CRM - Customer Relationship Management

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) gathers, tracks and manages every interaction with your customers in one place: leads, the pipeline, activities, quotations and reports in PORTWARE.

What You Will Learn in This Guide

  • What CRM is and how it adds value to your business
  • The difference between lead, opportunity and customer
  • How to manage the sales pipeline effectively
  • How to apply real business scenarios in PORTWARE
  • How to analyse your sales performance with reports

What is CRM?

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a system that gathers, tracks and manages every interaction with your customers in one place. But CRM is not just software — it is also a customer-centred way of doing business.

CRM pipeline

The pipeline — the whole team's opportunities by stage, expected revenue above each column

A Real-Life Example

Situation: picture a salesperson working the traditional way. Customer details in Excel, notes on paper, e-mails scattered across the inbox...

One day an important customer calls: "What happened to the quotation we discussed last month?"

The salesperson opens Excel in a panic, digs through e-mails, searches the notes... Every second the customer waits is lost trust.

With CRM: you type the customer's name and the whole history — calls, quotations, notes, e-mails — appears at once. You leave a professional, trustworthy impression.

Why Use CRM?

You may think: "I already track customers in Excel, why use a system?" Here is how CRM differs from Excel:

Topic Excel / Paper CRM System
Customer History Scattered, hard to search The whole history in one click
Follow-up Reminders Manual, easy to forget Automatic notifications
Teamwork File sharing, version chaos Real-time sharing
Reporting Manual, time-consuming Instant, automatic
Mobile Access Hard or impossible Access from anywhere

Time Saving

Focus on selling instead of searching for information. The average salesperson loses 2 hours a day looking for information.

More Sales

Companies using CRM sell 29% more on average. No opportunity slips through.

Customer Satisfaction

Know your customer. Offer personalised service. Win loyal customers.

Visibility

Managers see the sales situation in real time and spot problems early.

Core Concepts

Before stepping into CRM you need the core concepts. They are similar in every CRM system (Salesforce, HubSpot, PORTWARE).

Lead (Prospect)

A person or company you do not know yet, who has shown interest but has not been qualified. Example: an enquiry from a web form, a business card collected at a trade fair.

Opportunity

A prospect you have qualified and in whom you see real sales potential: a lead with the right budget, authority, need and timing.

Customer

A person or company you have made at least one sale to and now have a business relationship with. They carry repeat-sale and referral potential.

Pipeline

A visual arrangement of all your opportunities by stage. In kanban format, each column is a stage.

Activity

Actions to take with the customer: a phone call, an e-mail, a meeting, sending a quotation. Every activity has a date and an owner.

Tag

Markers used to categorise leads and opportunities. Example: "Hot", "Cold", "VIP", "Campaign 2024".

From Lead to Customer: the Conversion Process

1 Lead Arrives 2 Assessment 3 Qualification 4 Converted to Opportunity 5 Quotation 6 Customer
Quick-adding an opportunity

A column's + opens the quick-create card — company, contact and expected revenue without leaving the pipeline

Activity view

The activity view — which follow-up each opportunity is waiting for; red is overdue, green is planned

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a lead and an opportunity?

Lead: a prospect you do not know yet, who has only shown interest. You do not know who they are, what they want or whether they have a budget.

Opportunity: a prospect you know, have qualified and see sales potential in. They meet the BANT criteria (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline).

In short: leads are quantity, opportunities are quality.

Why does the pipeline matter?

The pipeline is the visual map of your sales process. It shows you:

  • How many opportunities you have and at which stages
  • How much revenue is expected this month/quarter
  • Which stage is blocked
  • How each person is performing

Managing sales without a pipeline is like driving blindfolded.

When should I create a lead, and when an opportunity directly?

Create a lead for people you have just met and not qualified. Example: trade-fair business cards, web-form enquiries, cold-call lists.

Create an opportunity directly for customers you already know or who come by referral with a clear request. Example: a new project from an existing customer, a referral from someone you know.

