Stage 5
Negotiating the deal means you are agreeing to a price that you can live with - preferably without being the lowest bidder.

It may mean you have last look. It may mean that you are being awarded the project without competition. Stage 5 may be many things but most of all it is about closing the deal, signing the contract, and landing a profitable job.

Bid Work
A word about bid work and it's affect on the sales funnel.

IF you are competing for a true low-price-wins project, the project converts into a sale from Stage 3. If any other factor comes into play, the project must move through Stages 4 and 5 to become a sale. If you aren't moving it through those two stages, your competition probably is.

Playing the Numbers
As you build history with your sales funnel, you will be able to formulate ratios between each stage.

For example, you may need your marketing system to produce 10 green lighted projects for you to find five you will be price competitive on. Of the five, on average only three clients will truly value your services of which 2 will turn into projects. And you may need 30 potential projects to produce 10 real projects. Know and monitor your averages.