companies
Identity, qualification and original lead source.
unique key · domainportfolio / 01 · crm architecture
how to set up a CRM (Attio)
I designed a schema-as-code CRM architecture for Relevance, connecting account context, buying roles, deal progress and conversations in one operating model. The aim was to make the CRM useful to people and automations without giving the same field competing owners.
- core objects
- 4
- defined attributes
- 79
- working lists
- 8
- lead-source values
- 11
the model
Relationships describe how records connect, not how data moves.
1 company → many people
people
Buying role, engagement and person-level contact preferences.
unique key · work email1 company → many deals
deals
Commercial state, ownership and the next action.
one open deal per company1 person → many conversations
1 deal → many conversations
conversations
Threads linked back to the people, companies and deals they concern.
unique key · conversation IDbuying committeePeople can take part in a deal as a group, with one clear point of contact.
The deal is the commercial record. Company and person records keep identity and relationship context; conversation records preserve the interaction trail.
the rules that keep it usable
one writer per field
Every attribute has a named owner: Attio, enrichment, automation or a person. That gives each workflow a clear write boundary.
record origin once
Lead source records how an account or person entered the system. Later activity does not overwrite the original source.
keep suppression scoped
Company and person contact restrictions are separate. One person's opt-out does not suppress their colleagues.
put commercial state on deals
Pipeline stage, attribution and next action live with the opportunity, rather than being inferred from a contact record.
deal lifecycle
One ordered path from interest to a clear outcome.
- 01interested
- 02meeting booked
- 03meeting completed
- 04proposal
- 05won / lost
schema as code
The schema is maintained as a versioned YAML contract. A reconciler compares the declared design with the Attio workspace and prepares ordered API changes. That keeps the documented model and configured CRM aligned.
what the design makes clear
Who a company is. Which people influence a deal. Where the opportunity stands. Which interactions belong to it. And which system or operator owns each field.
Built for Relevance's internal GTM operations. This is a sanitized architecture overview, not a client deployment or a copy of the production workspace.