First Steps in PORTWARE CRM

What will you see when you first open CRM in PORTWARE, and where should you start? Here is your step-by-step start guide:

  1. Open the CRM App

    Click the CRM icon on the main menu. The pipeline (kanban) view opens.

  2. Get to Know the Pipeline Stages

    The default stages are New, Qualified, Proposition, Negotiation and Won. You can customise them for your company.

  3. Create Your First Lead or Opportunity

    Click the + New button at the top right. Enter the customer name, the company and the expected revenue.

  4. Schedule an Activity

    Once the opportunity exists, add your first activity, such as "introduction call tomorrow at 10:00".

  5. Review the Dashboard

    Go to Reporting in the top menu. See your pipeline value and conversion rates.

Target for the first week: enter at least 10 leads or opportunities and schedule an activity on each. That is how the daily habit forms.
CRM report chart

The CRM report — opportunities by stage and salesperson, stacked chart

How to Do It in PORTWARE

Opening the CRM App

To open CRM from the PORTWARE home screen:

  1. Click the Apps menu at the top left
  2. Click the CRM icon in the app list
  3. The pipeline (kanban) view opens automatically
Understanding the Pipeline View

The kanban board on the CRM home screen:

  • Columns: each column is a sales stage (New, Qualified, Proposition, Negotiation, Won)
  • Cards: each card is an opportunity - showing the customer, the expected revenue and the planned activity
  • Drag and drop: move cards between columns to change the stage
Creating Your First Opportunity
  1. Click the New button at the top right
  2. Fill in these fields on the form:
    • Opportunity: the opportunity title (e.g. "ABC Company - ERP Project")
    • Customer: type the customer name or create a new one with
    • Expected Revenue: the estimated sales amount
    • Expected Closing: the estimated closing date
  3. Click the Save button
View Options

Switch views with the view buttons at the top right:

  • Kanban: the pipeline view (default)
  • List: every opportunity in a table
  • Pivot: an analytical pivot table
  • Graph: visual charts
  • Calendar: activities on a calendar
Filtering and Search

Using the search bar at the top:

  • Quick search: type a customer name or opportunity title
  • Filters: choose ready-made filters from the Filters menu (My Pipeline, This Month, Lost...)
  • Group by: group by salesperson, stage or date with Group By

Lead Management

Lead management is where the sales process begins. Capturing, qualifying and prioritising your prospects correctly is the foundation of sales success.

Where Do Leads Come From?

Leads can come from many channels, each with its own advantages and challenges:

Opportunity list

Opportunities as a list — contact, e-mail, salesperson, expected revenue and stage

Source Description Quality Tracking in PORTWARE
Website Contact forms, demo requests High (active interest) Leads created automatically
Trade Fairs Business cards, stand visits Medium (bulk) Excel import / manual entry
Phone Incoming calls, cold calls Variable Manual entry
E-mail Incoming enquiries, campaign replies High E-mail integration
Referral Recommendations from existing customers Very high Manual entry + tagging
LinkedIn Social selling, connections Medium-high Manual entry

Scenario: Back from a Trade Fair

Situation: you are back from a technology fair with 35 business cards. All of them must go into the system and be followed up.

  1. Bulk entry: put the card details into Excel (name, company, e-mail, phone)
  2. Import: upload the Excel file from CRM > Import
  3. Source tag: tag every lead "Source: 2024 Technology Fair"
  4. First activity: create a "send an introduction e-mail within 24 hours" activity for each lead
  5. Prioritise: mark those who showed strong interest at the fair as "Priority"

Result: 35 leads are in the system; none will be forgotten and all will be followed up.

Qualifying Leads: the BANT Method

Spending time on every lead is inefficient. Use the BANT method to find the leads with real sales potential:

Budget

Does the customer have a budget set aside for this solution? Do not hesitate to ask "what is your budget?"

Authority

Can the person you are talking to make the purchase decision, or are they only researching?

Need

Do they have a real need? Which problem are they trying to solve?

Timeline

When do they want to buy? This month, this year, or "some day"?

