Most sales teams focus on active deals and celebrate closed ones. But lost opportunities often get ignored — and that is a missed chance to improve.
Every lost deal contains valuable information. Why did the customer choose a competitor? Was pricing the issue? Did the product lack a critical feature? Without tracking these outcomes, the same mistakes repeat across your team.
Odoo CRM provides a complete won/lost tracking system that lets you:
Every opportunity in Odoo CRM eventually reaches one of two states: Won or Lost.
When an opportunity is marked as won, the system displays:
| Indicator | Description |
|---|---|
| Probability: 100% | Deal confirmed as closed |
| Progress bar | Shows the "Won" stage completed |
| Green banner | "WON" displayed prominently at the top |
| Expected revenue confirmed | Amount counts toward confirmed revenue |
Won opportunities are removed from the active pipeline view but all data remains available for reporting.
When an opportunity is marked as lost, the system shows:
| Indicator | Description |
|---|---|
| Probability: 0% | No chance of closing |
| Stage unchanged | Remains in the pipeline stage where it was lost |
| Red banner | "LOST" displayed at the top |
| Lost reason | Specific reason the deal did not close |
| Closing notes | Optional additional context |
The fact that lost opportunities stay in their original stage is a deliberate design choice. It helps you identify which stages have the highest drop-off rates.
When a deal is confirmed, mark it as won:
After marking as won, the opportunity is removed from the kanban pipeline view. You can still access it through filters or the list view.
Tip: Make sure the expected revenue is filled in before marking as won. This directly affects the accuracy of your sales reports.
When a deal cannot be closed, record the loss properly:
Step 1: Open the opportunity
Click into the opportunity you want to mark as lost.
Step 2: Click "Mark as Lost"
Use the Mark as Lost button in the opportunity form. A dialog box appears.
Step 3: Select a lost reason
Choose from the dropdown. Odoo provides three default reasons:
If none of these fit, type a new reason directly. The system will prompt you to create and save it.
Step 4: Add closing notes (recommended)
Although optional, closing notes provide important context. For example:
Step 5: Confirm
Click to confirm. The opportunity is immediately marked as lost and hidden from the main pipeline view.
When you open your CRM pipeline, there is no "Lost" stage visible. This is by design.
If lost opportunities were always displayed, they would distract sales reps from the active deals that need attention. Odoo hides them by default and lets you reveal them on demand.
To view lost opportunities:
All lost opportunities appear in their respective pipeline stages, showing you exactly where each deal was lost.
The three default lost reasons are rarely sufficient for real business scenarios. Custom reasons make your loss analysis far more meaningful.
Method 1: Create during the loss process
Method 2: Manage centrally from settings
| Category | Suggested Reasons | Analysis Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Over budget, Found cheaper option, Cannot offer discount | Evaluate pricing strategy |
| Product fit | Missing required feature, Wrong product for their needs | Guide product development |
| Competition | Chose competitor, Already using another solution | Understand competitive landscape |
| Timing | Project delayed, No current budget, Bad timing | Schedule follow-up outreach |
| Internal | Contact left company, Company changed direction | Identify recoverable opportunities |
| No response | Went silent, Cannot reach decision maker | Improve follow-up process |
Tip: Keep your list to 8-12 reasons. Too many options lead to random selection by sales reps, degrading data quality.
Customers change their minds. A lost opportunity today could become a closed deal tomorrow.
Consider restoring a lost opportunity when:
The opportunity returns to its original pipeline stage with its previous probability restored, immediately rejoining your active pipeline.
Important notes:
The real value of won/lost tracking lies in the data analysis it enables. Odoo CRM offers multiple reporting dimensions.
Navigate to CRM → Reporting → Pipeline Analysis to view:
In the Pipeline Analysis report, group by lost reason to:
If "pricing" consistently tops your lost reasons, that is a clear signal to re-evaluate your pricing strategy or strengthen your value communication.
Combine won and lost data to analyse conversion rates at each pipeline stage:
These insights directly point to the parts of your sales process that need improvement.
Review lost opportunities monthly
Schedule a fixed time each month to review your lost opportunity list. Focus on:
Discuss lost reasons in team meetings
Incorporate lost reason analysis into your weekly or monthly sales meetings. When "too expensive" keeps appearing, discuss whether it is a pricing problem or a value communication problem.
Always mark as lost, never delete
Deleting an opportunity permanently destroys data. Marking as lost preserves all information for analysis while keeping your pipeline clean.
Restore instead of creating new
When a previously lost customer reappears, search for existing lost opportunities before creating a new one. Restoration preserves the complete interaction history.
Establish clear team rules
Define internal guidelines:
Can I edit a won or lost opportunity?
Yes. Won and lost opportunities can still be edited. However, changing the status requires clicking "Restore" first.
Do lost opportunities affect sales forecasts?
No. Lost opportunities have 0% probability and are excluded from expected revenue forecasts. They do appear in Pipeline Analysis reports.
Can I mark multiple opportunities as lost at once?
Yes. In list view, select multiple opportunities using the checkboxes, then use the Action menu to select "Mark as Lost" for batch processing.
Will a restored opportunity be counted twice?
No. Restored opportunities continue tracking on the original record. When closed as won, the deal is counted once.
How do I view all lost opportunities for a specific customer?
Open the customer form and check the Opportunities tab. It shows all related opportunities including active, won, and lost.
Tracking won and lost opportunities is a core part of effective CRM usage. By implementing these practices, you can:
Build a team habit of recording a reason for every loss, and your CRM data transforms from a passive record-keeping tool into an active sales improvement engine.
Zoo AI is a certified Odoo partner in Hong Kong, delivering expert ERP implementation and AI automation for SMEs. Get in touch to learn more.