Core components: Leads (unqualified prospects), Accounts (companies), Contacts (individuals), Opportunities (deals in progress), Activities (calls/emails/meetings), Products & Price Books, Quotes, Forecasting, Territory Management, Einstein AI | Pipeline management: visual stage-by-stage deal tracking | Automation: Flows, Assignment Rules, Approval Processes | Integration: email clients, calendar, marketing automation, ERP | Reporting: dashboards for pipeline, forecast, activity metrics

Lead object: FirstName, LastName, Company, Email, Phone, LeadSource, Status, Rating, Industry | Lead Status picklist: New, Working, Nurturing, Qualified, Unqualified, Converted | Lead Source: tracks origin (Web, Referral, Event, Cold Call, LinkedIn) | Conversion: Lead → Account + Contact + Opportunity (optional) | Lead Assignment: Assignment Rules route to correct rep/queue | Web-to-Lead: auto-creates leads from website forms | Lead scoring: Einstein Lead Scoring ranks by conversion likelihood

Conversion creates: Account (new or merge with existing), Contact (linked to Account), Opportunity (optional — if deal initiated) | Fields mapping: Lead fields map to Account/Contact/Opportunity fields (configurable in Setup → Lead Settings) | Converted status: Lead.IsConverted=true, Lead.ConvertedDate set | Custom field mapping: custom Lead fields must be manually mapped | Duplicate detection: Salesforce checks for matching Account/Contact before creating new | Converted leads: not visible in standard Lead views, reportable via custom reports

Lead: separate object, no Account required, represents unqualified interest, has Lead Status/Rating/Source | Contact: child of Account (required), represents qualified known individual, has Role on Opportunity | When to use Lead: first touch — unknown company, cold outreach, event badge scan, website form | When to use Contact: existing account relationship, known company employee, partner contact | Reporting difference: Lead reports for marketing/SDR metrics; Contact reports for AE/account metrics | Hybrid: some orgs skip Leads entirely (convert everything immediately)

Opportunity key fields: Name, AccountId, Amount, CloseDate, StageName, Probability (auto from Stage), Type, LeadSource, ForecastCategory | Stage lifecycle: Prospecting → Qualification → Needs Analysis → Value Proposition → Id. Decision Makers → Perception Analysis → Proposal/Price Quote → Negotiation/Review → Closed Won/Lost | Amount × Probability = Weighted Amount (used in forecasting) | Primary Campaign Source: marketing attribution | Opportunity Team: multiple reps on one deal

Setup: Setup → Sales Processes → create → select Stage values → assign to Record Type | Multiple processes: Enterprise Sales (longer stages), SMB Sales (shorter), Renewal (different stages), Partner (co-sell stages) | Stage-Probability mapping: each stage has default probability | Process-Record Type: one Sales Process per Record Type | Why needed: enterprise deals have different stages than SMB; renewal is different from new business | Stage field controls: what Forecast Category each stage maps to

Setup: Setup → Web-to-Lead → enable → generate HTML → embed on website | Fields: choose which Lead fields to capture | Limit: 500 leads/day per org (standard), increase via Salesforce support | Auto-response: email template sent to lead on submission | Assignment: Assignment Rules trigger on Web-to-Lead creation | reCAPTCHA: available to prevent spam | Redirect: custom thank you page after submission | Alternative: Salesforce Forms, Experience Cloud, third-party form tools (Formstack, Pardot forms)

Stage-Probability-ForecastCategory mapping: Prospecting (10%, Pipeline), Qualification (20%, Pipeline), Proposal (60%, Best Case), Negotiation (80%, Commit), Closed Won (100%, Closed Won), Closed Lost (0%, Omitted) | Probability: auto-populates from Stage (overridable) | Forecast Category: Pipeline, Best Case, Commit, Most Likely, Closed (determines forecast roll-up) | Stage history: stored in OpportunityHistory object for conversion analysis | Velocity: time spent in each stage — identifies bottlenecks

OpportunityLineItem fields: OpportunityId, Product2Id, PricebookEntryId, Quantity, UnitPrice, Discount, TotalPrice, ServiceDate | Price Book: must select Price Book on Opportunity before adding products | Standard Price Book: default prices | Custom Price Books: regional or segment pricing | Product2: catalog product | PricebookEntry: product+pricebook combination with list price | Schedule: payment/delivery schedule per line item | Required: Opportunity must have Price Book selected before adding products

Pricebook2 object: Name, IsActive, IsStandard | PricebookEntry: links Product2 to Pricebook2 with UnitPrice | Standard Price Book: one per org, default prices for all products | Custom Price Books: Enterprise, Partner, Government, Regional | Opportunity Price Book: one Price Book per Opportunity (set at creation) | Multi-currency: PricebookEntry has CurrencyIsoCode | CPQ: extends Price Books with discount schedules and pricing rules | Access: Profile/Sharing controls which Price Books a rep sees

OpportunityTeamMember object: OpportunityId, UserId, TeamMemberRole, OpportunityAccessLevel (Read/Edit) | Roles: Account Executive (deal owner), Solution Engineer (technical), Sales Manager (oversight), BDR/SDR (lead source), Legal (contract review) | Access: Read Only or Read/Write per member | Default Teams: pre-configured team templates applied automatically | Notification: members notified when added | Sharing: team members get Opportunity access regardless of sharing settings | Split: Opportunity Splits allow credit attribution per team member

Activity objects: Task (to-do with due date, priority, status), Event (calendar event with start/end time, participants) | Related to: any object (Account, Contact, Lead, Opportunity, Case) | Logging: manual or automatic (Einstein Activity Capture, Inbox) | Activity History: completed activities on record | Open Activities: pending tasks and upcoming events | Email: logged as Task or EmailMessage | Call: logged as Task with call notes | Einstein Activity Capture: auto-syncs Gmail/Outlook to Salesforce | Mobile: log activities from Salesforce mobile app

Task: WhoId (Contact/Lead), WhatId (Opportunity/Account), Subject, DueDate, Priority, Status (Not Started/In Progress/Completed), ActivityDate | Event: WhoId, WhatId, Subject, StartDateTime, EndDateTime, Location, IsAllDayEvent | Recurring: both support recurrence | Invitation: Events can have multiple invitees (EventRelation) | Calendar: Events show on Salesforce calendar; Tasks show in task list | Open vs Closed: Tasks: Open (not done) vs Closed (done); Events: all events are closed once passed | Email: logged as Task (or EmailMessage)

Account fields: Name, Type (Prospect/Customer/Partner/Competitor), Industry, AnnualRevenue, NumberOfEmployees, BillingAddress, Website, OwnerId, ParentId | Account Hierarchy: ParentId creates parent-child account tree (Global HQ → Regional → Local) | Person Account: individual consumer accounts (B2C use case) | Account Team: multiple users with roles | Account Plan: custom object for strategic account planning | 360 View: all related Contacts, Opportunities, Cases, Activities visible | Record Types: Commercial, Enterprise, Government, Partner

Contact fields: FirstName, LastName, AccountId, Title, Department, Email, Phone, LeadSource, ReportsToId (manager hierarchy) | Contact Roles: role on Opportunity (Decision Maker, Champion, Influencer, Economic Buyer, Technical Buyer) | Multiple Accounts: Contact can relate to multiple Accounts (Account Contact Relationship object) | Campaign Member: Contact linked to Campaign for marketing attribution | Contact hierarchy: ReportsToId enables org chart view | Merge: duplicate Contacts can be merged

OpportunityContactRole object: OpportunityId, ContactId, Role, IsPrimary | Roles: Decision Maker, Economic Buyer, Technical Buyer, Champion, Influencer, End User, Evaluator | Primary contact: one marked IsPrimary per Opportunity | Multiple contacts: complex enterprise deals have multiple stakeholders | Reporting: win rate by contact role present in deal | Validation: require Decision Maker contact role before advancing stage | Best practice: map entire buying committee, not just primary contact

