with different roles. Understanding who influences what enables appropriate engagement. The champion needs support; the skeptic needs evidence; the economic buyer needs ROI; the technical evaluator needs specs.
Common Patterns
The Single Pipeline Pattern
The Deal → Order Pattern
- Create Order record (the actual transaction)
- Create Line Items (what was purchased)
- Associate Order to Deal (maintains relationship)
- Order becomes source of truth for revenue
- Deal stays at "Value Activated" as historical record
The Multi-Stakeholder Pattern
The Parallel Process Pattern
The Lost Deal Pattern
Value-First vs. Industrial-Age
| ✗ Traditional Thinking | ✓ Value-First Thinking |
|---|---|
| 15-stage pipeline covering sales through delivery | 5-stage pipeline covering sales only |
| Deal amount = Revenue | Deal amount = Opportunity; Order = Revenue |
| "Closed won" = Success metric | "Value Activated" = Handoff moment |
| Renewal Deals, Expansion Deals, Support Deals | Renewals → Service; Expansion → new Deal |
| Deal close date = delivery deadline | Deal close date = commitment date |
| Complex integrations to reconcile Deal "revenue" | Clean Order → Invoice → Payment flow |
| Pipeline reports mix sales and delivery | Pipeline reports show sales activity only |
Why This Shift Matters
When Deals contain everything, nothing is clear. Sales metrics include delivery activities. Pipeline forecasts mix opportunity and operational stages. Revenue reporting requires heroic reconciliation efforts. ERP integration becomes a nightmare of custom mappings and workarounds.
When Deals contain only sales, everything gets clearer. Sales forecasts reflect actual sales activity. Pipeline metrics measure commercial progression. Revenue lives in Orders where it belongs. Integration with accounting becomes straightforward. Each object does its job.
In Practice
Implementation details and configuration
What You'll See in HubSpot
Deals live under Sales → Deals. Each Deal has:
- Left sidebar: Deal properties, stage, owner, amount
- Middle column: Activity timeline for this Deal
- Right sidebar: Associated Contacts (with roles), Company, Products, Quotes
The Deal board view shows pipeline stages as columns, with Deals progressing left to right through the sales process.
Key Properties
Key Properties
Native HubSpot Properties
| Property | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
dealname Native | Text | Opportunity identifier |
dealstage Native | Pipeline Stage | Current sales stage |
amount Native | Currency | Opportunity value (NOT revenue) |
closedate Native | Date | Expected commitment date |
pipeline Native | Pipeline | Which sales process (keep simple) |
hubspot_owner_id Native | User | Sales owner |
hs_deal_stage_probability Native | Percentage | Forecast probability |
hs_forecast_amount Native | Currency | Weighted opportunity value |
Value-First Custom Properties
| Property | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
vf_unified_goal_focus | Enumeration | Primary unified goal (Customer, Revenue, Context, Enablement) |
vf_service_package | Enumeration | What offering is being sold |
vf_transformation_depth | Enumeration | Tactical → Strategic → Organizational |
vf_buyer_value_path_stage | Enumeration | Primary contact's Value Path stage at Deal creation |
vf_stakeholder_count | Number | How many contacts involved |
vf_stakeholder_alignment | Enumeration | Champion → Team Buy-in → Leadership → Org-Wide |
vf_primary_trap_focus | Enumeration | Which complexity trap is primary driver |
vf_lost_reason_detail | Text | If lost, detailed context beyond standard reason |
Path to Value Pipeline
Discover Value
Initial exploration of potential value
Hand Raiser contact expresses commercial interest
Mutual understanding of potential value
Portal Experience
In the My Value Path Portal, Sarah sees Deal context appropriately:
For Active Deals (Buyer stage)
- Current proposal status
- Documents shared (quotes, scope documents)
- Next steps and timeline
- Questions pending
After Deal Activation
- Deal history (what was agreed)
- Connected Order, Services, Project
- Transition to delivery-focused views
"Sarah knows where things stand commercially without logging into a CRM. The portal shows her the commercial context while protecting internal sales notes and strategy."
See It In Action
Experience in the Value Path Simulator
Key Moment: Toggle between "Deal-Only Pipeline" and "Everything-in-Deals Pipeline" views. Notice how the simplified Deal pipeline makes sales progression clear, while the cluttered alternative obscures what's actually happening.