How to build a permission pipeline from first contact to relationship?

A permission pipeline moves contacts from cold outreach to consented relationships through deliberate stages.

Pipeline stages:

Cold contact: Initial outreach, no prior relationship

Engaged prospect: Responded to outreach, exploring fit

Active conversation: Ongoing dialogue about potential relationship

Consented contact: Explicit permission for ongoing communication

Customer relationship: Business relationship with appropriate permissions

Progression requirements:

Each stage requires positive action from the contact

Consent is obtained explicitly, not assumed

Value is delivered at each stage

Pace is set by the contact, not imposed

Documentation through pipeline:

Track current stage for each contact

Log actions that triggered progression

Record consent moments with timestamps

Maintain history of the relationship

Best practices:

Don't skip stages

Respect contacts who don't progress

Different communication appropriate at each stage

Regular review of stalled contacts

Permission pipelines build genuine relationships rather than forcing contacts through a funnel.