Not every lead becomes a customer. Some opportunities close successfully, others don't work out. But here's what many sales teams miss: lost opportunities are just as valuable as won ones—if you track them properly.
Understanding why deals are won or lost reveals patterns in your sales process. Which objections keep coming up? At what stage do prospects drop off? Are certain customer types more likely to close?
Odoo CRM makes it simple to mark opportunities as won or lost, track the reasons behind each outcome, and even restore lost deals when circumstances change. In this guide, you'll learn how to use these features to build a smarter, more effective sales operation.
In Odoo CRM, every opportunity ends in one of two states: won or lost.
A won opportunity has three indicators:
| Indicator | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Probability: 100% | The deal is guaranteed to close |
| Progress bar | Shows the "Won" stage highlighted |
| Green banner | Displays "WON" prominently at the top |
Won opportunities represent closed deals—revenue you've secured.
A lost opportunity shows:
| Indicator | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Probability: 0% | No chance of closing |
| Stage unchanged | Remains in the stage where it was lost |
| Red banner | Displays "LOST" at the top |
| Lost reason field | Captures why the deal didn't close |
Lost opportunities stay in their original pipeline stage, helping you identify where deals tend to fall through.
When you open your pipeline, you won't see a "Lost" stage. This is intentional.
If lost opportunities were always visible, they would crowd out active deals—the ones that need your attention. Instead, Odoo hides them by default and lets you reveal them when needed.
To view lost opportunities:
Your lost opportunities appear, each showing where in the pipeline they were when marked as lost.
When a deal doesn't work out, mark it as lost to keep your pipeline accurate and capture valuable data.
Click into the opportunity you want to mark as lost.
Use the Mark as Lost button in the opportunity form.
Odoo provides default reasons:
You can also create custom reasons. When you type a new reason, Odoo offers to save it for future use.
The closing note field lets you add context about what happened. This helps when reviewing lost deals later or if the customer comes back.
Click to confirm. The opportunity is now marked as lost and hidden from the main pipeline view.
Customers change their minds. A deal marked as lost today might become active again tomorrow.
Restore a lost opportunity when:
The opportunity returns to its original stage with its previous probability restored. It rejoins your active pipeline immediately.
Note: Restoring doesn't delete the lost reason or closing notes—that history is preserved.
The default lost reasons may not fit your business. Create custom ones to track the specific objections and blockers you encounter.
Method 1: During the loss process
Method 2: From settings
| Category | Example Reasons |
|---|---|
| Price | Too expensive, Budget cut, Found cheaper alternative |
| Timing | Not ready now, Project delayed, Wrong time of year |
| Fit | Needs features we don't have, Wrong product for their use case |
| Competition | Chose competitor, Already using another solution |
| Internal | Contact left company, Company changed direction |
| No response | Went silent, Couldn't reach decision maker |
Odoo's AI analyzes your won and lost opportunities to:
Fill out opportunity forms completely. The more data you provide—contact details, expected revenue, lost reasons, notes—the better Odoo can analyze patterns.
Move opportunities through stages consistently. Accurate stage progression helps identify where deals stall or fall through.
Always record lost reasons. Even a quick note provides data points for analysis.
Set a recurring task to review lost deals:
Discuss common objections with your sales team. If "too expensive" keeps coming up, perhaps pricing or value communication needs attention.
Deleting opportunities removes data. Marking as lost preserves it for analysis while keeping your pipeline clean.
Before creating a new opportunity for a returning customer, check if a lost opportunity exists. Restoring maintains the full history of your relationship.
Won and lost opportunities are both valuable data points for improving your sales process. Key takeaways:
Track your wins and losses consistently, and Odoo turns that data into actionable sales intelligence.
Let's discuss how ERP and AI automation can help your business grow.