Accounts and contacts

An account is the company in the sales relationship. A contact is a person at that company. The sales team can carry both into an opportunity so a manager knows who the conversation is with and which customer organization it concerns. This matters when a brand has several buyers at one retail partner or a repeat shopper has a named account contact. The account can hold a status, segment, address, location and estimated annual potential. The contact can hold a title, ways to reach them and their role in the decision.

The team should agree when a new account is created and who can change its status. For example, a partner that is still being assessed can remain Prospect while its opportunity is qualified. If the account is On Credit Hold, a manager needs to notice that context before interpreting a proposed deal as ready to close. That account status describes the relationship; it does not change an opportunity’s stage on its own.

• Company context. Sales records the account name, code, address, segment and current standing before assigning open work.
• Named people. Contacts sit under an account. A contact’s decision role helps the owner prepare the next conversation without treating every email address as the buyer.
• Opportunity link. The owner connects the opportunity to its account and can choose a primary contact. The opportunity then carries the expected value, date and next step.

Decide whether accounts represent individual customers, business buyers or channel partners. Use one definition consistently when matching imported customers. Agree who can set On Credit Hold and how sales will interpret it. Define how the team records a primary contact when a deal has several people involved. Keep contact details current through the named owner rather than duplicating them in a free-text next step.

Take a brand buyer discussing a new product range. The Sales Representative finds the existing account, confirms its status and creates a contact for the buyer if one is needed. The opportunity points to that account and selects the buyer as its primary contact. A second person can stay on the account as another contact without pretending the record has a buying-committee workflow. The Sales Manager can open the opportunity and see the account’s status beside the deal context before reviewing the expected close date.

During rehearsal, change the account’s contact name or primary contact and make sure the owner still knows which person is responsible for the next conversation. Check an inactive contact before sending a proposal-related email activity. The activity should remain tied to the opportunity so the reason for the contact is clear.

• My Open Opportunities — The owner sees account, close date, value and stage for assigned deals.
• Open Opportunity Board — The manager scans active deal stages and opens the related account when a decision needs context.

Start with opportunity qualification, then use the opportunity outcome to see how the relationship and deal stay connected.