How a Deal Moves

The big picture in one minute

A deal is a relay race. Each person runs one part of the track, then passes the baton. The baton is the lead record in the CRM. If the baton is dropped (missing notes, wrong stage, no next action), the race is lost, even if every runner was fast.

Three rules hold the whole pipeline together:

1. Every lead has one owner. One named person is responsible for the next step.
2. Every lead has one next action with a date. "Call back Tuesday 4 PM seller time" is a next action. "Follow up" is not.
3. Every stage change has a note. The next person should never need to call you to understand the lead.

The pipeline at a glance

Stage	What it means	Owner	Exit when
1. New Lead	Record loaded from a scrubbed list or an inbound source. Nobody has spoken to the owner yet.	Data team loads it, Cold Caller or SMS Agent works it	First attempt made
2. Attempting Contact	We are calling or texting but have not reached the owner.	Cold Caller or SMS Agent	Live conversation, or dead (wrong, DNC, sold)
3. Contacted / Qualifying	We spoke to the owner and are learning the Four Pillars.	Cold Caller	Lead is rated Hot, Warm, Nurture or Dead
4. Warm Follow-Up	Some motivation, but timeline or price is not ready yet.	Lead Manager	Becomes Hot, or moves to Nurture
5. Hot / Appointment Set	Motivation, timeline, condition and price discussed. An offer call or walkthrough is booked.	Lead Manager	Acquisitions holds the appointment
6. Offer Made	Acquisitions presented a number or range.	Acquisitions	Seller accepts, counters or declines
7. Negotiating	Seller countered, or needs time, or another decision maker must agree.	Acquisitions	Agreement reached, or lead returns to follow-up
8. Under Contract	Seller signed the purchase agreement. All state disclosures completed.	Acquisitions hands to TC and Dispositions	File opened with title and buyer marketing starts
9. Marketing to Buyers	Dispositions is presenting the deal to cash buyers.	Dispositions	A buyer signs and pays the deposit
10. Assigned / Buyer Under Contract	Buyer signed the assignment or the second purchase contract and paid the deposit.	Dispositions and TC	Title clears all items
11. Clear to Close	Title has no open items. Closing appointments set.	TC	Closing funds and records
12. Closed / Fee Received	Deal closed and the client's fee arrived.	TC	File archived
Nurture	Not ready now, but not a "no". Long-term follow-up in 90 to 180 days.	Lead Manager or SMS Agent	Seller re-engages, or asks to stop
Dead	Lead will not move forward. Always with a reason code.	Whoever closes it	Never deleted, only closed with a reason

Lead temperature: one definition for everyone

We judge every conversation using the Four Pillars plus Three Checks.

The Four Pillars

1. Motivation: Why would they sell? Is there a real problem the sale solves?
2. Timeline: When do they want or need to sell?
3. Condition: What does the property need?
4. Price: What number do they have in mind, and is it anywhere near workable?

The Three Checks

1. Ownership and decision makers: Are we talking to the owner? Who else is on the deed or must agree?
2. Money owed: Mortgage, liens, back taxes, HOA dues.
3. Occupancy and listing status: Owner living there, tenant, vacant? Listed with an agent?

Temperature	Definition	Disposition code	Who gets it
🔥 Hot	Clear motivation, timeline under 90 days, condition discussed, price discussed (even if high), owner is a decision maker	HOT or APPT	Same-day handoff to Lead Manager or Acquisitions
🌤 Warm	Motivation is present but timeline is 3 to 12 months, or price is far off, or a decision maker is missing	FU-WARM	Lead Manager follow-up in 7 to 30 days
🌱 Nurture	No motivation now, but polite and open to a future call	NI	Long-term nurture, 90 to 180 days
❌ Dead	Sold, wrong number, not the owner, or asked not to be contacted	SOLD, WRONG, DNC	Suppressed with a reason

Disposition codes (the Narqix standard set)

Use one code per call. Pick the code that describes the outcome of this call, not your hopes for the next one. Your client's CRM may use different labels; map them to these meanings.

Code	Meaning	What happens next
NA / VM	No answer, or reached voicemail	Retry by the campaign cadence
BUSY / DISC	Line busy, or number disconnected	DISC twice: remove the number
WRONG	Wrong number, or the person is not the owner	Suppress this number for this owner
DNC	The person asked not to be called or texted, in any words	Internal do-not-call list immediately, across every campaign and client. Never call back.
NI	Not interested, but did not ask to stop	Long-term nurture in 90 to 180 days
CB	Asked for a callback at a specific time	Task set in the owner's local time
FU-WARM	Some motivation, no timeline yet	Lead Manager follow-up in 7 to 30 days
HOT	Motivation, timeline, condition and price discussed	Same-day handoff
APPT	Offer call or walkthrough booked	Calendar invite sent, stage moved to Appointment Set
LISTED / AGENT	Property listed with an agent, or the caller is an agent	Suppress or route by client policy
SOLD	Already sold	Suppress
LIT-FLAG	Hostile legal language, threats to sue, or classic pre-lawsuit questions	Internal DNC plus same-day escalation to your team lead