Campaign fields: Name, Type (Email/Event/Webinar/Direct Mail/Social), Status (Planned/Active/Completed/Aborted), StartDate, EndDate, BudgetedCost, ActualCost, ExpectedRevenue, NumberSent | Campaign Member: Lead or Contact linked to Campaign with Status (Sent, Opened, Responded, Converted) | Primary Campaign Source: field on Lead/Opportunity tracking originating campaign | Campaign Hierarchy: parent-child campaigns (Q4 Campaign → October Email → November Event) | ROI: (ActualRevenue - ActualCost) / ActualCost × 100

Einstein Lead Scoring: ML model trained on converted vs non-converted leads | Score: 1-99 (higher = more likely to convert) | Score factors: fields and signals that correlate with conversion (company size, industry, lead source, email engagement, web activity) | Insights: reasons for score shown to reps | Tier: High, Medium, Low score tiers | Setup: Einstein Sales → Lead Scoring → enable → train model (needs 1,000+ leads) | Refresh: model retrains periodically | Integration: score visible on Lead list views and record page

Einstein features: Lead Scoring (conversion likelihood), Opportunity Scoring (win likelihood), Activity Capture (auto-log emails/calendar), Deal Insights (flag at-risk opportunities), Conversation Insights (call transcription + coaching), Next Best Action (prescriptive rep guidance), Forecasting AI (accurate forecast predictions), Account Insights (news and events on accounts) | License: Einstein for Sales license (separate cost) | Data requirements: each feature needs sufficient historical data | ROI: typical 20-35% win rate improvement

Sales Cloud focus: revenue acquisition (Leads, Opportunities, Forecasting, Quotes, Territory Management, Einstein Sales) | Service Cloud focus: customer retention (Cases, Knowledge, Entitlements, Omni-Channel, Einstein Service) | Shared objects: Account, Contact, Activity, Reports/Dashboards | License: separate licenses (Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, or combined CRM Suite) | Integration: customer buys via Sales Cloud → issues resolved via Service Cloud → complete 360 view | Combined value: sales rep sees open cases during renewal conversation

Setup: Setup → Lead Assignment Rules → one active rule → multiple rule entries | Criteria: any Lead field (State, Industry, Company Size, Lead Source) | Assignee: User or Queue | Order: evaluated top-to-bottom, first match wins | Email notification: template sent to new owner | Checkbox on Lead: "Assign using active assignment rules" must be checked (or auto on Web-to-Lead) | Round-robin: not native — requires Apex or third-party app | Default: last rule entry catches all unmatched leads

Queue features: leads visible to all queue members, rep clicks Accept to take ownership | List View: reps work from queue-filtered list views | Queue membership: Users, Roles, Public Groups | Email notification: when lead added to queue → all members notified | vs Direct assignment: Queue (team picks up), Assignment (specific person gets it) | Multiple queues: organize by region, product, segment, lead source | Omni-Channel: can push leads to available SDRs automatically (replaces manual queue picking)

Nurture approaches: Campaign Member Status progression (Sent → Opened → Clicked → Responded), Automated email sequences via Pardot/Marketing Cloud, Lead Status tracking (New → Nurturing → Working), Score-based: nurture low-scored leads, accelerate high-scored | Salesforce tools: Campaigns, Flows (scheduled email sequences), Pardot (marketing automation), Marketing Cloud (enterprise email) | Re-engagement: dormant leads (no activity 90 days) → re-engagement campaign | Hand-off: Pardot score threshold → alert SDR for personal outreach

Duplicate Rules: trigger when creating/editing a record — Block (prevent save), Allow with alert (warn but allow), Allow without alert | Matching Rules: define what makes records similar (Email exact match, Name+Company fuzzy match) | Duplicate record set: groups identified duplicates | Merge: up to 3 records merged at once (master record preserved, others become read-only) | Third-party: Dedupe tools (DemandTools, Cloudingo) for bulk deduplication | Web-to-Lead: duplicate check before creating from web form | Impact: duplicates inflate pipeline, confuse reps, waste SDR time

Tracking: Lead.LeadSource field → flows to Contact and Opportunity on conversion | Primary Campaign Source: more granular than LeadSource (specific campaign vs broad channel) | Reports: Leads by Source (volume), Converted Leads by Source (quality), Opportunity Amount by Lead Source (revenue), Win Rate by Lead Source | Campaign ROI: Campaign actual cost vs influenced/sourced revenue | Attribution: first-touch (Lead Source), last-touch (most recent campaign), multi-touch (all campaigns) | Influenced revenue: Opportunities where contact was Campaign Member

Standard Status values: New, Working (being contacted), Nurturing (not ready yet), Qualified (converted to Opportunity), Unqualified (not a fit), Open | Custom values: Attempting Contact, Left Voicemail, MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead), SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) | Conversion: Status changes to Converted when Lead is converted | Reporting: MQL-to-SQL conversion rate, Qualified by Source, Unqualified Reasons (why leads didn't qualify) | SLA: Status-based SLAs (New lead → Working within 2 hours) | Automation: Flow auto-changes status based on activity

SDR workflow: Lead assigned → Accept from queue → Research (LinkedIn/website) → Multi-touch outreach (call+email+LinkedIn) → Connect → Discovery questions → BANT/MEDDIC qualification → Convert Lead → Create Opportunity → AE Introduction → Handoff call | Cadence tracking: Tasks for each outreach attempt with due dates | Outreach tools: SalesLoft, Outreach.io, Groove integration | Metrics: Dials/day, Connect rate, Meeting set rate, SQL rate, Conversion rate | Dashboards: SDR performance leaderboard

MEDDIC: Metrics (quantified business value), Economic Buyer (financial decision maker), Decision Criteria (evaluation factors), Decision Process (how they decide), Identify Pain (specific business problem), Champion (internal advocate) | MEDDPICC adds: Paper Process (legal/procurement steps), Competition (competitive landscape) | Salesforce implementation: custom fields on Opportunity per MEDDIC element, required field validation at key stages, MEDDIC score (% completed) | Coaching: manager reviews MEDDIC completeness in pipeline reviews

OpportunitySplit object: OpportunityId, SplitOwnerId, SplitPercentage, SplitAmount | Split Types: Revenue (for commission — must sum to 100%), Overlay (for overlay credit — can exceed 100%) | Configuration: Setup → Opportunity Splits → enable → create split types | Auto-split: primary owner gets 100% by default until manually adjusted | Use cases: AE + SE split, field + inside sales, account manager + product specialist | Reporting: quota attainment by rep using split amount | Commission: downstream system uses SplitAmount for commission calculation

Einstein Opportunity Scoring: score 1-99 (higher = more likely to win) | Score factors: deal age, activity level, contact roles, stage progression, similar historical deals | Score tier: A (High, >74), B (Medium, 50-74), C (Low, <50) | Score trend: improving, stable, declining | Insights: specific reasons for score (No decision maker identified, No activity in 14 days) | Manager view: sort pipeline by score to focus coaching | At-risk: score decline triggers alert | Setup: Einstein Sales Analytics license required

Pipeline views: Kanban (visual stage cards), List (sortable), Forecast (category-based) | Key metrics: Total Pipeline (sum of open Opportunity amounts), Weighted Pipeline (Amount × Probability), Pipeline Coverage (Pipeline / Quota — target 3-4×), Pipeline Velocity, Stage Distribution | At-risk indicators: stale opportunities (no activity), past close date, declining Einstein score | Pipeline reviews: weekly 1:1 manager-rep review of top deals | Opportunity aging: custom formula field (days open) | Bottleneck: time-in-stage analysis