Convert leads that meet at least 3 of the 4 BANT criteria into opportunities. Tag the others as "cold leads" and follow them up periodically.
Expected closing and probability

The opportunity's timeline — expected revenue, probability and tomorrow's planned quotation

Creating Leads in PORTWARE

Entering a Lead by Hand
  1. CRM › Leads menu

    Note: if the Leads menu is not visible, enable Settings › CRM › Leads.

  2. Click the New button
  3. Fill in the lead form:
    • Lead Name: a title describing the interest (e.g. "Website renewal request")
    • Contact Name: the person's full name
    • E-mail: the contact's e-mail address
    • Phone: the contact's phone number
    • Company Name: the organisation they work for
  4. For more detail switch to the Internal Notes tab and add the meeting notes
  5. Click the Save button
Importing Leads in Bulk from Excel
  1. On the CRM › Leads screen choose Favorites › Import records
  2. Choose your Excel/CSV file with Upload File
  3. Map the columns:
    • "Name" in Excel → in PORTWARE Lead Name
    • "Email" in Excel → E-mail in PORTWARE
  4. Click the Import button
Adding Tags

To categorise lead records:

  1. Open the lead record
  2. Click the Tags field
  3. Pick an existing tag or type a new tag name and press Enter

Suggested tags: "Fair 2024", "Web Form", "Referral", "Hot", "Cold", "VIP"

Assigning Leads

To assign a lead to a salesperson:

  • Select the person in the Salesperson field of the lead form
  • Or select a Sales Team to use round-robin assignment within the team

Converting a Lead into an Opportunity

You have qualified the lead and see sales potential. Now it is time to convert it:

Opportunity form

The opportunity form — expected revenue and probability, the planned activity and the task raised from it

  1. Open the Lead Record

    Find and open the lead in CRM.

  2. Click "Convert to Opportunity"

    Click the button at the top. A new window opens.

  3. Enter the Opportunity Details

    Choose the expected revenue, the estimated closing date and the stage.

  4. Create the Customer Record

    If it does not exist yet, a new customer is created; if it does, the lead is linked to it.

  5. Schedule the First Activity

    Once the opportunity exists, schedule the first meeting or demo.

Converting a Lead into an Opportunity in PORTWARE

The Conversion
  1. Open the lead to convert from the CRM › Leads screen
  2. Click the Convert to Opportunity button at the top
  3. Set the options in the dialog:
    • Conversion Action: "Create a new customer and opportunity" or "Link to an existing customer"
    • Salesperson: who will follow the opportunity
    • Sales Team: which team it is assigned to
  4. Click the Create Opportunity button
  5. The system takes you to the new opportunity automatically
Matching an Existing Customer

If the lead belongs to a customer who is already registered:

  • PORTWARE detects similar customer records automatically
  • A Similar Customers Found warning appears in the conversion dialog
  • Choose "Link to an existing customer" to merge the customer data
Bulk Conversion

To convert several leads at once:

  1. Tick the boxes on the left of the leads in the list
  2. Choose Action › Convert to Opportunity at the top
  3. Set the bulk conversion options and confirm

Pipeline Management

The pipeline is the visual representation of your sales process. It organises all your opportunities by stage and shows you the "big picture".

Opportunity Stages

The default sales stages in PORTWARE and what to do at each one:

Opportunities grouped by stage

Opportunities grouped by stage — each stage's total expected revenue on its row

Stage Description What to Do at This Stage Probability of Success
New A newly created opportunity Make first contact, analyse the need 10%
Qualified Meets the BANT criteria Plan a detailed meeting or a demo 20%
Proposition Quotation sent Prepare, send and follow up the quotation 40%
Negotiation Price/terms under discussion Negotiate, answer objections 60%
Won Sale completed Sign the contract, convert to an order 100%
Check your pipeline every day. At least 3 opportunities should always be in "Proposition" or "Negotiation" so that sales keep flowing.

