Commercial relationship types help you understand how commercially engaged an organisation or person is within Tribe. They allow your team to prioritise sales efforts and keep everyone aligned on where each contact stands. Before configuring them, you should decide which types you truly need and how they will be used. By the end of this guide, you will have a clear, practical setup that supports consistent sales work.
In Introduction to Sales in Tribe, you read the article “Commercial relationship types: when to use what”. That article explains the meaning and typical use of each type.
This step is about making practical choices. Instead of focusing on theory, we decide which types you want to activate and use in Tribe.
Why This Step Matters
Commercial relationship types help your team quickly understand how commercially engaged a contact is and where to focus sales efforts.
Note! The value comes from consistency and simplicity, not from having many categories. You should only activate the types your team will genuinely use in daily work.
Available Relationship Types
By default, Tribe supports the following organisation-based commercial relationship types:
Lead
Suspect
Prospect
Hot Prospect
Customer
You do not need to use all of them.
Tribe also supports person-based relationship types:
Individual Lead
Individual Suspect
Individual Prospect
Individual Hot Prospect
Individual Customer
If you only work B2B, you do not need the individual types. If you only work with individuals, you do not need the organisation types. It is your task to decide which relationship types are relevant for your organisation.
Step 1. Decide How Detailed You Want To Be
Start with a simple discussion within your team: How much distinction do you really need between early-stage contacts?
Some teams prefer detailed segmentation. Others prefer a simple structure. There is no right or wrong approach. Only what works in practice.
A simple setup might include:
Lead
Prospect
Customer
This works well if you want minimal complexity.
A more detailed setup might include:
Suspect
Lead
Prospect
Hot Prospect
Customer
This can help prioritise outreach and highlight the most promising opportunities.
Tip! Start simple. You can always expand later.
Step 2. Agree When To Change The Type
Alignment is essential. Discuss and agree:
When does a Lead become a Prospect?
When do we classify someone as a Hot Prospect?
Who is responsible for updating the type?
If these questions are not clearly answered, the setup will not be used consistently. Keep the rules simple and easy to remember.
Step 3. Challenge Complexity
Before activating a relationship type, ask:
Will we use this in daily work?
Does this help us prioritise sales?
Will we report on this later?
If the answer is no, do not activate it yet.
Tip! You can always enable additional types later as your sales process matures.
Recommended Approach
For most organisations starting with Tribe, we recommend beginning with a small set of types, focusing on team alignment, and optimising later (based on real usage). Simple setups are easier to maintain and more likely to be used correctly.
What Success Looks Like
By the end of this step, you should have:
A clear list of active commercial relationship types
Agreement on when each type should be used
Confidence that the setup is practical and simple.
You are now ready to configure these relationship types in Tribe.
How to Configurate This:
Open Configuration from the left menu.
2. Click Relations.
3. Select the correct column:
Use Person types if you work with individual customers.
Use Organisation types if you work B2B.
4. Deactivate the currently active types you do not need.
5. Activate the additional types you have decided to use.
Quick Summary
You have now selected and configured the commercial relationship types that suit your organisation. By keeping the setup simple and aligned with your team, you ensure consistent use in daily sales work. You can expand or refine the structure later as your process develops.