Practice: pick the right code

1. "Yeah, this is my house, but I'm not selling. Maybe in a couple of years." → NI (polite, future possible)
2. "Who is this? Never call this number again." → DNC
3. "That's my mother's house. She passed last year. My brother handles it." → WRONG for this number, and add a note about the brother and the estate so the data team can research the correct contact
4. "I might sell if the price is right. We're moving for my job in about two months. The kitchen is old. I'd want around 300." → HOT
5. "I want to sell next year after my daughter finishes school. The roof is fine. Not sure on price." → FU-WARM
6. "Is this call recorded? What's your company's full legal name? Send me your do-not-call policy." → LIT-FLAG, add to internal DNC, escalate the same day
7. "Call me Thursday after 5." → CB with Thursday 5 PM in the owner's time zone

Handoffs: how to pass the baton

A handoff is complete only when three things are true:

1. The CRM stage is updated.
2. The handoff note is written in the standard format.
3. The receiving person is notified in the way your campaign uses (CRM task, team channel message, or both).

The standard handoff note

Write it in this order, every time. Short phrases are fine. Facts only. Put the seller's own words in quotes when they matter.

• Lead: (SELLER NAME), (PROPERTY ADDRESS)
• Temperature and code: HOT, APPT, or FU-WARM
• Motivation: the reason, in the seller's words
• Timeline: when they want or need to sell
• Condition: roof age, HVAC age, kitchen and baths, known problems, your suggested repair tier
• Price: their number, and how they arrived at it
• Money owed: mortgage, liens, back taxes, if known
• Occupancy and listing: owner, tenant or vacant; listed or not
• Decision makers: everyone on the deed or who must agree
• Best contact: phone, email, best time (in their time zone), and whether they agreed to receive texts
• Promised next step: exactly what you told the seller would happen, and when

Example of a strong handoff note

• Lead: (SELLER NAME), (PROPERTY ADDRESS)
• Temperature and code: HOT
• Motivation: Inherited from her father 8 months ago. Lives 4 hours away. "I can't keep driving up there to check on it."
• Timeline: Wants it done "before winter". Flexible on closing date.
• Condition: 3 bed, 1.5 bath, about 1,300 sqft. Roof replaced around 2015. Furnace "very old". Kitchen and baths original (1960s). Some water stains in one bedroom ceiling. Suggested tier: Full Cosmetic.
• Price: Asked 165K. Said a neighbor's house sold for that. Open to hearing an offer.
• Money owed: No mortgage. Not sure about property taxes this year.
• Occupancy and listing: Vacant. Not listed.
• Decision makers: She and her brother are both heirs. Brother "will go along with whatever I decide" but is on the estate.
• Best contact: Mobile, evenings after 6 PM Eastern. Agreed to receive texts.
• Promised next step: Told her someone from our acquisitions team will call within 24 hours to discuss numbers.

Example of a weak handoff note (and what is wrong)

"Seller interested, call back. Wants good price. House needs work."

• No motivation. Why are they selling?
• No timeline.
• "Needs work" tells the acquisitions manager nothing.
• No price, no decision makers, no contact time.
• No record of what was promised.

The acquisitions manager now has to repeat the whole first call. The seller feels nobody listened. Trust drops before the offer is even made.

Who passes to whom

From	To	Trigger	Time limit
Data team	Cold Callers and SMS Agents	Scrubbed, de-duplicated list loaded and tagged	Before the shift starts
Cold Caller	Lead Manager	FU-WARM or HOT where the seller needs more qualifying	Same shift
Cold Caller	Acquisitions	HOT with appointment booked (when the campaign allows direct booking)	Same shift, with calendar invite
SMS Agent	Cold Caller or Lead Manager	Seller replied with interest and agreed to a call	Within the shift, ideally within minutes
Lead Manager	Acquisitions	Appointment set with all Four Pillars covered	At least 2 hours before the appointment
Acquisitions	TC and Dispositions	Signed purchase agreement and completed state disclosures	Same day as signing
Dispositions	TC	Signed assignment or second contract plus buyer deposit	Same day
TC	Client and whole team	Closed and fee received	Same day

Transaction Coordination has its own section in Narqix Academy. Read it if you support the stages after "Under Contract".

Dead leads still matter

Never delete a lead. Close it with a reason code so the client learns from the data:

• Dead: Sold (to whom, if they told you)
• Dead: Listed (with an agent, and the listing date if known)
• Dead: Price (seller's number is far above any workable offer, and they will not move)
• Dead: No motivation
• Dead: Not the owner / no authority
• Dead: DNC (also on the internal do-not-call list)
• Dead: Unreachable (all numbers tried by the full cadence)

Check yourself

1. A seller says, "I'd sell in about two months if the money is right. I want 250. The roof leaks." Which stage and code?
2. What three things make a handoff complete?
3. A seller says "please don't call me anymore" in a friendly voice. Which code, and what must happen to the number?
4. Who owns a lead in the "Under Contract" stage, and which two roles receive it?
5. Why do we never delete a dead lead?

Answers

1. Contacted / Qualifying moving to Hot, code HOT (motivation, timeline under 90 days, condition and price discussed).
2. Stage updated, standard handoff note written, receiving person notified.
3. DNC. The number goes on the internal do-not-call list immediately, across every campaign and client. Tone does not matter.
4. Acquisitions hands it to the TC and Dispositions on the same day.
5. Dead leads with reason codes show the client which lists, markets and messages work. Some dead leads become live again later.

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