An Opportunity is a specific deal — a chance to sell something to a customer (or a lead). Where Customers represent relationships, Opportunities represent the money moving through them.
Adding an opportunity to a lead advances it. The lead moves into the Opportunity stage. Win it (Closed-Won) and convert, and the lead becomes a Customer.
What an opportunity carries
- Name — a short label (“Annual renewal”, “Pilot — warehouse module”).
- Amount — expected value of the deal.
- Expected close date — when you think it'll land.
- Stage — where the deal is in your process, through to Closed-Won or Closed-Lost.
- Parent — the customer or lead this deal is for.
- Notes — what's blocking, who's championing, expected discount.
Why opportunities are separate from customers
A customer can have many deals over many years — a renewal, an upsell, a services engagement. Each gets its own line so the timeline stays intact:
- Multiple in flight — several open at once, each with its own amount and date.
- Historical record — Closed-Won and Closed-Lost stay attached, giving you a win/loss history.
- Forecasting — sum open amounts by stage to project the quarter.
Winning and converting
When you win, set the opportunity to Closed-Won, then use Convert to Customer on the lead — a customer record is created and the lead is marked converted. See the funnel.
Tips
- Set a close date even if it's a guess — an empty date hurts forecasting more than a rough one.
- Use Amount consistently (always ARR, or always one-time) so totals mean something.
- Close as Won or Lost rather than deleting — the win/loss record is one of the most useful things your CRM produces.