Kanban features: columns = Stages, cards = Opportunities, drag-drop to change stage | Card info: Account name, Amount, Close Date, Probability | Filters: by Owner, Close Date range, Amount range | Alerts: overdue close date (red), no activity (yellow) | Setup: automatically available for Opportunity list views | Customization: choose which field to group by (Stage is default, can use any picklist) | Manager view: filter by team members to see rep-specific pipeline | Mobile: Kanban available in Salesforce mobile

CloseDate: required field on Opportunity | Forecast impact: determines which forecast period the deal appears in (this month, next quarter, etc.) | Accuracy: close dates often get pushed — track pushes with custom field or history | Push count: custom field tracking how many times close date moved | Close date discipline: required to be realistic — no parking far-future deals in pipeline | Past close date: Opportunities past close date with Status=Open = stale pipeline | Reports: Opportunities closing this week/month/quarter | CRM hygiene: regular close date scrub

NextStep: standard text field (255 chars) | Best practice: always specific, dated, actionable ("Schedule technical deep-dive with CTO by June 15" not "Follow up") | Required: many orgs require NextStep before advancing stage | Chatter: some orgs use Chatter posts for next steps (more visible) | Manager use: pipeline review scans next steps to assess deal health | Stale indicator: blank Next Step = deal at risk | Custom: some orgs replace with structured fields (Next Meeting Date, Next Action Type) | Mobile: easy to update from mobile app after customer meeting

ForecastCategory values: Omitted (Closed Lost, excluded), Pipeline (early stage, tracked separately), Best Case (possible), Most Likely (intermediate), Commit (high confidence, rep committing to close) | Auto-mapping: Stage → ForecastCategory (configurable in Stage setup) | Override: rep can manually change ForecastCategory | Manager override: manager can override rep forecast | Forecast rollup: sum of Commit + adjustments + manager override = official forecast | Category discipline: Commit should mean it (cultural/process enforcement)

Collaborative Forecasting features: Forecast hierarchy (matches role hierarchy), multiple forecast types, period (monthly/quarterly), manager adjustments with notes, forecast history, quota management | Setup: Setup → Forecasts Settings → enable → configure period → add forecast types | Forecast types: Revenue (Opportunity Amount), Quantity (Quantity field), custom (any currency/number field) | Adjustments: manager adds adjustment with reasoning → visible to all in hierarchy | Quota: upload via Data Loader or Salesforce interface → compare to forecast | Gap to quota: Forecast amount - Quota amount

OpportunityHistory: auto-created for tracked fields | Enable: Setup → Opportunity → Fields → Set History Tracking (up to 20 fields) | Commonly tracked: Stage, Amount, CloseDate, Owner, ForecastCategory, Probability | History retention: 18 months standard | Related list: visible on Opportunity record | SOQL: SELECT Field, OldValue, NewValue, CreatedDate FROM OpportunityHistory | Stage progression: track how long deal spent in each stage | Manager use: audit trail for disputed pipeline numbers

Record Types: New Business (new customer acquisition), Renewal (contract renewal), Expansion/Upsell (existing customer growth), Partner (co-sell with partners), Service (services-only deals) | Each has: Page Layout (different fields visible), Sales Process (different Stage values), Quick Actions available | Assignment: set by rep at creation or auto-set by Flow | Benefits: reps see relevant fields only, correct workflow per deal type | Record Type determines: which fields are required, which stages are available, which approval process triggers

Approval Process setup: criteria (when to trigger), approver (who approves), actions (what happens on approve/reject/recall) | Criteria: Discount>20%, Amount>$500K, Non-standard T&Cs checkbox, Payment Terms not standard | Approver: manager hierarchy (Auto-assigned), specific user, queue | Approval steps: sequential (step 2 after step 1) or parallel | Email: approval request sent with detail link | Chatter: Chatter-based approval requests | Actions: field updates on approval (Status=Approved), email notifications, outbound messages

Deal Insights types: No activity recently (X days without call/email/meeting), Key contact unresponsive (contact not engaging), Competitor mentioned (conversation intelligence detected competitor), Close date at risk (pattern suggests likely push), Deal size risk (unusually large variance from similar deals) | Delivery: insight cards on Opportunity record, summary email to rep/manager | Integration: Conversation Insights (call analysis) feeds deal insights | Action: each insight has suggested action | Manager: manager view shows all team deal insights

ParentId lookup: Account → Account self-relationship | Hierarchy view: Account detail page → View Hierarchy button shows tree | Ultimate Parent: top-level Account in hierarchy | Rollup: standard reports don't auto-rollup hierarchy — requires custom SOQL or third-party | Global accounts: IBM Global → IBM USA, IBM UK, IBM India (all separate Accounts) | Deal level: Opportunities typically at subsidiary level | Relationship Manager: single owner for parent account, separate owners for subsidiaries | Global ARR: sum across all child accounts

Account Plan components: Account health (ARR, NPS, health score), Relationship map (who we know, who we need to know), Whitespace analysis (products not yet purchased), Growth opportunities (expansion targets), Action items (quarterly goals), Competitive landscape | Implementation: custom Account_Plan__c object linked to Account OR sections added to Account layout | Tools: Salesforce native, Gainsight, Altify, Account Engagement | Executive sponsorship: C-level relationship tracked | QBR: Quarterly Business Review preparation from Account Plan

ETM components: Territory Types, Territory Model, Territories (hierarchy), Territory Rules (auto-assign accounts), Territory Users (reps assigned) | Account assignment: rules auto-assign accounts to territories | Opportunity assignment: territory determined by account | Manager hierarchy vs Territory hierarchy: separate in ETM | Assignment Rules: criteria-based (State, Industry, Revenue tier) | Archive/activate: territory models can be archived | Quota: assigned at territory level | Reporting: pipeline by territory

Account 360 components: Contact list (all people at account), Open Opportunities (active deals), Case History (support issues), Activity Timeline (all interactions), Installed Products/Assets, Contract status, Campaign memberships, Partner relationships | Implementation: Lightning App Builder → Account record page → add related list components, timeline | Einstein Account Insights: news and events about the company | Pre-meeting: rep reviews 360 before customer call | Service integration: open cases visible to sales (avoid selling to unhappy customers)

ReportsToId: Contact → Contact self-relationship (manager) | Hierarchy view: Contact → View Hierarchy button | Use case: enterprise accounts with complex org structure | Decision maker mapping: identify C-level path from champion | Relationship intelligence: which contacts know each other | Limitation: ReportsTo = Salesforce Contact (not free-text) | External org charts: LinkedIn Sales Navigator integration, Relationship Intelligence tools (Altify, Prolifiq) | Multiple accounts: Contact can be related to multiple accounts via Account Contact Relationship

Person Account: merges Account + Contact records | Fields: both Account and Contact fields on one record | Enable: irreversible once enabled — carefully plan | Use case: B2C (insurance, banking, retail, healthcare) — one person IS the account | Record Type: separate Person Account record type | Limitations: no Contacts related list (IS the contact), no Account hierarchy for individuals | Reports: person account fields available in Account reports | Integration: APIs treat differently from business accounts | Caution: cannot disable once enabled

Split types: Revenue (for quota/commission — must total 100%), Overlay (for specialist credit — can exceed 100%) | Common split scenarios: AE + SE (70/30), Field + Inside (60/40), AE + BDR (90/10), Account Manager + Product Specialist overlay | Setup: Setup → Opportunity Teams → Opportunity Splits → enable | Split record: OpportunitySplit object with SplitPercentage and SplitAmount | Commission: downstream system reads SplitAmount | Disputes: split disputes handled by Sales Ops | Reporting: quota attainment report uses split amounts

