🛤️ How to Customize Contact Stages in Atom
"Contact Stages" are the steps a customer goes through from when they meet you until they buy from you (your sales funnel). In this guide, we'll teach you how to adapt these steps so they fit perfectly with the way your business works.
📋 Before You Start
Make sure you meet these two simple requirements:
Have an Administrator role in your Atom account.
Have permission enabled to edit the My Company section.
⚠️ Warning: If you don't have these permissions, Atom will automatically take you back to your message inbox to protect company settings.
⚙️ Steps to Configure Your Stages
Step 1: Find the Section
Go to the left sidebar menu, click on My Company and then select Contact Stages.
Step 2: Get to Know Your Stages Table
When you enter, you'll see a table with a list of your current stages. Here we explain what each column means in simple terms:
Column | What does it mean? |
Stage Name in Atom | It's the original name given by the system (this cannot be changed). |
Custom Name | It's the name you choose and what your entire team will see when working. |
Associated CAPI Event | It's used to notify Facebook/Meta when you make a sale or get a new contact. |
Type | It tells you if the stage came by default in Atom or if you created it (Custom). |
Status | It indicates whether the stage is Active or Deactivated. |
Actions | The buttons to edit or turn off a stage. |
Note: Atom always includes 6 basic stages to get started (Awareness, Lead, MQL, SQL, Opportunity, Customer).
Step 3: Change the Name of a Stage
Click directly on the Custom Name box of the stage you want to change, type the new name (you have up to 25 letters) and click Save.
Heads up: You can't repeat names. Each stage must have a different name.
Step 4: Connect the Stage with Meta/Facebook (Optional)
If you run ads on Facebook or Instagram, this might interest you. You can link a stage in Atom with a "CAPI Event". This simply means you'll notify Meta when a customer does something important.
Click on the selector in the CAPI Event column.
Choose the action that best fits. Examples: Choose "Lead" if the customer left their information, or "Purchase" if the customer already bought from you.
Step 5: Create a New Stage from Scratch
Go to the end of the table and click the + Add Stage button. Type the name of your new stage, connect it to Facebook if you'd like, and click Save.
Heads up: You can have up to 15 active stages at the same time. If you reach the limit, the button will be grayed out.
Step 6: Order Your Stages
To change the order, click and hold the dots icon (⠿) on the left side of the stage. Drag it up or down to the place you want it and release. Don't forget to click Save. The order you set here is exactly what your team will see when helping customers.
Step 7: Turn Off a Stage You No Longer Use
You can only turn off (deactivate) stages that you created yourself; the 6 basic Atom stages cannot be turned off.
In the Actions column, click the three dots (⋮) for the stage you no longer want to use.
Select Deactivate.
You'll see a warning window that tells you how many customers this affects. If you're sure, confirm and click Save.
💡 Key Information: Turning off a stage doesn't delete it permanently and doesn't damage your customer chats. Customers who were in that stage will stay there until an agent moves them to a new stage.
💡 Useful Atom Tips
Always save: If you try to change screens without saving, we'll show you a warning window so you don't lose your work.
Read the warnings: Before turning off a stage, read the warning window to see if that step is being used in any of your bot's automated responses.
Speak clearly: Use names that your team understands perfectly (e.g., "Interested Client", "Sale Closed"). Avoid using strange abbreviations so no one gets confused while working.
🚨 Troubleshooting Common Issues
❓ I can't find the "Contact Stages" option in the menu
This means you don't have the necessary permission. Ask the person who manages Atom in your company to enable the "Edit" permission for you in the "My Company" section.
❓ I want to choose a Facebook option (CAPI Event), but it won't let me click
You already assigned that action to another stage. Find it in your table, remove it from the previous stage, and then assign it to the new one.
❓ The "+ Add Stage" button is grayed out and doesn't work
You've reached the maximum limit of 15 stages. To add a new one, you must first deactivate one you no longer use.
❓ I turned off a stage, but some customers still have it
This is completely normal. The system doesn't move customers automatically for safety reasons. The stage will no longer appear in your new options, but the customer will keep that label until you or your team move them to a different stage.
➡️ Next Steps
Now that your stages are configured to your liking, you can:
Use the filters in your message inbox to search for customers in a specific stage.
Configure your bot (FlowBuilder) to do automatic things when a customer reaches a certain stage.
Review your reports to see how many sales you made.
Take control of your sales process! 🚀
Adapting contact steps to match your business reality is key to getting your team to work faster, more organized, and without confusion. Remember to use super clear names, keep your list organized, and take advantage of the Facebook connection to measure all your successes. Organize your funnel your way and get ready to see your customers grow! ✅