Agree lifecycle stages and preserve original source

When to use it

Sales and marketing report different stages or source counts starts this workflow. Define stages by observable entry and exit criteria, then keep source history intact as accounts progress. The intended output is an agreed lifecycle contract and source-history map. A useful receipt names the accountable person and the next action; it should make the commercial decision easier to inspect.

This is an original GTMhub reference design. It explains how we would run the job, with tools selected for the company's existing stack. It is not presented as completed client delivery or measured commercial performance.

Inputs and decision boundaries

Confirm lifecycle definitions, field owners, original sources and opportunity ids. Keep the original source and observed date alongside each fact. Missing context stays unknown until it is resolved. Facts, interpretations and proposed actions should remain distinguishable in the handoff.

Your company brain holds the approved rules and proof; the live system holds current account state and ownership. Read both before making an operational change. Assign an exception owner before launch so an uncertain case has somewhere useful to go.

Run the job

1. Compare the stages actually used by each team.
2. Agree evidence for entering and leaving each stage.
3. Map the fields and preserve original source separately from influence.
4. Replay sample records and reconcile counts before rollout.

At the decision gate, ask: Can the stage be justified by an observable business event? If the answer is no: keep it in the previous valid stage and resolve the missing evidence. Only the supported path proceeds to its output. A stopped job should preserve the reason and what would let an owner resolve it.

The output to inspect

Failure and recovery

The material failure to watch is this: stage labels are changed to improve reports or later touches overwrite acquisition source. Stop that path and preserve the underlying evidence. Repairing a field or a source is different from changing the commercial rule; record which decision was made.

If a connected system fails, keep the original request or event and expose its unresolved state. Retry only the incomplete action, with a stable event key where writes are involved. Do not let a retry create a second owner task or bypass a previous exclusion.

Test before making it live

Replay a supported case, an incomplete case and the failure described above. Where the job writes a record or creates a task, replay the same event twice and inspect the result. Check that the exception owner can understand the hold reason without reconstructing every step.

Judge the result

Track unique stage counts, transition accuracy and source completeness. Record the sample, dates and definitions before evaluating a change. Operational success shows that the job behaved as designed; commercial outcomes need their own mature evidence.

Return reviewed corrections to the company brain with the decision date and rule version. Keep the original observation available. The decision register records what changed and why, while the GTM brain guide explains how the job fits into one company system.