Core Domain Concepts & Structural Topology

The structure of the CRM domain is built around three integrated models: the relationship hierarchy, the multi-pipeline sales topology, and the support desk topology. Together they define how prospects, customers, opportunities, and service requests are organized, tracked, and resolved.

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1. Relationship Hierarchy Tree

The relationship hierarchy models the organizational structure of commercial relationships, from the corporate account down to individual touchpoints.

Corporate Account (Organization)
├── Account Locations / Branches
├── Key Stakeholders
│   ├── Decision Maker
│   ├── Influencer
│   ├── Evaluator
│   └── End User
├── Contact Persons (Unified Contacts)
│   ├── Primary Email / Phone
│   ├── Persona
│   └── Consent & Privacy Flags
└── Touchpoint History
    ├── Calls
    ├── Emails
    ├── Meetings
    ├── Notes
    ├── Tasks
    ├── Support Tickets
    └── Campaign Responses

Account Hierarchy Levels

Level	Description	Examples
Parent Account	The ultimate controlling organization at the top of a corporate hierarchy.	Global headquarters, holding company.
Subsidiary Account	A child organization under a parent account with its own deals and contacts.	Regional branch, division, franchisee.
Account Location	A physical or billing address associated with an account.	Head office, warehouse, delivery site.

Contact Roles & Personas

Persona	Definition	Typical Responsibilities
Decision Maker	Person with final authority to approve purchase.	Budget owner, C-level executive, VP.
Influencer	Person who shapes the buying decision without final authority.	Technical lead, consultant, department head.
Evaluator	Person who assesses product fit against requirements.	Procurement analyst, engineer, QA lead.
End User	Person who will use the product or service.	Operator, clerk, field technician.
Champion	Internal advocate who promotes the solution within the account.	Sponsor, project manager.

Buying Center

A Buying Center is the complete set of stakeholders involved in a specific purchase decision. A deal should map contacts to their roles within the buying center to ensure engagement coverage.

Deal
├── Account
├── Buying Center
│   ├── Decision Maker: Contact A
│   ├── Champion: Contact B
│   ├── Influencer: Contact C
│   └── Evaluator: Contact D
└── Activity Stream
    └── All touchpoints related to this deal

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2. Multi-Pipeline Sales Topology

A pipeline is a structured sales process. Organizations may operate multiple pipelines for different business lines, geographies, or customer segments. Each pipeline contains linear stages with defined probabilities.

CRM Pipeline Topology
├── Pipeline: Enterprise Software
│   ├── Stage 1: Prospecting (10%)
│   ├── Stage 2: Discovery (25%)
│   ├── Stage 3: Solution Design (40%)
│   ├── Stage 4: Proposal Sent (60%)
│   ├── Stage 5: Negotiation (80%)
│   ├── Stage 6: Closed-Won (100%)
│   └── Stage 7: Closed-Lost (0%)
├── Pipeline: SMB Self-Service
│   ├── Stage 1: Trial Started (20%)
│   ├── Stage 2: Activated (50%)
│   ├── Stage 3: Quote Requested (70%)
│   ├── Stage 4: Closed-Won (100%)
│   └── Stage 5: Closed-Lost (0%)
└── Pipeline: Renewal / Expansion
    ├── Stage 1: At Risk (30%)
    ├── Stage 2: Engagement (60%)
    ├── Stage 3: Renewal Sent (80%)
    ├── Stage 4: Closed-Renewed (100%)
    └── Stage 5: Churned (0%)

Pipeline Stage Attributes

Attribute	Purpose
Stage Name	Human-readable label for the pipeline step.
Stage Order	Numeric position within the pipeline sequence.
Win Probability	Forecast weight applied to deals in this stage.
Forecast Category	Rollup grouping for management reporting.
Required Activities	Activities that should be completed before advancing (e.g., discovery call, proposal sent).
Entry / Exit Criteria	Conditions that define when a deal may enter or leave the stage.
Rotting Days	Maximum days allowed in stage before a stale-deal alert is triggered.

Forecast Calculation

Weighted forecast value is calculated per deal and aggregated per pipeline, stage, and owner:

$$ \text{Weighted Value} = \text{Deal Value} \times \text{Win Probability} $$

$$ \text{Pipeline Forecast} = \sum_{i=1}^{n} \text{Weighted Value}_i $$

Deals in Closed-Won contribute 100% of value to realized revenue; Closed-Lost contribute 0%.

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3. Support Desk Topology

The support desk topology structures how customer service requests are received, classified, routed, and resolved under service level agreements.

Support Desk Topology
├── Service Level Agreement (SLA)
│   ├── Business Hours Calendar
│   ├── Priority Matrix
│   │   ├── Critical: 1 hour response / 4 hours resolution
│   │   ├── High: 4 hours response / 1 business day resolution
│   │   ├── Medium: 8 hours response / 3 business days resolution
│   │   └── Low: 1 business day response / 5 business days resolution
│   └── Escalation Rules
├── Ticket Queue
│   ├── Tier 1 Support
│   ├── Tier 2 Technical
│   ├── Billing Queue
│   └── Partner Support
└── Ticket
    ├── Requester (Contact)
    ├── Related Account
    ├── Related Deal / Order (optional)
    ├── Priority
    ├── SLA Target
    ├── Assignee
    ├── Status
    └── Activity History

Priority Matrix

Priority	Typical Definition	First Response Target	Resolution Target
Critical	Production outage, severe business impact, multiple users affected.	1 hour	4 hours
High	Significant issue affecting key operations or a major customer.	4 hours	1 business day
Medium	Partial functionality issue with workaround available.	8 hours	3 business days
Low	General question, enhancement request, or minor issue.	1 business day	5 business days

SLA Timer Rules

• SLA timers run only during defined business hours for the assigned calendar.
• Paused states (e.g., awaiting customer response) freeze the SLA timer until the customer replies.
• Breach is calculated when elapsed operational time exceeds the target.
• Escalation rules trigger at defined percentages of SLA target (e.g., 75% warning, 100% breach, 150% executive escalation).

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4. Activity & Touchpoint Model

Every interaction with a contact or account is recorded as a touchpoint. Touchpoints provide the unified activity stream that connects leads, deals, accounts, contacts, and tickets.

Touchpoint Type	Description
Call	Voice interaction with outcome (no answer, voicemail, connected, scheduled).
Email	Sent or received email linked to a contact or account.
Meeting	Scheduled appointment with participants and notes.
Note	Free-text record of an interaction or observation.
Task	Follow-up action assigned to a user with due date.
Chat Transcript	Conversation record from messaging or chat engagement tools.
Support Ticket	Service request with full resolution history.
Campaign Response	Engagement with a marketing campaign (open, click, form fill).

Touchpoint Attribution

Each touchpoint is linked to one or more CRM entities:

Touchpoint
├── Contact (required)
├── Account (optional)
├── Lead (optional, before conversion)
├── Deal (optional)
├── Ticket (optional)
├── Campaign (optional)
└── Owner / Agent

This structure enables complete relationship history without fragmenting data across disconnected records.