Using the Sales Module¶

User guide for working with CRM and the sales process. The Sales module provides end-to-end tools for managing customer relationships (CRM) – from the first contact with a potential customer through opportunity handling to deal closure and post-sale care.

Purpose and Scope¶

This documentation covers the full lifecycle of the sales process:

Lead management – recording and qualifying potential customers
Opportunity management – tracking deals from identification to closure
Account management – records of organizations (customers, partners, suppliers)
Contact management – people in collaboration with organizations
Activities – meetings, calls, emails, tasks

Who this guide is for

Intended for sales reps, account managers, sales team leads, and management working with the sales process. For administration, see Sales Administration.

Key Concepts¶

Sales System Architecture¶

flowchart TD
    subgraph LeadMgmt["Lead Management"]
        L[Lead] --> LQ{Qualification}
        LQ -->|Qualified| O[Opportunity]
        LQ -->|Unqualified| LR[Rejected Lead]
    end

    subgraph OpportunityMgmt["Opportunity Management"]
        O --> OS[Opportunity Stages]
        OS --> OW[Won]
        OS --> OL[Lost]
    end

    subgraph AccountMgmt["Account Management"]
        A[Account] --> C[Contact]
        A --> O
        C --> O
    end

    subgraph Activities["Activities"]
        M[Meeting] --> O
        CL[Call] --> O
        E[Email] --> O
        T[Task] --> O
    end

    subgraph Conversion["Conversion"]
        OW --> Q[Quote]
        Q --> SO[Sales Order]
        SO --> I[Invoice]
    end

Core Entities¶

Entity	Purpose	Typical Use
Lead	Potential customer	Unqualified contact
Opportunity	Business case	Qualified sales chance
Account	Company / Account	Customer, partner, supplier
Contact	Person	Contact within an account
Activity	Interaction	Meeting, call, email, task
Quote	Pricing offer	Formal proposal

Sales Process (Pipeline)¶

flowchart LR
    subgraph Stages["Sales Process Stages"]
        F1[Identification] --> F2[Qualification]
        F2 --> F3[Needs Analysis]
        F3 --> F4[Presentation]
        F4 --> F5[Quote]
        F5 --> F6[Negotiation]
        F6 --> F7[Closure]
    end

Stage	Description	Probability	Key Activities
Identification	Find potential customer	10%	Research, cold calling
Qualification	Verify potential	20%	Discovery call, BANT
Needs Analysis	Understand requirements	30%	Meeting, workshop
Presentation	Present solution	50%	Demo, presentation
Quote	Formal price offer	60%	Creating the quote
Negotiation	Negotiating terms	80%	Contract negotiations
Closure	Finalizing the deal	100%	Contract signature

Lead Lifecycle¶

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> New: Creation
    New --> Assigned: Assignment
    Assigned --> InProcess: Work started
    InProcess --> Converted: Converted
    InProcess --> Recycled: Recycled
    Converted --> [*]

    New --> Dead: Rejected
    Assigned --> Dead: Rejected
    InProcess --> Dead: Rejected
    Recycled --> InProcess: Re-contact
    Dead --> [*]

    New: New
    Assigned: Assigned
    InProcess: In Process
    Converted: Converted
    Recycled: Recycled
    Dead: Dead

Status	Description	Action
New	Newly entered lead	Assign to salesperson
Assigned	Assigned to rep	Start contacting
In Process	Actively handled	Qualification, communication
Converted	Converted to opportunity	Create account/contact
Recycled	Deferred for later	Plan re-contact
Dead	Disqualified	Archive

Opportunity Lifecycle¶

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> Prospecting: Creation
    Prospecting --> Qualification: Qualification
    Qualification --> NeedsAnalysis: Needs Analysis
    NeedsAnalysis --> ValueProposition: Value Proposition
    ValueProposition --> Negotiation: Negotiation
    Negotiation --> ClosedWon: Won
    Negotiation --> ClosedLost: Lost
    ClosedWon --> [*]
    ClosedLost --> [*]

