Customer accounts

The Sales Owner starts with the account record: its name, code, contact name, address and standing. An account marked Prospect can be the starting point for a new conversation; an account On Credit Hold deserves a manager check before the team makes a commercial commitment. Contacts identify the person, their role and the account they belong to. The account and contact also carry an organization reference, so work can be kept with the right business.

An account carries customer standing, segment, contact name and potential value. The contact record adds the person’s role and ways to reach them. The Sales Owner checks both before attaching an opportunity, so a later reviewer can tell which buyer and person the conversation concerned.

• Ownership. The named owner keeps the next action current and is responsible for resolving stale work.
• Context. Related records keep the customer, opportunity and organization together so the team can inspect the case before acting.
• Evidence. A date, outcome, decision or receipt helps a colleague understand what actually happened.

Agree who can change account standing, who maintains addresses and how contact details are verified. Decide how the team uses the segment values for sales reporting; they should describe this customer base rather than imply a separate pricing rule. Set a simple rule for duplicate account codes and confirm organization ownership before loading contacts.

Pilot an active account and one on credit hold. The Sales Manager should agree who resolves standing before the Sales Owner advances a conversation. Check that contacts and opportunities belong to the same organization, and that the account name is recognizable in each working view.

A customer asks about a new device and a service plan. The owner locates the account, confirms the contact is active and checks whether that person is a Decision Maker or an Influencer. The owner opens an opportunity only after choosing the right counterparty. If the account is inactive, the manager resolves its standing before the sales owner proceeds.

Before handing over the account, check standing, contact role and organization. A Sales Owner should be able to open the correct opportunity from the buyer context. The Sales Manager should be able to explain why a credit-hold account was paused or cleared without guessing from the opportunity subject.

• Account standing — Show active, prospect and credit-hold accounts with their organization and standing.
• Customer contacts — Find active contacts by account, role and contact details.

See opportunity progress, customer follow-up and the data model for the linked records.