The CRM process is the sequence of steps a person takes from first becoming aware of your product or service to becoming a loyal customer. In most B2B companies, that sequence runs ten steps, from awareness to loyalty.
Thinking about CRM in terms of processes leads to better technology decisions.
CRM Switch defines the customer relationship management process this way:
The steps a person takes, from when they become aware of your product or service to when they or their organization becomes a loyal customer
The vendor sees the whole sequence. A prospect sees only the steps they participate in.
Most organizations run several CRM processes rather than one. New business, renewals, and support each travel their own path through the same CRM system.
Unlike many business processes, which almost always go to completion, a CRM process often stalls or ends abruptly for one reason or another.
A lead or prospect may go dark on a vendor’s salesperson, or a vendor rep may disqualify a prospect when they determine there’s not a fit. Records that neither advance nor close become stagnant leads.
Today, marketing and sales teams work more synergistically than ever, largely because the software merged first. HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zoho have combined the traditionally separate marketing automation and sales force automation functions, and AI-native CRM platforms now treat the full sequence as a single data set.
CRM Process Steps
These are the ten CRM process steps in a typical B2B sequence. The precise steps vary by business.
- Awareness
- Lead
- Marketing Qualified Lead
- Sales Qualified Lead
- Opportunity
- Quote
- Order
- Service
- Re-Order
- Loyalty
Exit Criteria: What Must Be True Before a Record Advances
Most CRM process documentation names the steps and stops there. Far less of it states what must be true before a record advances. Each step below has an exit criterion and a common stall.
| Step | Exit criterion | Common stall |
|---|---|---|
| Awareness | Engagement captured and identifiable | No capture on the page |
| Lead | Contact data recorded in the Lead object | Duplicate records |
| Marketing Qualified Lead | Score clears an agreed threshold | Threshold never agreed with sales |
| Sales Qualified Lead | BANT confirmed in conversation | No access to a decision maker |
| Opportunity | Revenue event likely in a known timeframe | Opened at first conversation |
| Quote | Approved pricing delivered in writing | Verbal number, never documented |
| Order | Quote accepted, delivery details captured | Handoff happens by email |
| Service | Customer reaches first value | Onboarding tracked outside CRM |
| Re-Order | Second purchase placed | No owner after the sale |
| Loyalty | Customer renews, refers, or testifies | Advocacy never recorded |
Awareness
Awareness once happened outside of CRM, with marketing planning and executing campaigns in a separate system. Today’s all-in-one platforms have blurred that line, and these tasks can now be managed in CRM.
- Content planning & execution
- Content calendar
- Social posts & other redistribution
- List & nurture emails
Lead
In B2B, a website visitor who converts by filling out a form, emailing, or calling is considered a ‘Lead’ or an ‘Information Qualified Lead.’ A process or user records this person’s data in the Lead table or object.
Marketing Qualified Lead
When Leads are plentiful, marketing assigns only those deemed ‘Marketing Qualified’ to salespeople. The criteria for what constitutes a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) vary by company, and current lead scoring tools weigh engagement and fit separately.
Sales Qualified Lead (a.k.a. Prospect)
At this stage, the salesperson assigned to an MQL determines whether the Lead is qualified from a sales perspective. Qualification may take multiple outreach attempts and one or more conversations to determine BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing). Qualifying a Lead does not always mean creating an Opportunity in the same step.
Opportunity
A salesperson creates an Opportunity once they have made enough progress with a Prospect and, in a complex sale, with the Prospect’s cohorts, to conclude that a revenue event will occur within a predictable timeframe. Opportunities created too early clog the funnel with low-probability deals.
Quote
A quote is often tied to an Opportunity. Whether that quote is a structured document built from product tables and pricing logic or just a single number depends on the product or service being sold.
Depending on the industry and the complexity of quoting, a CRM system may integrate with a third-party CPQ or quote-to-cash solution.
Order
When a prospect accepts a quote, a user converts that quote into a Sales Order. A CRM Order resembles an Opportunity, but customer operations enrich it with details about product or service delivery. A financial subprocess starts when Order information reaches accounting.
Service
The initial customer service component ranges from shipping a product to an extensive onboarding process, sometimes including on-site installation. Onboarding is a subprocess of the CRM process, and service also covers customer questions, billing issues, and tech support.
Re-Order
Repeat orders from existing customers are easier and less expensive to win than new orders, and the advantage compounds. Ecommerce data from Smile.io puts a customer’s chance of buying again at 27% after one purchase, 49% after two, and 62% after three. Harvard Business Review pegs new customer acquisition at five to 25 times the cost of retention.
Loyalty
Customers who are satisfied with a company’s product or service and value the vendor relationship become loyal customers. These customers make ongoing purchases, provide testimonials, and refer clients.
There is no hard-and-fast rule for the best CRM process, and your process steps may vary from the list above. Defining each step and its exit criteria up front is what makes a CRM software investment pay off.