    Prospecting: Prospecting
    Qualification: Qualification
    NeedsAnalysis: Needs Analysis
    ValueProposition: Value Proposition
    Negotiation: Negotiation
    ClosedWon: Closed Won
    ClosedLost: Closed Lost

Prerequisites¶

System Requirements¶

Before working with the Sales module, verify:

[x] You have permissions to work with sales records
[x] Sales process stages (pipeline) are configured
[x] Lead types and sources are defined
[x] Assignment rules are configured
[x] Email templates are prepared

Recommended Preparation¶

Before entering a leadBANT qualificationLead scoring

Prepare:

Contact details (name, email, phone)
Company name
Lead source (web form, trade show, referral)
First description of the need

Criterion	Question	Rating
Budget	Does the customer have a budget?	Yes/No/Unknown
Authority	Are we speaking to a decision maker?	Yes/No
Need	Is a specific need identified?	Yes/No
Timeline	Is a timeline defined?	Urgent/Mid-term/Unclear

Factor	Points	Description
Company size	1-5	Small to enterprise
Industry	1-5	Priority segments
Engagement	1-5	Level of engagement
Fit	1-5	ICP fit

Integration with Other Modules¶

Invoicing Module¶

flowchart LR
    O[Opportunity] -->|conversion| Q[Quote]
    Q -->|approval| SO[Sales Order]
    SO -->|billing| I[Invoice]
    A[Account] -->|customer| Q

Quotes – generating quotes from opportunities
Orders – converting quotes to orders
Billing – linked to customer records

Project Module¶

flowchart LR
    O[Opportunity] -->|won| P[Project]
    A[Account] -->|customer| P
    C[Contact] -->|stakeholder| P

Projects – delivery of won opportunities
Customers – shared customer data
Contacts – project stakeholders

Product Module¶

flowchart LR
    P[Product] -->|line item| QI[Quote Item]
    PS[Pricing Strategy] -->|price| QI
    O[Opportunity] -->|products| OP[Opportunity Products]

Products – selecting products into quotes
Pricing – automatically pulled from price lists
Cross-sell – suggestions of complementary products

HR Module¶

flowchart LR
    E[Employee] -->|sales rep| U[User]
    U -->|owner| O[Opportunity]
    U -->|assigned| L[Lead]

Sales reps – linked to employee records
Targets – tracking sales goals
Commissions – commission calculation from deals

User Roles and Permissions¶

Role	Permissions	Typical Tasks
Sales Director	All + reports	Strategy, forecasts
Team Lead	Own team	Team management, pipeline control
Account Manager	Own accounts/opportunities	Customer care, selling
SDR/BDR	Leads	Qualification, acquisition
Marketing	Read + leads	Lead generation, campaigns

Workflows¶

Lead Processing Workflow¶

flowchart TD
    A[New lead] --> B{Duplicate?}
    B -->|Yes| C[Merge]
    B -->|No| D[Assign to salesperson]
    D --> E[First contact < 24h]
    E --> F{Qualified?}
    F -->|No| G{Recycle?}
    G -->|Yes| H[Recycle]
    G -->|No| I[Mark as dead]
    F -->|Yes| J[Convert to opportunity]
    J --> K[Create account/contact]

Opportunity Workflow¶

sequenceDiagram
    participant O as Sales Rep
    participant S as System
    participant Z as Customer
    participant M as Management

    O->>S: Create opportunity
    S->>O: Assign stage
    O->>Z: Discovery call
    O->>S: Update stage
    O->>Z: Presentation/Demo
    O->>S: Update probability
    M->>S: Forecast review
    O->>Z: Send quote
    Z->>O: Feedback
    O->>S: Update to Won/Lost

