CRM contacts and account structure

Give people, customer organisations and potential sales distinct records, then link them. Decide what each record represents before adding fields or importing data. A colleague should be able to open an account and find its people and open opportunities without guessing which record holds the relationship.

CRM terminology varies. HubSpot uses companies, contacts and deals as default names, although an account may use personalised names for each object. Agree on the business meaning before mapping it to the product’s terms.

Define the account boundary

Decide whether an account represents a registered entity, branch, buying unit or customer group. If head office negotiates a contract while branches place separate orders, the team may need both a group view and distinct branch records. Write down the rule and its exceptions so similar customers are recorded consistently.

Keep the display name separate from the identifier used to recognise a record. An Australian Company Number (ACN) identifies a registered company; an Australian Business Number (ABN) can identify other business types too. Neither number establishes which branch or buying unit your CRM account represents. Check the entity behind a number before using it to match accounts.

Link the right relationships

Connect each opportunity to the account pursuing that purchase, and connect the people involved in that opportunity. A person associated with an account does not necessarily participate in every deal. If a consultant works with several organisations, record those relationships where the CRM supports them rather than creating a duplicate contact for each account.

HubSpot allows a contact to be associated with several companies, but one company is primary. Under its default activity settings, eligible activities logged on the contact are automatically associated with that primary company; settings and activity type can change the result.

Descriptive association labels require a Professional or Enterprise subscription.

Express relationships as associations

A sale can involve several people at the same organisation. HubSpot’s example links one deal to three contact records and their company record, so the deal shows the people connected with that purchase rather than implying every contact at the company is involved.

Associations can also record how people relate to each other. HubSpot supports linking contact records as colleagues or identifying one contact as another’s manager. These links add context without changing what the contact record represents.

In HubSpot, associations work in both directions: if record A is linked to record B, the link is visible from both records. They can connect different record types, such as a deal and a contact, or records of the same type, such as two contacts. Associations are visible on each record’s right-hand sidebar.

Keep activity history in context

An activity can appear in the timelines of associated records, but automatic links depend on the activity type, where it was first logged and which records were already associated. HubSpot lists one-to-one emails, meetings, notes and calls as eligible for automatic association; the records must be linked before the activity is created or logged.

With HubSpot’s default settings, an activity first logged on a contact is associated with that contact’s primary company and its five most recent associated open deals. Open deals are those not in closed-won or closed-lost stages. The link does not mean every activity belongs on every associated record.

For an activity first logged on a company, HubSpot’s default behaviour associates it with the company’s five most recent associated open deals. One-to-one emails and outbound calls made from the company are also associated with the contacts emailed or called.

Set recording rules

Specify who creates each record, when a new opportunity is warranted and how to update a contact who changes employer. Treat a shared email address or familiar company name as a clue requiring review when it does not establish identity. Provide a way to correct an association while retaining useful relationship history.

Before wider use, review an ordinary customer, two separate purchases under one account, a person linked to two organisations and a contact whose role changes during a deal. From each record, check whether a colleague can find the correct customer, people and opportunity.