Planning Activities: Miss Nothing

Activities are the heart of CRM. Managing them well is the key to sales success.

Schedule activity dialog

Schedule Activity — type, summary, due date and assignee, right on the record

Phone Call

Talking to the customer. The most effective way to get quick decisions and build a relationship.

E-mail

Written communication. Ideal for sharing detailed information and sending quotations.

Meeting

In person or by video. For demos, presentations and closing meetings.

To-Do

General tasks: preparing quotations, research, internal coordination.

Scenario: Managing the Day's Activities

Situation: you have just arrived at work. What should you do today?

  1. Open the activity list: go to CRM > My Activities
  2. See today's activities: red (overdue), orange (today), blue (upcoming)
  3. Set priorities: finish the overdue activities first
  4. Take notes after each activity: a summary of the call, the next step
  5. Schedule the next one: after each completed activity, add the following one

Golden rule: an opportunity without an activity is a forgotten opportunity. Every opportunity must have a next activity.

Pipeline and Activity Management in PORTWARE

Customising Pipeline Stages
  1. Go to the CRM › Configuration › Stages menu
  2. Click a row to edit an existing stage or add one with New
  3. Fill in these fields on the stage form:
    • Stage Name: for example "Discovery Call", "Demo Done"
    • Sequence: the order in the pipeline (smaller numbers to the left)
    • Probability: the default win probability at this stage (%)
    • Sales Team: select it if the stage belongs to one team
Changing an Opportunity's Stage

To move an opportunity to a new stage:

  • In kanban: drag the opportunity card to the column you want
  • On the opportunity form: click the stage buttons at the top or pick from the Stage drop-down
Scheduling Activities
  1. Open the opportunity and go to the Chatter panel on the right
  2. Click the Schedule Activity button
  3. Fill in the activity form:
    • Activity Type: Call, E-mail, Meeting, To-Do
    • Summary: a short description (e.g. "Follow up on the price quote")
    • Due Date: when the activity is due
    • Assigned to: who will do it
  4. Click the Schedule button
Completing an Activity
  1. Click the Mark Done button on the activity card
  2. In the window that opens:
    • Feedback: write your meeting notes
    • Optionally tick Next Activity and schedule the next one
  3. Click Done or Done & Schedule Next
Activity Views

You can view your activities in several ways:

  • CRM › My Activities: the list of your own activities
  • In the pipeline kanban, the coloured dots under each card show the activity status:
    • 🔴 Red: an overdue activity
    • 🟠 Orange: due today
    • 🟢 Green: due later
    • ⚪ Grey: no activity (watch out!)
Shortcuts
  • Alt + Shift + H: schedule a call
  • Alt + Shift + M: schedule an e-mail activity
  • Alt + Shift + L: schedule a meeting

The Closing Process

Creating a Quotation

When your opportunity reaches the "Proposition" stage you need a professional quotation. In PORTWARE you go straight from CRM to the Sales module to create it.

New quotation from an opportunity

New Quotation — the opportunity's customer comes filled in; the quotation stays linked to it

  1. Click "New Quotation" on the Opportunity

    Use the "New Quotation" button at the top of the opportunity page.

  2. Add the Products/Services

    Select the products or services to quote and enter the quantities.

  3. Set the Pricing

    Set discounts, tax rates and the validity period.

  4. Send the Quotation

    Send it in a professional format with the "Send by E-mail" button.

Won / Lost

Every opportunity ends — you either win or lose. In both cases recording it properly matters.

When You Win

1. Move the opportunity to "Won"
2. Turn the quotation into an order
3. Send the customer a thank-you e-mail
4. Ask for a referral (at the right moment)

When You Lose

1. Mark the opportunity as "Lost"
2. Choose the lost reason (price, competitor, timing...)
3. Note what you learned
4. Plan to get in touch again in 6 months

Lost opportunities are as valuable as won ones. Learn from every loss and improve your process; analysing the lost reasons increases your future wins.

