Customer relationship management, or CRM, is a software system designed to track potential customer interactions and help manage the sales process. There are a number of players in the CRM space, but the two most robust offerings are Dynamics CRM and Salesforce. The key to their success is the ability to automate and customize the entire process. This article focuses on the opportunity.
Opportunities are not leads. This is an important distinction. Leads are contacts (people) or accounts (businesses) that are on your radar. Perhaps they dropped their cards in your fishbowl at a trade show, or maybe you’ve purchased a mailing list of specific customer types. Leads are non-qualified. A specific quote has not been given, and you’re not totally sure they even need your service. Lead management will be discussed in detail in an upcoming article. For now, let’s focus on the opportunity.