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SS KarthickSS Karthick 

Life cycle sales objects

Hi Everybody,
     Can anyone tell me the life cycle of salesforce objects(Mentioned below.. especialy the objects in Bold) and  where its starts  and Where its ends with sample example
Campaign,Lead,Account,Contact,Opportunity,Product,Quotes,orders,Contract,cases and solution..
please help!
Best Answer chosen by SS Karthick
Nilesh Jagtap (NJ)Nilesh Jagtap (NJ)
Hi Karthik,

Here is the link (https://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/api/Content/sforce_api_erd_majors.htm)for ERD of sales object.
This might help you to understand the data model and life cycle.

Thanks,
N.J

All Answers

Nilesh Jagtap (NJ)Nilesh Jagtap (NJ)
Hi Karthik,

Here is the link (https://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/api/Content/sforce_api_erd_majors.htm)for ERD of sales object.
This might help you to understand the data model and life cycle.

Thanks,
N.J
This was selected as the best answer
AnjaneyluAnjaneylu
Hi NJ,
The link which you have provided is not available..
Can you provide an alternative..
Thanks 
Anji
eyewellseeyewellse
These salesforce lifecycle maps have been the best way to understand how the objects interact/are used over time. https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2012/11/sales-process-map.html (lead form competion required)

The customer engagement cycle, at a high level, is like this
  • Marketing (ERD is partially included in Sales ERD below)
    • campaigns (can be individual, or related in a hierarchy)
    • Leads , contacts, & Campaign members (each campaign tracks all those individuals targeted, as well as their current status on the campaign)
    • Activities (tasks and Events) (related to leads, contacts, and other objects)
  • Sales (ERD here: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api.meta/api/sforce_api_erd_majors.htm) 
    • Accounts & Contacts
    • Oppties (1 or more per account/contact, over time)
    • Quote, Quote Line items (1 more more per per oppty)
    • Products, Product Line Items (1 or more per oppty)
  • Support (ERD here: https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api.meta/api/sforce_api_erd_support.htm) 
    • Cases (1 or more over time per contact)
    • Articles (1 or more per case)
    • EmailMessages (1 or more per case)
    • SLAs and Milestones (1 SLA per customer/case)
    • ChatMessage (1 or more per case)
Leads convert into an Account and Contact, and possibly an Oppty (depends on situation)
Leads are "suspects" - they are unqualified, and need follow up, or clarification to see if there is new or renewed interest from someone
Opportunities are qualified - a lead should not be in the pipeline reports until they convert as an Oppty
Not every company uses leads - where you have a known customer base you are trying to target, leads may not be appropriate.

Don't be afraid to have duplicate leads and contacts - leads will merge into the duplicate contact when they are converted.  Leads should contantly be be reviewed, and merged/converted if there is interest/deaded out if there is no response.