Account Owner: OwnerId field on Account | Access: owner gets Full Access (Read/Edit/Delete) | Sharing: org-wide default + owner-based sharing | Territory: territory assignment separate from ownership | Transfer: owner change transfers all related Opportunities/Contacts/Cases by default (optional) | Multiple: one owner per Account, but Account Team for collaboration | Queue: Account cannot be owned by Queue (unlike Cases) | Large accounts: Account Manager vs Sales Rep ownership | Visibility: owner sees account even with Private sharing model

Account Manager responsibilities: renewal pipeline, expansion opportunities, QBRs, health monitoring, escalation coordination | Sales Rep (AE): new logo prospecting, discovery, demo, negotiation, close | Metrics: AM — Renewal Rate, NRR, Expansion ARR; AE — New Logos, New ARR, Win Rate, ASP (Average Selling Price) | Salesforce separation: separate Opportunity Record Types (New Business vs Renewal/Expansion), separate forecast types, separate dashboards | Collaboration: AM flags expansion → AE executes (some orgs) or AM owns expansion (other orgs)

ABS implementation: Target Account List (custom field Account.ABS_Tier__c), Account Engagement Score, Multi-threaded outreach tracking, Account-level Activity rollup, Account-level Opportunity rollup | Tiers: Tier 1 (top 50 strategic), Tier 2 (next 200 priority), Tier 3 (long-tail) | Metrics: Accounts engaged, Accounts with pipeline, Account penetration (contacts reached), Account win rate | Collaboration: SDR + AE + SE working same account simultaneously | Alignment: Marketing runs account-specific campaigns, Sales executes personalized outreach

Forecast components: Opportunity Amount × ForecastCategory → rolled up by hierarchy | Forecast types: Revenue (Amount), Quantity (units), custom field | Periods: Monthly or Quarterly | Quota: imported via Data Loader, compared to forecast | Adjustments: manager overrides rep forecast with notes | History: snapshots of forecast over time for accuracy tracking | Gap: Forecast vs Quota gap drives pipeline actions | Accuracy: comparing predicted vs actual closes over time

Quote object: Name, OpportunityId, Status (Draft/Approved/Rejected/Presented/Accepted), Expiration Date, Total Price | QuoteLineItem: products on quote with quantity, price, discount | Syncing: Quote can sync to Opportunity (line items update Opportunity products) | PDF: generate Quote PDF with template | Email: send quote directly from Salesforce | Approval: Approval Process on Quote for discount authorization | CPQ: Salesforce CPQ extends native Quotes with bundles, pricing rules, advanced discounting | Native vs CPQ: native quotes for simple, CPQ for complex

Revenue Intelligence features: Pipeline Inspection (deal-level view with AI signals), Forecast Accuracy (predicted vs actual trend), Deal Flow (stage velocity analysis), Rep Performance (individual metrics), Team Leaderboard, Conversation Insights integration | AI signals: Einstein Deal Score, Activity Score, Engagement Score | Data: native Salesforce data + external integrations | Setup: AppExchange → CRM Analytics template installation | License: Revenue Intelligence add-on license | Key difference from standard reports: AI signals embedded in every view

Pipeline Inspection features: all open Opportunities in one list, Einstein Opportunity Score (A/B/C), Activity Score, Days since last activity, Stage change since last view, Close date change, Amount change | Filters: by rep, close week, stage, score | Sort: by Amount, Score, Close Date | Inline update: change Stage, Close Date, Next Step without opening record | Manager efficiency: review entire pipeline in one screen vs opening 40+ individual records | Weekly use: Monday morning pipeline review tool

Conversation Intelligence: call recording + AI transcription + analysis | Insights: competitor mentions (flags when competitor named), keywords tracked, talk-to-listen ratio, question count, filler word count | Coaching: manager reviews call clips, leaves timestamped comments | Trends: compare team talk ratios, keyword usage across calls | Integration: works with Zoom, Dialpad, Chorus, Gong (native integration) | Rep development: self-review of own calls | Deal risk: competitor mentions flagged as deal risk signal | Setup: Einstein Conversation Insights license

Financial Services Cloud (FSC): Household (related individuals group), Financial Account (investment/banking account), Asset and Liability (client holdings), Goals (financial goals), Referral (warm introduction tracking) | Standard Sales Cloud + FSC: same platform, additional objects | AUM tracking: Assets under management per household | Life Event: trigger for financial review (marriage, retirement, new baby) | Compliance: communication tracking, suitability | Rollup: household-level wealth view across all family members

Cadence components: Steps (call, email, LinkedIn), Wait time between steps, Branch (if call connected → different next step vs no answer), Templates (email templates for each step) | High Velocity Sales: Sales Cadences are part of HVS (now Sales Engagement) license | SDR workspace: Work Queue shows today's cadence tasks | Automation: step completion triggers next step | Analytics: which cadence steps convert best | Targets: Leads and Contacts enrolled in cadence | Branch logic: if Step 2 email opened → skip to call; if not opened → send follow-up email

Implementation methods: Validation Rules (field required before stage change), Path Component (Einstein stage guidance with required fields), Flow (check criteria before allowing stage update) | Common criteria: Discovery → Proposal (Contact Role = Decision Maker identified), Proposal → Negotiation (Proposal Sent Date populated), Negotiation → Commit (Legal Review Complete = true) | Sales methodology enforcement: MEDDIC/BANT completion tracked | Bypass: admin/manager can bypass if needed | Rep experience: guided selling — system tells rep what's needed

Manufacturing Cloud features: Account-based Forecasting (production forecasts vs sales forecasts), Run Rate Business (recurring order agreements), Rebate Management (volume-based incentives), Partner Performance Metrics | Standard + Manufacturing: same platform, additional objects | Deal Registration: distributors register deals to claim margin protection | Price Protection: pricing locked for registered deals | Partner Portal: Experience Cloud for distributors | Inventory: integration with ERP for inventory visibility during quoting

HVS/Sales Engagement features: Work Queue (all cadence tasks in priority order), Sales Cadences (structured outreach sequences), Lightning Dialer (built-in calling), Call recording and coaching, Email integration, Einstein Lead Score integration, Reports (touches-to-conversion) | License: separate Sales Engagement license | User profile: SDRs and inside sales reps (not field AEs) | Integration: works with Sales Cloud Opportunities/Leads/Contacts | Workspace: separate HVS app or embedded in Sales Cloud

Sales Cloud Flow use cases: Auto-populate Opportunity fields from Account (Record-triggered), Route Lead to correct queue (Record-triggered), Send manager alert on large deal creation (Record-triggered), Auto-create follow-up Task after demo (Record-triggered), Notify AE when Case created on their Account (Record-triggered), Monthly pipeline hygiene email (Scheduled), Close date push tracking (Record-triggered), Auto-advance Lead status from marketing score (Record-triggered)

Einstein Activity Capture: syncs email + calendar | Email: sent/received emails logged as Activity on related Contact/Lead/Opportunity | Calendar: meeting events synced from Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar | Relationship intelligence: identifies new contacts from email signatures | Capture settings: what to sync (all email, only replied, specific domain blocks) | Privacy: configure which emails are captured (exclude personal email domains) | Limitations: emails not stored in Salesforce — only metadata + link | License: included with most Sales Cloud editions

Salesforce for Slack features: Opportunity updates in Slack channels, Deal Rooms (dedicated Slack channel per deal), record previews when Salesforce links shared, create and edit records from Slack, custom notifications (Opportunity stage changed, case created on account), Search records from Slack | Use cases: deal room collaboration, manager alerts, pipeline review in Slack | Setup: Salesforce AppExchange Slack App | CRM + collaboration: context without app switching | Mobile: reps update deals from Slack on mobile

