Businesses rely on customer relationships, and CRM tools are designed to manage and organize those relationships. For a CRM to work the way it’s meant to, the terms inside it need to be clearly understood.
The challenge is that many CRM terms sound similar and often overlap in meaning. Over time, these terms can become overwhelming, even for business owners who have been using CRM tools for years.
This blog breaks down 15 essential CRM terms in a simple, practical order. Whether you’re just getting started or have been using a CRM for a while, this guide is meant to help you understand what these terms actually mean and how they fit together in day-to-day use.
Key Takeaways:
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CRM terminology by stages
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1. Lead
A lead refers to anyone who shows interest in your business. It serves as the foundation on which everything else is built within a CRM database. Businesses collect leads through multiple touchpoints such as ads, website forms, phone calls, referrals, events, or even a simple inquiry.
2. Lead Attribution
Lead attribution explains where a lead came from. In simple CRM terms, it tells you:
Which channel brought the person in
What actually triggered their interest in the first place
Attribution helps teams move away from guesswork when using CRM tools.
3. Contact
A contact is a lead that has been verified as a real, identifiable person worth pursuing. At this stage, the person is no longer just an inquiry, and you choose to move ahead with a real conversation.
4. Account
In CRM terms, an account represents the company or organization your business is engaging with. When a person is acting on behalf of a company, the CRM records separate entries for the individual and the company as a contact and an account.
How these four terms connect - examples:
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5. Segmentation
Segmentation is about grouping people or companies based on what they have in common. When segmentation is done well, it helps you focus attention where it matters and adjust communication instead of treating everyone the same.
6. Marketing-qualified leads (MQL)
An MQL is a lead that shows clear and proactive interest and meets the criteria set by the marketing team. At this stage, they:
Display a strong, noticeable level of interest beyond surface curiosity
Are still not ready for a direct sales conversation
7. Sales-qualified leads (SQL)
An MQL is a lead that shows clear and proactive interest and meets the criteria set by the marketing team. At this stage, they:
Display a strong, noticeable level of interest beyond surface curiosity
Are still not ready for a direct sales conversation
8. BANT
BANT is a framework used to assess whether the buying potential of a sales-qualified lead is real. It employs four key factors:
Budget: Do they have the money to buy?
Authority: Are they involved in the decision-making?
Need: Do they genuinely need your solution? Is the need urgent or exploratory?
Timeline: If they meet the above three factors, when are they likely to buy?
9. Opportunity
An opportunity is created when a lead moves beyond interest and qualification into an active deal stage. Unlike SQL, which signals readiness for sales engagement, an opportunity reflects a deal that is actively being pursued.
How these terms show up — examples:
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10. Sales pipeline
The sales pipeline simply shows where all active, conversion-ready prospects currently stand in the selling process. The pipeline helps teams understand deal movement, spot bottlenecks, and stay informed and aligned.
11. Sales forecast
As the very name suggests, a sales forecast is about estimating how many deals are likely to close within a given period and their potential revenue. A forecast usually:
Draws from historical data, current pipeline, and performance metrics
Helps businesses plan ahead instead of relying on guesswork
Supports decisions around hiring, budgeting, and short-term planning
12. Conversion rate
Conversion rate refers to the percentage of leads that eventually become customers. It is calculated by relating the number of conversions to the total number of leads over a given period.
13. Customer journey
The customer journey refers to the complete path a person takes with your business, from the first point of interaction through becoming a customer and everything that follows as part of customer management.
14. Customer experience
Customer experience refers to how a customer perceives your business through every interaction after they come on board. It is shaped by factors such as:
Responsiveness
Problem resolution
How consistently the customer feels supported over time
15. Customer churn & Customer retention
Customer churn refers to the rate at which customers stop using or unsubscribe within a given period. Customer retention refers to the rate at which customers continue, renew, or return over time. Both are closely tied to the quality of relationship management you deliver.
Conclusion
These CRM terms are not buzzwords. When you look at these terms as a whole, they define how customer management works at every stage of the business. When these definitions are understood clearly, a CRM will no longer feel like a jargon-loaded, alien system.
If you want to experience CRM in a way that doesn’t feel heavy or complicated, RegardsApp.ai is one tool that keeps things clean, easy, and straightforward. Click here for a free trial.
Why we built Regards
I’m bad at staying in touch. Not because I don’t value people. Its a lot of work, and I didn’t have a system. This started as my fix. A quiet assistant that helped me nurture relationships thoughtfully. When people noticed the difference and asked what I was doing, it slowly evolved into a product. And the love has been incredible. Regards, Khuze