Daily Workflow for a Sales Rep¶

flowchart TD
    A[Morning overview] --> B[Review today's tasks]
    B --> C[Prioritize activities]
    C --> D[Meetings/Calls]
    D --> E[Log activities]
    E --> F[Update opportunities]
    F --> G[Prepare for tomorrow]
    G --> H[Weekly forecast]

Monthly Sales Close¶

flowchart TD
    A[Month end] --> B[Review pipeline]
    B --> C[Update forecast]
    C --> D[Check stalled deals]
    D --> E[Cleanup dead leads]
    E --> F[Report for management]
    F --> G[Plan next month]

Key Features¶

Pipeline Management¶

Feature	Description
Kanban view	Visual view of opportunities by stage
Weighted pipeline	Weighted value by probability
Stagnation alerts	Alerts for opportunities without activity
Win/Loss analysis	Analysis of win/loss reasons

Forecasting¶

flowchart LR
    subgraph Inputs["Inputs"]
        OP[Opportunities]
        PR[Probabilities]
        VA[Values]
    end

    subgraph Calculation["Calculation"]
        WP[Weighted Pipeline]
        BP[Best Case]
        CP[Commit]
    end

    subgraph Outputs["Outputs"]
        FC[Forecast]
        AC[vs. Actual]
    end

    OP --> WP
    PR --> WP
    VA --> WP
    WP --> FC
    BP --> FC
    CP --> FC
    FC --> AC

Forecast Type	Description	Use
Weighted	Weighted sum by probability	Standard planning
Best case	Optimistic scenario	Upper bound
Commit	Confirmed by salesperson	Committed plan
Closed	Closed deals	Actuals

Activity Tracking¶

Activity Type	Purpose	Automation
Meeting	In-person/online meeting	Calendar sync
Call	Phone contact	VoIP integration
Email	Email communication	Automatic tracking
Task	Follow-up action	Reminders

Automation¶

Function	Trigger	Action
Lead assignment	New lead	Round-robin assignment
Follow-up reminder	No activity X days	Notification to rep
Stage escalation	Too long in a stage	Alert to manager
Win notification	Closed Won	Team email

Handling Common Situations¶

Duplicate Records¶

How to handle duplicate leads or contacts?

flowchart TD
    A[Suspected duplicate] --> B[Search existing]
    B --> C{Found duplicate?}
    C -->|No| D[Continue]
    C -->|Yes| E[Compare records]
    E --> F{Which to keep?}
    F --> G[Merge records]
    G --> H[Move activities and links]
    H --> I[Delete duplicate]

Stagnant Opportunity¶

Process for an opportunity without activity

Identify the cause – why is nothing happening?
Contact the customer – find out the current situation
Update stage/probability – reflect reality
Decide:
Continue with a new plan
Move to "On Hold"
Close as Lost
Document – reason for the decision

Lost Opportunity¶

flowchart TD
    A[Lost opportunity] --> B[Analyze reasons]
    B --> C{Main reason}
    C -->|Price| D[Feedback to product team]
    C -->|Competition| E[Competitive intelligence]
    C -->|Timing| F[Recycle for later]
    C -->|Fit| G[ICP review]
    D --> H[Lessons learned]
    E --> H
    F --> H
    G --> H

Account Handover¶

Best practices when handing over an account

Documentation – complete communication history
Intro meeting – introduce the new account manager
Warm handover – joint meeting with the customer
Follow-up – satisfaction check after 30 days

Section Contents¶

Detailed guides for each function:

Chapter	Description
Lead Management	Recording and qualification of leads
Opportunity Management	Deals and pipeline
Account Management	Customer and partner records
Contact Management	Contact persons
Activities and Communication	Meetings, calls, emails
Sales Process Step by Step	Complete workflow
Reporting and Analytics	KPIs and dashboards
Tips and Recommendations	Best practices

Further Resources¶

Module Administration – Admin guide
Reference – Technical/API docs
Invoicing Module – Quotes and billing
Project Module – Project management

Need help?

For optimizing sales processes or implementing advanced CRM workflows, contact your implementation partner or sales consultant.