NBA for Sales: recommendations displayed on Opportunity or Account record | Action types: send specific content, schedule specific meeting type, offer specific discount, escalate to manager, introduce specific team member | Strategy Builder: admin defines when to show which recommendation | ML: learns from accepted/rejected recommendations | Input: Opportunity fields, Account history, similar deal patterns | Integration: recommendations can trigger Flows, send emails, create Tasks when accepted | Rep experience: card appears on record — one-click to execute

Mobile features: Opportunity management (view/edit/create), Activity logging (call notes, meeting notes), Einstein brief (AI-generated meeting prep), Offline mode (access records without internet), Voice input (log notes by speaking), Maps integration (navigate to customer address), Push notifications (deal alerts, task reminders) | Mobile app: Salesforce App (iOS + Android) | Field reps: log calls immediately after customer meeting | Einstein meeting prep: AI-generated summary of account, recent cases, open opportunities before call

Report types: Tabular (simple list), Summary (grouped with subtotals), Matrix (rows + columns grouping), Joined (multiple report blocks) | Key Sales reports: Open Pipeline by Stage, Won Opportunities this Quarter, Lead Conversion by Source, Activity by Rep, Quota Attainment, Win/Loss Analysis | Filters: date range, owner, record type, stage | Charts: bar, funnel (for pipeline stages), line (for trends) | Schedule: reports emailed on schedule | Report folder: sharing controls | CRMA: advanced analytics beyond standard reports

Dashboard components: Chart (bar/line/pie/funnel/donut), Metric (single number), Table, Gauge (vs target) | Dynamic dashboards: show data for logged-in user (rep sees own data, manager sees team) | Refresh: on-demand or scheduled | Folder sharing: control who sees which dashboard | Mobile: dashboards in Salesforce mobile | Common dashboards: Sales Rep (my pipeline, my activities, my quota), Manager (team pipeline, team activity, forecast vs quota), Executive (company pipeline, revenue trend, win rate trend) | CRM Analytics: more sophisticated, AI-powered

PRM components: Partner Portal (Experience Cloud), Deal Registration (partner submits deal for price protection), Market Development Funds (MDF), Lead Distribution (company passes leads to partners), Partner Scorecards (performance metrics), Channel Manager assignment | Deal Registration: partner registers prospect → review → approved → price protection | MDF: partners request funds for marketing activities, company approves | Lead Distribution: company distributes leads to appropriate partners by territory/competency | Revenue attribution: partner-sourced vs partner-influenced revenue

CPQ-Sales Cloud integration: SBQQ__Quote__c linked to Opportunity, Quote Line Items from CPQ sync to Opportunity Products, CPQ Approval → Opportunity stage advance, Quote Accepted → Order created | AE workflow: Opportunity created → Click "Create Quote" (CPQ) → Configure products in QLE → Price with rules/discounts → Send for approval → Get signed (DocuSign) → Opportunity marked Won → Order created | Benefits: accurate pricing (no manual errors), professional PDFs, discount compliance | Data flow: Opportunity → CPQ Quote → CPQ Order → Billing

Salesforce Inbox features: sidebar panel in Gmail/Outlook showing related Salesforce records, one-click email logging to Opportunity/Contact/Lead, email tracking (open notifications), meeting scheduler (link to available slots), insert templates, insert Salesforce data in email | Mobile: Salesforce Inbox mobile app | Relationship: works with Einstein Activity Capture | License: Inbox license (often included with Sales Cloud) | Adoption: reps stay in email + Salesforce connected without switching apps | AI: Einstein email recommendations

Tracking components: Lead Source (origin), Primary Campaign Source (specific campaign), Lead Created Date, Lead Converted Date, Opportunity Created Date, Opportunity Close Date, Revenue Amount, Close Won Date | Funnel stages: Lead → MQL → SQL → Opportunity → Proposal → Closed Won → Revenue | Attribution: first-touch (Lead Source), last-touch (final campaign), multi-touch (all campaigns) | Reports: Leads by Source × Closed Revenue, Campaign ROI, Funnel conversion rates, Sales velocity | CRMA: full funnel dashboard

RevOps in Salesforce: shared Account and Contact data across Sales (Opportunities) + Marketing (Campaigns) + CS (Cases, Success Plans) | Unified metrics: MRR, ARR, NRR, CAC, LTV, Churn all from one platform | Process alignment: Lead-to-Cash (Marketing creates Lead → Sales closes → CS retains) | Territory management: RevOps manages quota and territory in Salesforce | Commission: data from Salesforce feeds commission system | Reporting: single source of truth for pipeline, revenue, and retention | Tools: CRMA for cross-functional analytics

Salesforce Maps features: map visualization of records, route planning (optimize multi-stop visits), nearby records (find prospects near current location), proximity search (leads within 10 miles of customer meeting), territory visualization, heat maps (deal density) | Mobile: route navigation on Salesforce mobile | Integration: native Salesforce data, no export | License: Salesforce Maps license | Use case: field sales who visit customer sites, territory planning, gap analysis | Check-in: log visit by checking in to account from map

Insurance-specific: Policy (coverage details, premium, expiration), Claim (claim status, amount), Producer (agent/broker managing policies), Household (family grouped for holistic view), Life Events (trigger for coverage review) | Sales Cloud + FSC Insurance: same platform, industry-specific objects | Renewal tracking: policy expiration as Opportunity | Cross-sell: existing policyholder identified for additional coverage | Integration: policy administration systems, claims systems | Compliance: communication archival, E&O documentation

Key integrations: Pardot/Marketing Cloud (Lead scoring, email campaigns → Salesforce), ERP (Order management, inventory, invoicing ← Salesforce), CPQ (Quote → Order → Revenue), Gainsight (CS health scores → Account), Gong/Chorus (Call recording → Activities), ZoomInfo/Clearbit (Account enrichment), Outreach/SalesLoft (Cadence management), LinkedIn Sales Navigator (Relationship intelligence), DocuSign (eSignature) | Integration method: native connectors, AppExchange packages, MuleSoft, REST API

Architecture decisions: Lead management (Web-to-Lead + Pardot), SDR workflow (Sales Engagement cadences), Opportunity stages (MEDDIC-aligned), Product catalog (CPQ for recurring + one-time), Forecast (Collaborative, quarterly), Territory (Segment-based), Integration (Pardot + Gong + DocuSign + NetSuite), Metrics (ARR, NRR, CAC, LTV, Win Rate)

Essential topics: (1) Lead object and conversion, (2) Opportunity stages and sales process, (3) Forecasting — Collaborative, categories, manager adjustments, (4) Territory Management, (5) Account Hierarchy, (6) Contact Roles and multi-threading, (7) Einstein — Lead Scoring, Opportunity Scoring, Activity Capture, (8) Sales Engagement/HVS, (9) CPQ integration, (10) Reports and Dashboards | Scenarios: design sales process for SaaS vs manufacturing vs financial services

Common mistakes: (1) 12+ Opportunity stages (ideal: 6-8 meaningful stages), (2) No stage entry criteria (reps skip stages), (3) Leads assigned to individual not queue (bottleneck when rep out), (4) No close date discipline (pipeline full of stale deals), (5) All opportunities in Commit (unrealistic forecast), (6) No activity logging policy (invisible pipeline), (7) Missing validation rules (bad data from day 1), (8) No dashboard for managers (flying blind), (9) Too many required fields (rep resistance), (10) Big bang go-live vs phased

RevOps Sales Cloud ownership: Territory design and annual realignment, Quota upload and management, Forecast process and governance, Commission data accuracy (Opportunity Splits), Pipeline hygiene (stale deal cleanup), CRM adoption monitoring (activity logging rates), Integration management, Report and dashboard governance, New field/process requests management | Tooling: Salesforce, spreadsheets for quota, commission software (Spiff, Xactly)

