Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

A business transaction which describes, stores, updates, and manages the potential interest of (and interaction with) a business partner over a certain timeframe.

Leads are used to qualify a business partner's interest in a particular product or in making a purchase, with the aim of both establishing and then subsequently influencing this interest.

Once a lead has reached a certain status, it can be passed on to "Sales" as decision support for creating an opportunity.