Creating Quotations and Closing in PORTWARE

Creating a Quotation from an Opportunity
  1. Open the opportunity in CRM
  2. At the top, click the New Quotation button

    This button requires the Sales module integration.

  3. On the Sales Quotation form that opens:
    • Customer: filled in automatically (from CRM)
    • Expiration: how long the quotation is valid
    • Payment Terms: the terms (e.g. "30 Days")
  4. Order Lines tab, use Add a line to add products/services:
    • Product: the product or service to sell
    • Description: a detailed description (filled in automatically, editable)
    • Quantity: the number of units
    • Unit Price: the sales price
    • Disc. %: an optional discount
  5. Click the Save button
  6. Click the Send by E-mail button to send the quotation
Marking an Opportunity as Won
  1. Open the opportunity
  2. At the top, the Won button

    Or drag the opportunity to the "Won" column in kanban.

  3. The system sets the opportunity to "Won" and includes it in the statistics
Marking an Opportunity as Lost
  1. Open the opportunity
  2. Click the Lost button at the top
  3. Choose the lost reason in the dialog:
    • Lost Reason: "Too expensive", "Chose a competitor", "No longer needed", etc.
    • Closing Note: a detailed explanation (optional but recommended)
  4. Click the Mark as Lost button
Reopening a Lost Opportunity

To reconsider a lost opportunity:

  1. On the CRM › Opportunities screen choose Filters › Lost
  2. Open the opportunity
  3. Click the Restore button
  4. The opportunity returns to the pipeline
Configuring Lost Reasons

To add lost reasons specific to your company:

  1. Go to the CRM › Configuration › Lost Reasons menu
  2. Add a new reason with the New button
  3. Example reasons: "Insufficient budget", "Timing mismatch", "Technical requirements not met"

Customer Relations

The 360° Customer View

In PORTWARE every customer record brings together everything about that customer in one place:

Communication History

Every e-mail, call note and meeting record in chronological order.

Sales History

Every quotation, order, invoice and payment.

Support Tickets

Open and closed support tickets (with the Helpdesk integration).

Projects

The customer's projects and tasks (with the Project integration).

Customer Segmentation

Treating every customer the same way is inefficient. Group your customers with segmentation and apply the right strategy to each group:

Segment Definition Strategy
VIP High-volume, loyal customers Special attention, priority support, senior-level relationship
Growth Growing customers with high potential Cross-selling and upselling opportunities
Standard The middle segment that buys regularly Efficient service, standard processes
At Risk Falling purchases, signs of dissatisfaction Proactive contact, problem solving, special offers

The 360° Customer View in PORTWARE

Opening the Customer Card
  1. Click the name in the Customer field of an opportunity or lead
  2. Or search for the customer from the Contacts › Contacts menu
Smart Buttons

The smart buttons at the top of the customer record:

  • Opportunities (3): all the customer's CRM opportunities
  • Sales (5): all sales orders
  • Invoices (8): all invoices and their payment status
  • Projects (2): the customer's projects
  • Support (4): helpdesk tickets

Note: the buttons shown depend on the installed modules and the customer's activity.

Tagging for Customer Segmentation
  1. Open the customer record
  2. Click the Tags field
  3. Add segment tags: "VIP", "Growth", "At Risk", "Standard"
  4. Use these tags for filtering and reporting
Communication History (Chatter)

In the Chatter area at the bottom of the customer record:

  • See every e-mail exchange
  • Add internal notes ( Log note)
  • Follow the activity history
  • Attach documents ()

Sharing with several companies

The standard core gives an opportunity one company, and the multi-company rules hide it from every other company. The Shared with Companies field on the opportunity and project forms opens the record to the group companies working on the same customer — activity analysis, and on projects the tasks, milestones and updates, included.

Sharing is an access decision: the added company's users see the record and work on it. A salesperson limited to their own documents also sees the opportunities shared with their company.

Team Management

With more than one salesperson, team management becomes critical. In PORTWARE you can organise your sales team and follow its performance.

