Contacts vs organizations - when to use each
How to decide whether information belongs on a contact, an organization, or a deal.
Contacts are people. Organizations are companies. Deals are opportunities. Using all three correctly keeps Teamopipe clean as your relationships grow.
Use contacts for people
Name, email, phone, job title, preferred contact method. Example: Maria Jones is the marketing manager you email about a redesign — Maria is the contact.
Use organizations for companies
Company name, website, industry, company size, account tier. Example: Acme Corp is where Maria works. If you also talk to the CEO and finance manager at Acme, all three contacts belong to the same organization.
Use deals for opportunities
Deal value, stage, close date, proposal status, lost reason, project scope. Example: Acme Corp - Website Redesign is the deal, with Maria, her CEO, and finance manager all linked.
A simple rule
Ask: will this information change if the person changes jobs? If yes — contact. If no — organization. If it only applies to one opportunity — deal.