Creating a Client Pipeline

Creating a Client Pipeline

Most photographers lose clients between inquiry and booking because they have no system. Emails get buried. Follow-ups get forgotten. A pipeline fixes that by giving every client a stage and making it obvious who needs attention.

What Is a Pipeline?

A pipeline is a visual board — columns representing stages, cards representing clients. You drag clients from one stage to the next as they progress through your workflow. Think of it as a kanban board built for your photography business.

Default Pipeline Stages

creavio comes with a default pipeline that covers the typical photography workflow:

1. Inquiry — new lead just reached out
2. Consultation — you have responded or scheduled a call
3. Proposal Sent — you sent a quote, package, or proposal
4. Booked — contract signed and deposit paid
5. Session Complete — the shoot is done
6. Delivered — final gallery sent to client

These stages work out of the box. You can start dragging clients into them immediately.

Customizing Your Stages

Every photographer's process is different. To edit your pipeline:

1. Go to Clients > Pipeline
2. Click Edit Pipeline (gear icon, top right)
3. From here you can:
   • Rename stages — click the stage name to edit it
   • Add stages — click + Add Stage at the end
   • Reorder stages — drag stages left or right
   • Delete stages — click the trash icon (clients in that stage will move to the previous one)
   • Set stage colors — helps you scan the board quickly
4. Click Save

Popular stage additions for photographers:

• "Editing" — between shoot and delivery
• "Album Design" — for wedding photographers with album orders
• "Follow-up" — for past clients you want to re-engage
• "Waitlist" — for dates that are tentatively held

Moving Clients Through Stages

Two ways to move a client:

• Drag and drop — grab the client card and drop it in the next column
• From the client profile — open any client, click the stage dropdown, and select the new stage

When you move a client to a new stage, creavio logs the change in the activity timeline. You can also set up automations that trigger when a client enters a specific stage — like sending a welcome email when someone moves to "Booked."

Pipeline View Options

The pipeline has two views:

• Board view — the default kanban layout, best for visual scanning
• List view — a table with sortable columns, better for filtering large client lists

Switch between them using the toggle in the top right.

Deal Values

Each client card can show a deal value — the expected revenue from that client. The pipeline header shows the total value per stage, so you can see at a glance how much revenue is in "Proposal Sent" versus "Booked."

Set the deal value when you create or edit a client. It updates automatically if you attach an invoice to the client.

Filtering and Searching

Use the filter bar above the pipeline to narrow by:

• Tags — show only wedding clients, or only 2026 bookings
• Source — see which stage your Instagram leads are in versus your referrals
• Date range — filter by when the client was added

Combined with segments, this gives you precise control over who you are looking at.