Zoho CRM Specialist — Build a 7-Stage B2B Sales Pipeline with Stage Gates & Nurture Automation

Project Overview We're a B2B revenue-growth consultancy. We've already documented our entire sales motion — a 7-stage pipeline with explicit qualification gates, a "bowtie" nurture model, and clear forecasting rules — in a polished operating deck. We don't need you to design our process; we need you to install it cleanly in Zoho. This is a focused CRM build, not a sprawling Zoho One project. The work is in CRM with a Marketing Automation layer for nurture enrollment, plus reporting dashboards. The challenge is precision: our gates must enforce the right fields and fire the right alerts at the right stage transitions, and our forecast must count only signed value while expansion spawns a new opportunity record. We'll provide the full deck on shortlist. You'll bring disciplined Zoho craftsmanship, clean naming, and a system we can own and maintain without you. Scope of Work • Build a 7-stage pipeline (DQL, MQL, Discovery, Walkthrough, Proposal Review, Closed Won/Lost, Expansion) with the documented stage groupings • Create custom fields for ICP-fit (vertical, company stage, ARR band, trigger event), BANT, entry phase, success criteria, reviewed-proposal flag, loss reason, recycle date, and next-step date • Configure SOFT gates via required-field validation + alert workflows (no hard blocking): ICP-fit before MQL→Discovery; BANT before Discovery→Walkthrough; mandatory next-step date on active deals • Build workflow so any exit from stages 02–06 requires loss reason + recycle date and auto-enrolls the record into a re-engagement nurture track • Configure forecast to count signed value only; set up expansion to open a new opportunity record rather than inflate the original • Build nurture enrollment automation in Zoho Marketing Automation: warm-up, nudge-to-Discovery, reinforcement, post-close Won (referral requests feeding new DQLs), Lost/parked re-engagement. We supply email copy; you build triggers, segments, and enrollment logic • Build CRM-native dashboards: age-in-stage, stage-to-stage conversion, signed-only forecast, weekly bottom-up pipeline view • Document the build and deliver a Loom walkthrough for handoff Deliverables • Configured 7-stage pipeline matching the deck • All custom fields + validation rules + alert workflows live and tested • Loss-reason/recycle automation enrolling records into re-engagement nurture • Working forecast (signed-only) + expansion-as-new-opportunity behavior • Nurture enrollment automations wired to placeholder segments/triggers • Four CRM-native dashboards (age-in-stage, conversion, forecast, weekly review) • Configuration documentation + recorded Loom handoff Required Skills Zoho CRM, Zoho One, Zoho Marketing Automation, Marketing Automation, CRM Automation, Workflow Automation, Sales Pipeline, Lead Management Preferred Qualifications • Zoho-certified (CRM or Deluge) • Prior CRM builds for professional-services / consulting / agency clients • Experience with multi-stage B2B pipelines and lead nurture Timeline Duration: 3–4 weeks Estimated workload: 10–15 hours per week Budget Maximum Budget: $3,000 Milestone Deliverable Budget 1 Pipeline build, stages, custom fields $1,200 2 Blueprint logic, validations, alerts, recycle/loss automation $1,000 3 Nurture enrollment, dashboards, documentation, Loom handoff $800 Total: $3,000 How to Apply In your proposal, include: (1) a link or screenshots of a comparable Zoho pipeline build, (2) a 2–3 sentence note on how you'd handle our loss-reason/recycle automation, and (3) your answers to the screening questions. Proposals that don't reference the specific automation question will be passed over.