CRM glossary
CRM glossary - the terms, in plain words
This CRM glossary explains the sales, marketing, billing and automation terms Indian businesses meet when choosing and using a CRM - from lead management and the sales pipeline to GST invoicing, lead scoring and workflow automation. Each term is defined in plain English, with a link to the CIPHER CRM feature that puts it to work where there is one.
Glossary
CRM terms, defined
CRM basics
- What CIPHER CRM is
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
A CRM is one place to keep every customer, lead, conversation, quote and bill, so your whole team works from the same picture instead of scattered spreadsheets, notebooks and WhatsApp chats. A good CRM captures each enquiry, reminds you to follow up, and shows the owner exactly where every deal stands.
- Browse 31 industry editions
Industry-specific CRM
A CRM that arrives already set up for how one trade sells and serves - the sales stages, fields and reminders match your sector from day one - instead of a blank tool you configure yourself. CIPHER CRM ships 31 industry editions across 465 sub-industries.
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Cloud CRM
A CRM you use through a browser or app, hosted online, so there is no server to buy or software to install. Your team can open it from the office, home or the field, and updates reach everyone at once.
- See offline mode
Mobile CRM / field CRM
Using your CRM from a phone out in the field, so staff can capture leads and update records on the road and the office sees it straight away. CIPHER CRM does this in the browser, with nothing to install, and keeps working on a weak signal, updating itself once you are back online.
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CRM implementation / onboarding
The work of setting a CRM up for your business - configuring stages and fields, importing your existing data, connecting channels, and training the team. Done well, it is why a CRM actually gets used instead of abandoned. CIPHER does the setup, data import and training for you, and most teams go live in 1 to 3 days.
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Data migration
Moving your existing leads, contacts and records from spreadsheets or an old tool into the new CRM, cleanly, so nothing is left behind and nobody has to retype anything.
Leads & sales
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Lead
A person or business that has shown interest in what you sell - an enquiry from your website, a WhatsApp message, a phone call or a walk-in - but has not yet bought. The first job of a CRM is to catch every lead so none slip away.
- See lead management
Lead management
Capturing every enquiry into one place, giving it an owner, and tracking it through follow-ups until it is won or lost - so no lead sits forgotten in someone's inbox or personal phone.
- See the sales pipeline
Sales pipeline
A visual view of your deals as they move through stages - for example New, Contacted, Quoted, Negotiation, Won - so you can see at a glance what is likely to close this month and where each deal is stuck.
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Pipeline stage
One step in your sales process. Clear stages that match how you really sell make the pipeline honest, so forecasts mean something and nothing falls between two steps.
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Deal / opportunity
A specific chance to sell to a customer, with an estimated value and an expected close date, tracked from first interest to signed order.
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Lead scoring
Ranking leads by how likely and how ready they are to buy, so your team spends its time on the ones most worth chasing instead of treating every enquiry the same.
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Lead assignment
Automatically routing each new lead to the right salesperson - by area, product or turn - so enquiries get a response fast and nobody wonders whose job it was.
- See follow-up tracking
Follow-up
The next planned contact with a lead or customer. Most deals are lost to forgotten follow-ups, not to price, which is why a CRM turns every follow-up into a task with a name and a date on it.
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Conversion rate
The share of leads that turn into customers. Tracking it stage by stage shows exactly where deals leak, so you can fix the weak step instead of guessing.
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Sales cycle
The typical time from first enquiry to closed sale. Knowing yours helps you forecast revenue and spot deals that have gone quiet for too long.
Billing & payments
- See invoicing
GST invoice
A tax invoice that carries the GST details Indian businesses need - GSTIN, tax breakup and totals. In CIPHER CRM you add the taxes to each item and print the customer's tax number on the bill, which saves hours of spreadsheet work every week.
- See estimates and quotes
Estimate / quotation
A priced proposal you send a customer before the sale. When a quote can turn into an invoice in one click, there is no re-typing and nothing gets lost between the two.
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Recurring invoice
A bill that goes out automatically on a set schedule - useful for AMCs, retainers, subscriptions and rentals - so you never forget to raise a repeat invoice.
- See credit notes
Credit note
A document that reduces or reverses an invoice - for a return, an over-charge or an adjustment - keeping your books and the customer's account correct.
- See payment tracking
Payment & collection tracking
Seeing what is received, pending and overdue against every customer, so chasing dues is a quick, organised job instead of a guessing game at month end.
- See billing in any currency
Multi-currency billing
Billing overseas customers in their own currency from the same CRM, so exporters and service firms do not need a second tool for foreign invoices.
Communication & marketing
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WhatsApp CRM
A CRM that keeps WhatsApp conversations tied to the right customer record instead of a personal phone. CIPHER CRM does not run WhatsApp chats inside the app today. Each lead and each contact person has a one-click WhatsApp button that opens the chat, and your team logs a lead conversation as a follow-up on that lead.
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Omnichannel
Handling customers across every channel they use - WhatsApp, calls, email, web forms, walk-ins - in one place, so the conversation carries on smoothly no matter where it started.
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Lead nurturing
Keeping in useful touch with leads who are not ready to buy yet - a helpful message, a timely reminder, a relevant offer - so you are the one they call when they are ready.
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Segmentation
Grouping customers or leads by something they share - area, product, value, stage - so you can talk to each group with a message that actually fits, instead of one blast to everyone.
Automation & productivity
- Read the automation guides
Workflow automation
Letting the CRM do the repetitive steps - assign a lead, send a reminder, raise a recurring invoice, notify a manager - the moment a trigger happens, so your team spends the day on customers instead of admin.
- See task management
Task management
Handing out work with a name and a date on it, and tracking it to done, so follow-ups and jobs stop living in someone's memory.
- See reminders
Reminders
Nudges for the next call, the pending payment or the renewal that is due. In CIPHER CRM a reminder pings you or a teammate when the time comes, so the important-but-easy-to-forget things actually get done.
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Reports & dashboards
Live views of sales, leads, billing and team activity, so owners and managers can see performance at a glance and answer their own questions without waiting on anyone or opening Excel.
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KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
A number you watch to know if things are on track - leads this week, conversion rate, revenue collected, overdue payments. A CRM makes KPIs live instead of a monthly scramble.
Service & retention
- See the customer portal
Customer portal
A login your customers use to see their own projects, documents, invoices and messages, which cuts the back-and-forth and makes your business feel organised.
- See checklists
Client onboarding
The steps a new customer goes through after they buy. A standard, tracked onboarding means every new client gets the same smooth start instead of depending on who is handling them.
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Retention & churn
Retention is keeping the customers you already won; churn is losing them. Since winning a new customer costs far more than keeping one, timely follow-ups and renewals are some of the highest-value work a CRM helps with.
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Upsell & cross-sell
Selling more to a customer you already have - a bigger plan (upsell) or a related product (cross-sell). A CRM that remembers what each customer bought makes these the easiest sales you will make.
Data, access & security
- See roles and access
Role-based access control
Deciding what each person can see and change based on their role, so a salesperson, an accountant and the owner each see only what their job needs, and every action stays traceable to a name.
- See protection from password guessing
Sign-in lockout
Temporarily locking sign-in after repeated wrong passwords, with a visible countdown, so nobody can keep guessing their way into your customer data.
- How CIPHER protects your data
Encryption in transit
Locking the data travelling between you and the CRM using HTTPS/TLS, so it cannot be read on the way. It is the basic protection every business tool should have.
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Uptime
The share of time a service is up and working, usually shown as a percentage. A 99.9% uptime posture means the CRM is built to be there whenever your team needs it.
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