Sales Teams

Organise your teams by region, product line or customer segment:

  • Regional: Istanbul team, Anatolia team, export team
  • By product: software sales, hardware sales, service sales
  • By segment: enterprise team, SME team, retail team

Lead Distribution

Leads can be assigned to team members automatically or by hand:

Round Robin

Leads go to team members in turn. It ensures an even distribution.

By Region

The lead goes to the representative for its location.

By Industry

The lead goes to the specialist for its industry.

Manual

A manager reviews each lead and assigns it to the right person.

Reports and KPIs

"You cannot manage what you do not measure." CRM reports help you understand and improve your sales performance.

Key Sales KPIs

CRM pivot table

Pivot — expected revenue by stage and period; rows and columns open with a click

Pipeline Value
₺ 1.2M
Conversion Rate
%23
Avg. Sales Cycle
28 days
Avg. Deal Value
₺ 45K

Sales Forecast

Forecast the expected revenue from the probabilities of the opportunities in your pipeline:

🖼️
CRM Gelir/Gider AnaliziThis screenshot is being renewed. The previous image came from the live system and carried real people's and customers' data, so it was withdrawn; an image from the PORTWARE demo company will replace it.

Revenue/expense analysis - a detailed view of your sales performance

Stage Number of Opportunities Total Value Probability Expected Revenue
Qualified 8 ₺ 400,000 20% ₺ 80,000
Proposition 5 ₺ 350,000 40% ₺ 140,000
Negotiation 3 ₺ 200,000 60% ₺ 120,000
Total Expected Revenue ₺ 340,000

CRM Reports and Analysis in PORTWARE

Pipeline Analysis
  1. Go to the CRM › Reporting › Pipeline menu
  2. The default view shows the pipeline value by stage
  3. To customise the view:
    • Bar chart
    • Line chart
    • Pie chart
  4. Measures menu, choose the metrics you want to see:
    • Expected Revenue: the total pipeline value
    • Prorated Revenue: probability × expected revenue
    • Count: the number of opportunities
Sales Forecast
  1. Go to the CRM › Reporting › Forecast menu
  2. See the expected revenue by month or quarter
  3. Group By menu:
    • Group by salesperson
    • Group by sales team
    • Group by month/quarter
Conversion Rate Analysis
  1. Go to the CRM › Reporting › Pipeline Analysis menu
  2. Choose the period with Filters
  3. Calculate the won/total ratio in the pivot view
Activity Report
  1. Go to the CRM › Reporting › Activities menu
  2. Analyse the completed activities by activity type and person
  3. See which activities are done most with Group By › Activity Type
Exporting a Report

To export any report to Excel:

  1. In the report view click the Export button
  2. Choose XLSX or CSV as the format
  3. The file is downloaded automatically
Building Your Own Dashboard

To add the reports you use most to a dashboard:

  1. In the report view choose Favorites › Add to Dashboard
  2. Enter a dashboard name and save
  3. Reach this view quickly from the dashboards on the home screen

Integrations

CRM and the Sales Module

Your CRM opportunities connect seamlessly to the Sales module:

1 Opportunity (CRM) 2 Quotation (Sales) 3 Order (Sales) 4 Invoice (Accounting) 5 Collection

E-mail Integration

PORTWARE can integrate your e-mail inbox with CRM:

  • Automatic linking of incoming e-mails: e-mails from the customer are added to the related record
  • Sending e-mail from CRM: e-mail the customer without leaving the system
  • E-mail templates: ready-made templates for recurring e-mails
  • Bulk e-mail: send campaign e-mails

Best Practices

Daily habit: Open CRM first thing every morning, check today's activities and set priorities.
Data quality: Missing or wrong data lowers the value of CRM. Keep every record complete and up to date.
Activity discipline: Every opportunity must have a next activity. An opportunity without an activity is a forgotten opportunity.
Loss analysis: Record the reason for every lost opportunity. Analyse the losses monthly and improve your process.
Data security: Customer information is sensitive data. Give access only to authorised people and comply with KVKK/GDPR.

Related Topics