Leads, Contacts, Accounts, and Deals Explained: The Foundation of Zoho CRM
If you are new to Zoho CRM — or CRM systems in general — understanding leads, contacts, accounts, and deals is the single most important thing you can learn.
This structure is the foundation of almost every modern CRM, including Zoho CRM. And yet, it’s also where most businesses make costly mistakes that later force them to rebuild their system.
In this session, I’ll explain:
What each module actually represents
Why these modules exist
How they are supposed to work together as one system, not as disconnected parts
And why getting the relationships wrong creates reporting, automation, and revenue problems later
This is a short lesson — but it’s one of the most important ones in this entire mini-series.
Quick Intro (In Case This Is the First Thing You’re Reading)
My name is Lior Izik.
I’m a business automation specialist and the founder of Amazing Business Results.We’re a premium Zoho partner, supporting small and medium-sized businesses since 2013, with offices in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
We are the number one Zoho Partner globally by five-star reviews, with multiple industry awards, an A+ BBB rating, and over 2,000 successful CRM implementations.
The Four Core CRM Modules (At a High Level)
Inside Zoho CRM, you’ll always see these four modules on the left:
Leads
Contacts
Accounts
Deals
They are not interchangeable. Each one has a very specific role.
Understanding this properly will save you months of cleanup work later.
What Is a Lead in Zoho CRM?
A lead is an unqualified relationship.
That’s it.
A lead can come from:
Your website
A phone call
Email
Trade shows
Social media
YouTube
Referrals
At this stage:
You don’t know if they are a good fit
You haven’t qualified budget, intent, or timing
You’re not yet sure there’s a real opportunity
Leads exist only for qualification.
Once a lead is qualified, it should never stay a lead.
What Happens When a Lead Is Converted?
When a lead is qualified, it gets converted.
Conversion creates up to three things at once:
Contact – the person
Account – the company (B2B only)
Deal – the sales opportunity
Example (B2B)
Lead: Christopher Smith from ABC Corp
Contact: Christopher Smith
Account: ABC Corp
Deal: Consulting Project for ABC Corp
Zoho CRM does this automatically when conversion is done correctly.
This relationship is critical — and this is where most CRM mistakes happen.
What Is a Contact?
A contact is a person you already know and have qualified.
Think of contacts like a smart phone book:
Customers
Partners
Vendors
Referrals
A person should exist only once in your CRM — either as a lead or as a contact, never both.
If someone is already a contact:
They do not become a lead again
New sales opportunities are created as new deals, not new leads
What Is an Account?
An account is a company.
Accounts are used mainly in B2B environments.
If you sell only to individuals (B2C):
You usually don’t need accounts
The account module can often be removed entirely
Example:
Contact: Lior Izik
Account: Amazing Business Results
Contacts and accounts work together to create deals.
What Is a Deal?
A deal represents a revenue opportunity.
Deals answer questions like:
What are we selling?
How much is it worth?
What stage is it in?
When do we expect to close?
One contact (or account) can have:
Multiple deals
Past deals
Active deals
Future opportunities
This is completely normal — and expected.
B2B vs B2C: The Structure Changes Slightly
B2B Example
Lead → Contact + Account + Deal
One account can have:
Multiple contacts
Multiple deals
B2C Example (Real Estate, Coaching, Medical, etc.)
Lead → Contact + Deal
No account needed.
If you understand this distinction, you’re already ahead of most CRM users.
Existing Contacts and New Deals (Very Important)
Leads are only for new, unqualified people.
Once someone is a contact:
They stay a contact forever
New opportunities are created as new deals, not new leads
In reality:
One contact can have many deals
One account can have many deals
Reporting depends on this structure
Getting this wrong creates:
Duplicate records
Broken automations
Inaccurate revenue reports
Painful CRM rebuilds
Why This Structure Matters So Much
If people exist in multiple modules incorrectly:
You lose visibility
You can’t automate properly
Reporting becomes unreliable
Scaling becomes expensive
CRM mistakes are not fun — and they are very expensive to fix later.
Final Takeaway
Leads, contacts, accounts, and deals are not just labels.
They are a relationship system.
Once you understand how they work together:
Zoho CRM becomes simpler
Automations make sense
Reports become accurate
Sales processes scale properly
This session is foundational — and everything else builds on it.
What’s Next in the Series?
In the next session, we’ll cover:
The right way to start with the Zoho CRM lead system
When leads should be converted
Why bad lead management breaks pipelines and reporting
If you’re new to Zoho CRM, I strongly recommend watching (or reading) this series in order.