Adoption metrics: Login frequency (daily/weekly), Activities logged per rep per week, % Opportunities with Next Step populated, % Opportunities with recent Activity, Close date accuracy (actual vs predicted), CRM data completeness score, Report views per user | Tools: Salesforce Optimizer, AppExchange adoption tools (Salesforce Advisor Link, WalkMe), custom reports on login/activity | Baseline: measure before go-live, compare after | Lagging indicator: revenue impact of adoption. Leading: activity logging rate predicts pipeline health

Sales Cloud Consultant exam: 60 questions, 90 minutes, 62% passing score | Topics: Sales Processes, Account and Contact Management, Opportunity Management, Forecasting, Leads and Campaigns, Reports and Dashboards, Integration, Activity Management | Prerequisites: Salesforce Administrator certification (recommended) | Trailhead: Sales Cloud Specialist superbadge | Salary: 15-20% premium over non-certified | Recertification: annual via Trailhead modules

Implementation: multi-step Approval Process on Opportunity | Steps: Sales Manager (>15% discount) → VP Sales (>30% discount OR >$500K) → Finance (>$1M OR >60 day payment terms) → Legal (non-standard T&Cs) | Parallel: Finance + Legal run simultaneously when both triggered | Delegation: approver out-of-office → delegate | Escalation: no response in 24 hours → escalate to manager | Chatter: approval comments visible on record | Dashboard: pending approvals by approver + age

Best practices: (1) Stage-gated validation (Decision Maker required before Proposal), (2) Date logic (Close Date cannot be in past for new opportunities), (3) Amount thresholds (Amount>0 required), (4) Conditional requirements (if Non_Standard_Terms=true then Legal_Approval_Required must be true), (5) Clear error messages (tell rep exactly what to fix), (6) Not too many (>15 validation rules = rep resistance), (7) Test in sandbox with real scenarios, (8) Exception: Admin bypass via permission set | Document all rules

ROI components: Win Rate improvement (% increase × deals × avg deal size), Deal Velocity improvement (days saved × close rate × deal value), Rep Productivity (hours saved × rep count × hourly cost), Forecast Accuracy improvement (fewer missed quarters), Data Quality (fewer pricing errors) | Typical ROI: 150-300% in 3 years | Measurement: requires baseline before go-live | Intangibles: rep satisfaction, manager visibility, customer experience

Migration order: Users → Accounts → Contacts → Leads → Opportunities → OpportunityLineItems → Activities → Campaign Members | Tools: Data Loader (standard), Salesforce Dataloader.io, MuleSoft, DemandTools | External IDs: legacy system ID mapped to ExternalId__c for upsert | Validation: record counts, field spot-check, relationship integrity | Historical data: how far back (all time, 2 years, 1 year — depends on volume) | In-flight: currently active deals migrated carefully (not old Closed Lost) | Cutover: freeze legacy on Friday, migrate weekend, go-live Monday

Comparison: Salesforce strength (enterprise scale, deep customization, massive AppExchange, CPQ, Territory Management, Einstein AI, Financial Services/Manufacturing editions) | HubSpot strength (easier setup, built-in Marketing Hub, free tier, better UX for SMB, lower admin overhead) | Common migration: companies start on HubSpot → migrate to Salesforce as they scale (typically at 50-200 employee mark) | Both: Opportunity tracking, Contact management, Email integration, Reporting | Key differentiator: Salesforce extensibility + ecosystem vs HubSpot simplicity + built-in marketing

Opportunity Insights: positive/negative signals, engagement summary, follow-up reminders, prediction cards | Deal Insights: specific risk alerts (no activity 14 days, contact went dark, close date at risk, competitor mentioned) | Score: Opportunity Score (1-99) different from Insights | Where shown: Opportunity record, Pipeline Inspection, Deal Insights email | Manager view: team deals with insights across all reps | Actionable: each insight has suggested action button | License: Einstein for Sales

Inside Sales config: Sales Engagement (Cadences + Work Queue), Lightning Dialer, email templates, activity metrics (dials/day, connect rate), performance leaderboard, Lead queue management | Field Sales config: Salesforce Maps (route planning, proximity search), mobile app optimization, check-in from account location, territory-based account assignment, event-based (not call-based) activity tracking | Both: Opportunity management, Forecasting, Einstein insights, Dashboards | Hybrid: many orgs have both teams — separate views, shared Account/Contact data

Performance considerations: SOQL in Opportunity triggers (× opportunity count = limits), Territory recalculation (async, can take hours for large orgs), Report performance (millions of records → slow → use CRMA instead), Sharing recalculation (large org-wide default changes → background job), Assignment Rule performance (too many entries → slow Lead/Case creation) | Solutions: archive old Opportunities, index custom fields used in filters, use async Apex for heavy operations, CRMA for aggregate reporting on large datasets | Monitor: Salesforce Optimizer, Setup Audit Trail

Optimizer checks: unused custom fields (clean up bloat), inactive workflows/processes (remove), page layout efficiency, Reports run frequency, user permissions (over-permissioned), security risks, storage usage, API version, record count by object | Access: Setup → Optimizer → Run → Download PDF report | Free: included with Salesforce | Frequency: run quarterly | Action: prioritize high-severity findings | Common findings: 500+ unused fields, old workflow rules conflicting with Flows, unused profiles

Implementation: required fields on Close (Win_Reason__c picklist, Loss_Reason__c picklist, Competitor_Lost_To__c, Loss_Details__c text), Close stage triggers Flow to send win/loss survey | Win reasons: Pricing, Product Fit, Relationship, References, Ease of Implementation | Loss reasons: Pricing Too High, Product Gap, Lost to Competitor, No Budget, No Decision, Timeline Delayed | Reports: Loss by Reason (trend), Competitive Win Rate (vs each competitor), Win Rate by Stage Entered | Action: product team, pricing team, competitive strategy team consume data

Essential fields: Amount (deal value), Weighted Amount (Amount × Probability/100), CloseDate (forecast period), Stage (process stage), ForecastCategory (Commit/Best Case/Pipeline), Probability (stage-driven), Owner (rep attribution), Account (company), Type (New Business/Renewal/Expansion), LeadSource (origin) | Custom fields for analytics: Win_Reason__c, Loss_Reason__c, Competitor__c, MEDDIC_Score__c, First_Meeting_Date__c, Proposal_Sent_Date__c, Sales_Cycle_Days__c (formula) | Report joins: Account fields, Owner fields via Owner lookup

Lightning-exclusive features: Kanban view, Einstein features (Opportunity Score, Deal Insights, Activity Capture), Path (stage guidance), Pipeline Inspection, Duplicate Alerts inline, Lightning Dialer, Activity Timeline (vs Activity list in Classic) | Migration: Lightning Experience Transition Assistant guides migration | Rollout: per-user or org-wide | Classic: still accessible via switch, but Salesforce encouraging full Lightning adoption | Custom components: Classic components may not work in Lightning (need LWC rebuild)

KPIs by category: Outcome (Quota Attainment %, Win Rate %, Revenue Closed), Activity (Calls/day, Emails/week, Meetings set, Demo conducted), Pipeline (Pipeline Coverage ratio, Pipeline Created, Opportunities Opened), Efficiency (Avg Deal Size, Avg Sales Cycle, Avg Touches to Close), Quality (CSAT on won deals, Reopen Rate for lost-won cycles) | Dashboard: rep self-service + manager view | Leaderboard: competitive motivation (opt-in) | 1:1 coaching: manager pulls rep dashboard for review

Agentforce Sales features: AI research agent (account and contact research before meetings), Follow-up email agent (writes and sends post-meeting emails), Pipeline Update agent (nudges reps to update stale opportunities), SDR Agent (handles initial lead qualification via chat before human handoff), Forecast agent (analyzes pipeline and flags risks), Meeting Prep agent (brief on account, contacts, open cases before call) | 2026: early adopter programs showing 40-60% time savings on administrative tasks

