Pomio CRM keeps deals with stage, owner, amount, close date and loss reason on the company record. Sooner or later a buyer who said no comes back. At that point you face a small admin choice with a large effect on your reporting: drag the old deal back into the pipeline, or start a new one.
A lost deal is history, not a draft
When a deal is marked lost, the CRM records a moment: the stage it reached, the amount on the table and the loss reason. That data answers the questions management asks later: why do we lose, at which stage, and to whom. Reopening the record and moving it forward overwrites that moment. The loss vanishes from the reports, and a deal with months of silence in the middle looks like one very long sales cycle.
When to create a new deal
Create a new deal as soon as something material has changed: the buyer returns after weeks or months, the scope or budget is different, someone else now makes the decision, or the original loss reason no longer applies because the situation changed. Give the new deal its own amount, expected close date, owner and a stage that reflects where it really is, which is usually early. Mention the old deal in the first note, so anyone who opens the record knows the background.
When reopening is fine
Reopen only when the loss itself was wrong: someone marked the wrong deal as lost, or the customer reversed the decision within a few days and nothing else changed. In that case the loss never really happened, and keeping it would distort the numbers in the other direction. Ask for a short note on why the deal was reopened, just as when a deal moves back a stage. A simple house rule helps, for example: same scope and within two weeks, reopen; anything else, new deal.
Keep both deals connected
The value of the old deal is its context: the objections, the competitor that won, the price that was too high. Link both deals to the same company and primary contact, and refer to the old deal in the first note of the new one. Do not delete the lost deal to tidy up the list; closed deals are exactly what makes loss analysis possible.
What it does to your numbers
Win rate, average sales cycle and loss reasons all depend on closed deals staying closed. A team that reopens lost deals freely sees a higher win rate and fewer losses than it really has. A team that creates a new deal sees the loss and the later win, which is the honest picture: the first attempt failed, the second one worked. Look at reopened deals in the weekly pipeline review so the habit stays visible.
How Pomio CRM helps
In Pomio CRM a lost deal keeps its stage, amount and loss reason on the company record, next to any new deal you create for the same customer. Notes and the audit trail show who closed or reopened a deal, and when. Pomio does not decide for you whether a returning buyer is a new opportunity; it keeps both deals and their history in one place.
A practical checklist
Buyer returns after weeks or months: new deal; different scope, budget or decision-maker: new deal; marked lost by mistake or reversed within days with the same scope: reopen with a note; never delete the lost deal; link both deals to the same company and contact; mention the old deal in the new deal’s first note; review reopened deals every week.
Further reading
Does a new deal make the pipeline look busier?
No more than reopening would. Either way there is one open deal; the difference is that the earlier loss stays in your numbers.
Which stage should the new deal start in?
The stage it is really in. A returning buyer usually needs a fresh proposal, so an early stage is often the honest choice, even if you know the customer well.
Should the new deal reuse the old amount?
Only if the scope is the same. Otherwise enter the amount for what is on the table now.
What if the old deal was lost to a competitor?
Keep that loss reason. If the buyer switches back, it is a new deal and useful evidence for the next comparison with that competitor.