Clear definitions of customer relationship management, sales pipeline, leads, opportunities, dashboards and other terminology used in modern CRM systems.
Select a term to expand its definition. These definitions cover common CRM, sales and customer-management concepts and terminology used throughout SoftEXIT CRM.
A CRM record representing a company, organization or other business entity with which your organization has a relationship. Accounts can connect related contacts, opportunities and activities.
A recorded customer or sales interaction such as a call, meeting, email, follow-up or other action associated with CRM records.
The chronological record of interactions and actions associated with a customer, contact, opportunity or other CRM record.
An individual person associated with a company, prospect, customer or other organization. Contact records typically store information such as name, title, email and phone number.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the practice and software used to organize customer information, sales activity, opportunities, communications and ongoing relationships in one connected system.
A visual summary of important CRM information. Dashboards can display sales activity, pipeline information, opportunities, KPIs and other information that helps users understand what needs attention.
The structure used to organize CRM information and relationships. A CRM data model commonly connects companies, contacts, leads, opportunities, activities and other business records.
A person or organization that purchases or uses a company’s products or services. In a CRM, customer information is typically connected to contacts, activities, opportunities and service records.
The processes used to manage customer questions, requests, issues and ongoing service interactions after or alongside the sales process.
The strategy and technology used to manage relationships with prospects and customers. CRM systems centralize customer information and help teams manage sales, communication and customer activity.
A consolidated view of information related to a customer, bringing together connected records such as contacts, opportunities, activities and customer care information.
A common CRM term for a potential sale. In SoftEXIT CRM, a potential sale is generally represented as an opportunity.
A planned action taken after an interaction with a prospect or customer, such as making a call, scheduling a meeting or checking on a proposal.
A visual board that organizes records into columns based on status or stage. In sales, a Kanban-style board can make it easy to see opportunities as they move through a pipeline.
A measurable value used to evaluate performance against a business objective. CRM KPIs may include pipeline value, opportunity count, conversion rates or sales activity.
A person or organization that may become a customer but has not yet been qualified or converted into the appropriate CRM customer and contact records.
The process of turning a qualified lead into the CRM records used for an active relationship, such as a company, contact or sales opportunity.
The process of capturing, organizing, qualifying, following up with and converting prospective customers.
A personalized CRM dashboard that presents information most relevant to the individual salesperson or user.
A personalized CRM view that helps a user focus on companies associated with their work and navigate related information.
A potential sale being actively pursued. Opportunity records commonly track information such as the customer, value, stage, expected timing and related sales activity.
The process of tracking and managing potential sales from qualification through the stages of the sales process toward a win or loss.
A defined step in the sales process that indicates where an opportunity currently stands, such as qualification, proposal or negotiation.
The collection of active sales opportunities being worked by a salesperson or organization, often organized by stage.
The process of reviewing, prioritizing and advancing opportunities through the stages of the sales process.
The combined monetary value of opportunities in a sales pipeline. Organizations may analyze total pipeline value or break it down by stage, salesperson or other criteria.
A potential customer that may be a target for sales activity. Depending on an organization’s process, a prospect may be represented as a lead, company, contact or related CRM record.
Work performed as part of the sales process, such as calls, meetings, follow-ups and other interactions with leads, contacts or customers.
A dashboard focused on sales performance and workload, such as opportunities, pipeline, activity, KPIs and items requiring attention.
An estimate of expected future sales based on information such as open opportunities, stages, expected close dates and sales judgment.
A conceptual representation of how a larger group of potential customers narrows as prospects progress toward becoming customers.
A structured view of active sales opportunities as they progress through defined stages of the sales process.
The sequence of activities and stages an organization uses to move a potential customer from initial interest toward a completed sale.
A step used to categorize the progress of an opportunity within the sales pipeline.
A personalized dashboard that gives an individual salesperson visibility into their opportunities, activities, pipeline and other relevant CRM information.
A specific action that needs to be completed, often associated with a customer, contact, opportunity or other CRM record.
The final outcome of a sales opportunity. A won opportunity resulted in a successful sale, while a lost opportunity did not.
SoftEXIT CRM brings companies, contacts, opportunities, activities, dashboards and customer care together in one connected system built on SoftEXIT Studio.