Chatter features: Post on Opportunity (team conversation), @mention (notify specific person), File share (attach proposal versions), Approval post (approval request in feed), Follow (get notified of record changes), Group (deal-specific or team-wide), Topic (tag posts by theme), Email digest (summary of followed record activity) | Sales use cases: deal room conversation (before Slack), escalate deal issue to SE, share competitive intel, AE asking for manager help | Mobile: Chatter in Salesforce mobile

Path features: visual stage bar (current stage highlighted), Key Fields section (fields important at this stage), Guidance for Success (manager-written tips per stage), Confetti animation on Closed Won, Mark Stage Complete button | Configuration: Setup → Path Settings → enable → configure guidance and key fields per stage | Best practice: key fields = MEDDIC elements at each stage, Guidance = what to accomplish, who to involve | Manager-written: tips written by sales leaders for consistent methodology | Rep adoption: high (visual, contextual)

COE roles: SC Architect (platform strategy, architecture, major builds), CRM Admin (day-to-day: user management, reports, simple configs), RevOps Analyst (quota, territory, commission, pipeline hygiene), Sales Enablement (training, onboarding, adoption), Business Analyst (requirements gathering, UAT, stakeholder liaison) | Governance: change request → sandbox → UAT → production | Roadmap: quarterly roadmap aligned to sales strategy | Metrics: CRM health score (adoption, data quality, process compliance)

Comparison: Salesforce strength (AppExchange ecosystem 7,000+ apps, Einstein AI native, massive community/trailhead, independent of ERP vendor, best-in-class partner ecosystem) | Dynamics strength (native Office 365 integration, Teams meeting intelligence, Azure AI, attractive for Microsoft-centric orgs, lower licensing for existing Microsoft customers, Power Platform for automation) | Common migration: Microsoft shops sometimes evaluate Dynamics (Office integration) but migrate if needing Salesforce ecosystem | Decision factors: existing tech stack, IT strategy, customization needs, budget

(1) Lead lifecycle: status, assignment rules, conversion | (2) Opportunity: stages, products, contact roles, splits | (3) Forecasting: categories, collaborative, manager adjustments | (4) Territory: ETM setup, assignment rules, realignment | (5) Einstein: Lead Scoring, Opp Scoring, Activity Capture, Deal Insights | (6) Sales Engagement: cadences, work queue, dialer | (7) CPQ: Quote integration, product catalog | (8) Activities: tasks, events, EAC auto-capture | (9) Reports: pipeline, win/loss, quota attainment | (10) Automation: Flows for sales process

Einstein Relationship Insights: auto-displays Account news (funding rounds, executive changes, acquisitions, earnings reports), Contact changes (job change, promotion, LinkedIn updates), Relationship map (who at your company knows who at the customer), Email sentiment analysis (positive/negative engagement trend) | Sources: public web, LinkedIn (with integration), email (with EAC), internal Salesforce data | Setup: Einstein Relationship Insights license | Rep use: pre-meeting prep, trigger for outreach (job change = re-engage), competitive signal (acquisition by competitor)

NPSP objects: Opportunity (Donation), Contact (Donor), Account (Household or Organization), Affiliation (relationship between Contact and Organization) | Fundraising: Recurring Donations (planned gifts), Soft Credits (credit given to referrers), Payment schedules | Grant Management: Grant deadlines, reporting requirements | Volunteer: volunteer hours and matching | Salesforce.org: 10 free licenses for eligible nonprofits | Reports: donor retention, LYBUNT/SYBUNT (Last Year But Unfortunately Not This year donors)

Einstein Forecasting: separate forecast column alongside rep Commit/Best Case | AI prediction: based on historical close rates by stage, rep patterns, deal age, activity level | Prediction interval: confidence range (likely between $X and $Y) | Comparison: rep submitted vs Einstein predicted — large gaps = coaching opportunity | Setup: Einstein Sales Analytics license, 6+ months of data recommended | Manager use: Einstein forecast as sanity check on rep commitments | Accuracy: Einstein typically 15-25% more accurate than rep-submitted at quarter start

Shield components: Platform Encryption (AES-256 on field level — SSN, credit card, sensitive data), Event Monitoring (login, API calls, report exports, record access — full audit), Field Audit Trail (retain field history 10 years vs 18 months standard), Einstein Data Detect (scan org for sensitive data) | Who needs Shield: financial services, healthcare, government, any regulated industry | Cost: Shield is add-on license | Trade-off: encrypted fields have limitations (no SOQL filtering, formula field limitations) | Compliance: GDPR, HIPAA, PCI, SOX

Phase 1 core: User setup, Profiles/Permissions, Account/Contact/Lead/Opportunity configuration, basic Flows, Email-to-Lead, Assignment Rules, standard reports and dashboards, rep training | Phase 2 advanced: Territory Management, Collaborative Forecasting, CPQ, Einstein Activity Capture, advanced Flows, CRMA dashboards, integrations (email, calendar, marketing automation) | Phase 3 optimization: Einstein features (Lead Scoring, Opportunity Scoring, Deal Insights), Sales Engagement, advanced analytics, custom LWC | Timeline: 6-18 months to full deployment

Duplicate Rules: apply to Lead, Contact, Account | Matching Rules: criteria for similarity (email exact match, name+company fuzzy, phone match) | Actions: Block (prevent save), Allow + alert (warn but proceed) | Report: Duplicate Record Sets group identified duplicates | Merge: merge up to 3 records at a time | Master: fields from master record preserved | Standard rules: Salesforce provides standard matching rules | Custom: create for specific dedup logic | Third-party: DemandTools, Cloudingo for bulk enterprise dedup

Setup Audit Trail: tracks Setup changes (not data changes) | Events: profile/permission changes, Flow activations, Report/Dashboard creation, User changes, Field creation | Retention: last 6 months in UI, downloadable for longer | Field History Tracking: tracks data changes on records (separate from Audit Trail) | Event Monitoring (Shield): tracks all user actions including data access | GDPR: Audit Trail helps document data access | Security: identify unauthorized Setup changes | Download: CSV export for longer retention

Lightning-only features: Kanban view, Einstein (all features), Path with guidance, Pipeline Inspection, Activity Timeline, Duplicate alerts inline, Lightning Dialer, Work Queue (Sales Engagement), Dynamic Forms, Record Page customization | Classic: still works but missing all modern features | Migration: Transition Assistant in Setup | Visual difference: Classic list-based, Lightning component-based | Custom components: Classic Visualforce vs Lightning LWC | Why migrate: Einstein alone justifies Lightning (Activity Capture, Lead Scoring, Opp Score)

Core objects: Account (company), Contact (person at company), Lead (unqualified prospect), Opportunity (deal), OpportunityLineItem (product on deal), Product2 (product catalog), Pricebook2 (price list), Campaign (marketing activity), CampaignMember (Lead/Contact in Campaign), Task (to-do), Event (meeting) | Junction objects: OpportunityContactRole (Contact→Opportunity role), AccountContactRelation (Contact→multiple Accounts) | Hierarchy: Account (parent) → Account (child) via ParentId | Attribution: Lead → Account + Contact + Opportunity via Conversion

Global considerations: Multiple currencies (Advanced Currency Management + Dated Exchange Rates), Multiple languages (Translation Workbench), Timezone (User TimeZoneSidKey), Territory (regional hierarchy), Data residency (Salesforce Hyperforce for data at rest in specific region), GDPR (EU data handling), Regional fields (VAT number EU, GSTIN India, CNPJ Brazil) | Org strategy: single global org (complex but unified data) vs multiple orgs (simpler but siloed) | Reporting: local currency + corporate currency rollup

