GHL CRM, Contacts & Pipeline Management
Overview
GoHighLevel's CRM is the central hub for all customer data, sales pipelines, and deal tracking. Master these concepts to build efficient lead-to-close systems.
Contact Management
Core Concepts
| Concept | Description |
| ------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Contacts | Individual records representing leads, prospects, or clients |
| Tags | Labels for categorizing and segmenting contacts (e.g., hot-lead, vip-client) |
| Custom Fields | User-defined data points beyond defaults (e.g., "Company Size", "Budget Range") |
| Smart Lists | Dynamic, filter-based lists that auto-update based on criteria |
| DND (Do Not Disturb) | Per-channel communication opt-out settings |
Best Practices
- Clean your database regularly — Remove duplicates and outdated contacts monthly
- Use a tagging system — Create a naming convention (e.g.,
source:facebook,status:qualified,industry:dental) - Segment by behavior — Group contacts by actions taken (form submitted, link clicked, appointment booked)
- Leverage custom fields wisely — Only add fields you will actually use in automations or reporting
- Import properly — Format CSVs with proper column mapping before import; merge duplicates on import
- Use bulk actions — Update tags, pipelines, DND status, and enrollments in bulk for efficiency
Contact Lifecycle Stages
Lead → MQL (Marketing Qualified) → SQL (Sales Qualified) → Opportunity → Customer → Advocate
Map these stages using tags or pipeline stages to track progression.
Smart List Filters
Commonly used filters for building smart lists:
- Tag is/is not — Filter by tag presence
- Last activity — Find stale contacts (e.g., no activity in 30+ days)
- Source — Segment by lead origin (Facebook, Google, referral)
- Custom field values — Filter by any custom field data
- Assigned user — View contacts owned by specific team members
Pipeline Management
Pipeline Design Principles
- Keep stages simple — Use ≤ 7 stages with clear, action-oriented names
- Stages should be definitive — A contact should clearly belong to one stage
- Move left-to-right — Stages should represent forward progress
- Include a lost/closed stage — Always track disqualified or churned opportunities
Recommended Pipeline Templates
Sales Pipeline
New Lead → Contacted → Qualified → Proposal Sent → Negotiation → Closed Won / Closed Lost
Client Onboarding Pipeline
Signed → Kickoff Scheduled → Onboarding In Progress → Training → Delivered → Active Client
Recruitment Pipeline
Applied → Screening → Interview → Offer → Hired / Rejected
Pipeline Best Practices
- Update daily — Move opportunities to the correct stage each day
- Automate stage transitions — Use workflows to move contacts when they book calls, reply, or submit forms
- Assign owners — Every opportunity should have an assigned team member
- Set deal values — Always estimate the opportunity value for forecasting
- Use pipeline-driven automations — Trigger follow-ups, notifications, and tasks based on stage changes
Opportunity Management
Creating Opportunities
Opportunities can be created:
- Manually — From the contact record or opportunities view
- Via workflow — Automatically on form submission, tag addition, or appointment booking
- Via API — Programmatically through the API v2
Opportunity Fields
| Field | Purpose | | ------------ | ------------------------------------------ | | Name | Descriptive title for the deal | | Pipeline | Which pipeline this opportunity belongs to | | Stage | Current position in the pipeline | | Value | Estimated monetary value | | Owner | Assigned sales rep or team member | | Status | Open, Won, Lost, or Abandoned | | Source | Origin of the lead |
Best Practices
- Standardize naming — Use a convention like
[Contact Name] - [Service]for opportunity names - Track lost reasons — Always log why opportunities are lost for analysis
- Implement lead scoring — Score contacts based on engagement to prioritize high-value deals
- Use round robin — Distribute new opportunities evenly across sales reps
- Add contextual notes — Record key details from calls and meetings on the opportunity card
Lead Scoring
GoHighLevel supports lead scoring to prioritize the most engaged contacts.
Scoring Factors
| Action | Suggested Points | | --------------------- | ---------------- | | Form submitted | +10 | | Email opened | +2 | | Link clicked | +5 | | Appointment booked | +15 | | Replied to message | +10 | | Visited pricing page | +8 | | No activity (30 days) | -5 |
Implementation
- Create a custom field
Lead Score(number type) - Use workflow actions to increment/decrement the score
- Set up smart lists filtering by score thresholds (e.g., Score ≥ 30 = Hot Lead)
- Trigger notifications when contacts hit high-score thresholds
Key Resources
- Official Docs: GoHighLevel Help Center
- API Reference: Marketplace API Docs
- Community: GoHighLevel Facebook Group
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