VP-level metrics: Pipeline (total, by rep, by stage), Coverage Ratio (pipeline/quota — target 3-4×), Forecast Accuracy (% of forecast actually closed), Win Rate (% won of closed), ASP (Average Selling Price trend), Sales Cycle (days from opportunity create to close), Quota Attainment (% of reps at/above quota — target 60-70%), New Logos (new customer count), NRR (Net Revenue Retention), Churn (lost ARR) | Cadence: daily (pipeline), weekly (forecast + at-risk), monthly (all metrics), quarterly (board report)

Marketplace specifics: Seller Account (vendor joining marketplace), Buyer Account (company purchasing through marketplace), Seller Opportunity (onboarding a new vendor), Buyer Opportunity (buyer transacting through platform), Take Rate (platform commission revenue), GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) | Partner Portal: Experience Cloud for seller onboarding | Revenue model: platform earns % of each transaction (take rate) | Metric: GMV × Take Rate = Platform Revenue | Seller success: seller pipeline, seller revenue, seller churn

Mobile strategy components: Salesforce mobile app (iOS + Android), offline mode (access records without internet), mobile-optimized page layouts (fewer fields, larger touch targets), push notifications (deal alerts, task reminders), Einstein Brief (AI meeting prep), voice input (log notes hands-free), Maps integration (navigate to customer), Check-in (log visit), compact layout customization | Adoption: requires specific training, different from desktop | Mobile-first features: check-in, route planning, voice notes

Revenue Cloud = Sales Cloud + CPQ + Billing | Sales Cloud: Opportunity (deal management) | CPQ: Quote (accurate pricing, bundles, approvals) | Billing: Order (contract creation), Invoice (billing), Revenue Schedule (recognition) | Flow: Opportunity Won → CPQ Quote → Quote Accepted → Order → Invoice → Revenue | Integration: tight native integration, no middleware needed | Value: eliminates quote-to-cash errors, automates order-to-revenue, provides complete ARR visibility in one platform | License: Revenue Cloud add-on

Best practices checklist: (1) 6-8 Opportunity stages maximum (vs 12+ = ignored), (2) Required fields minimal but strategic (too many = workarounds), (3) Validation rules for stage advancement (quality gates), (4) Assignment Rules with default (never leave leads unassigned), (5) Email integration from day 1 (EAC or Inbox), (6) Manager dashboard ready before go-live, (7) Rep self-service dashboard (motivating), (8) Mobile training separate from desktop, (9) Phased rollout vs big bang, (10) Executive sponsor visible and engaged

Partner Community: Experience Cloud template for channel partners, deal registration (claim price protection), lead distribution, MDF management, partner scorecards, co-marketing materials | Customer Community: end-customer portal, account management, invoice viewing, order status, case submission, Knowledge base | License: Partner Community license (higher cost than Customer), Customer Community license | Access: authenticated users (login required) | Objects: shared Salesforce data visible to appropriate users per sharing rules

Dual channel setup: Direct Opportunity (AE-owned, Direct Record Type), Partner Opportunity (Partner-sourced, Partner Record Type, Channel Manager as Owner), Deal Registration (partner submits in portal → AE/Channel Manager reviews) | Attribution: Partner_Account__c field on Opportunity | Revenue: Direct vs Channel reports | Commission: AE vs Channel Manager vs Partner split | Conflict: if AE and partner both working same account → Channel Manager arbitrates | Partner portal: Salesforce Experience Cloud for deal submission

Governance components: Data Quality (validation rules, duplicate rules, required fields), Data Security (profiles, permission sets, sharing rules, field-level security), Data Retention (archival policy for old records, deletion for GDPR requests), Data Stewardship (owner per object — who manages Account data quality), Change Management (new field/object governance process), Naming Conventions (API name standards — no spaces, descriptive names) | Tools: Salesforce Optimizer, Data Quality analysis reports, CRM Analytics

Editions: Starter (basic CRM, limited API), Professional (most features, some API limits), Enterprise (full API, Flows, Territory, advanced sharing, most popular for mid-enterprise), Unlimited (everything + Premier Support + more storage + Einstein features included), Einstein 1 Sales (Unlimited + Einstein complete) | Key differences: Territory Management (Enterprise+), Unlimited API calls (Enterprise+), Advanced sharing (Enterprise+), Einstein included (Unlimited/Einstein 1) | Cost: scales per user per month | Most common: Enterprise ($165/user/month as of 2026)

Top 10 manager reports: (1) Open Pipeline by Stage (Summary, group by Stage, Amount + Count), (2) Forecast by Rep (Summary, group by Owner, show Commit + Best Case amounts), (3) Activities This Week by Rep (Summary, group by Owner, activity count), (4) Win/Loss This Quarter (Summary, group by StageName when lost, show Loss_Reason__c), (5) Quota Attainment (compare Closed Won to Quota — custom), (6) Closing This Week (filter: CloseDate this week, Status=Open), (7) No Activity in 14 Days (filter: Last Activity Date <14 days ago, Status=Open), (8) Avg Deal Size Trend (line chart), (9) Lead Source Conversion (Matrix: Source × Converted), (10) New Pipeline Created This Week

Pipeline: all open Opportunities regardless of stage or close date | Forecast: open Opportunities with close date in this period, filtered by ForecastCategory (Commit, Best Case) | Pipeline vs Forecast: Pipeline shows potential, Forecast shows what's likely to close now | Pipeline Coverage: Pipeline / Quota (3-4× needed for reliable forecast) | Forecast Accuracy: how close predicted was to actual | Manager adjustments: added on top of rep Commit in Collaborative Forecasting | Pipeline health: large pipeline ≠ good forecast (if mostly Pipeline category)

Sandbox types: Developer (empty, free, unlimited), Developer Pro (more storage, free, limited), Partial Copy (subset of data, limited number), Full Copy (complete data copy, limited number, expensive, 29-day refresh) | Strategy: develop in Developer → test in Partial → UAT in Full → deploy to Production | Refresh: Full sandbox refresh timing (29 days minimum) | Deployment: Change Sets (simple), Salesforce DX (advanced) | Source control: Git integration for code | Config vs code: Config changes via Change Sets, Code via DevOps tools

M&A CRM process: (1) Due diligence — export acquired company CRM data, assess quality, (2) Data mapping — map acquired fields to Salesforce objects, (3) Duplicate identification — find existing records that match acquired data, (4) Migration — merge accounts where they overlap, load new, (5) Territory — reassign newly acquired accounts, (6) Team — add acquired reps as Salesforce users, (7) Training — onboard acquired team to Sales Cloud | Tools: DemandTools for dedup, Data Loader for load, Change Sets for config merge | Timeline: 60-90 days typical

Training best practices: Role-specific training (AE vs SDR vs Manager — different workflows), Sandbox practice (not production), Scenario-based (walk through a real deal in Salesforce), Trailhead modules (self-paced supplemental), Quick Reference Card (1-page cheat sheet for daily tasks), Buddy system (experienced rep paired with new), Manager training first (manager can reinforce), Gamification (points for CRM activity), Regular reinforcement (monthly tip emails), Video recordings for async learning

(1) Lead lifecycle: status, assignment, conversion, source tracking | (2) Opportunity: stages, products, contact roles, splits, win/loss | (3) Forecasting: categories, collaborative forecasting, manager adjustments, accuracy | (4) Territory: ETM setup, rules, realignment, quota | (5) Account: hierarchy, 360 view, ownership, account planning | (6) Einstein: Lead Scoring, Opp Score, Activity Capture, Deal Insights, Forecasting | (7) Sales Engagement: cadences, work queue, dialer | (8) CPQ: Quote integration, price books, discount approvals | (9) Automation: Flows for sales process, validation rules | (10) Analytics: pipeline reports, dashboards, win/loss analysis