Lesson 5 of 18 · 8–12 min
Common Standard Objects
Account, Contact, Lead, Opportunity, Case, and Campaign encode common CRM lifecycles that developers frequently extend.
Learning sequence · data model first, security layers next
- What CRM and Salesforce Do
- The Salesforce Ecosystem and Major Clouds
- Org, App, Object, Field, and Record
- Standard and Custom Objects
- Common Standard Objects
- Field Types and Data Quality
- Objects, Fields & Records
- Lookup vs Master-Detail
- Many-to-Many Relationships and Junction Objects
- Profiles, Permission Sets & Object Access
- Field-Level Security
- OWD and Least-Privilege Record Access
- Opening Access: Role Hierarchy, Sharing Rules, Public Groups & Apex Sharing
- Apex First Steps
- Variables and Collections
- SOQL and DML Basics
- Why Asynchronous Apex Exists
- REST Callout Introduction
Your focus
Prepare for Senior / Lead Roles
CHECKPOINT · Checkpoint
- Confirm the model quickly and identify architecture consequences.
Learning objective
Explain the business role and key relationships of six common standard objects.
The concept
Account represents a business or household; Contact a person related to an account; Lead an unqualified prospect; Opportunity a potential revenue event; Case a service issue; Campaign a marketing initiative. Conversion and relationship behavior matter as much as the labels.
Worked example
A campaign response creates a Lead. Qualification can convert it into Account, Contact, and optionally Opportunity records. A later support issue becomes a Case related to the customer.Trace the record from acquisition through qualification, sale, and service. At each step identify the record's owner, state, and relationship to the customer.
1.Campaign
2.Lead
3.Account + Contact
4.Opportunity
5.Case
- Campaign connects to Lead
- Lead connects to Account + Contact: Convert
- Account + Contact connects to Opportunity
- Account + Contact connects to Case
Common mistake
Using Lead as a permanent person record or Opportunity as the customer itself.
Interview angle
Explain the lifecycle, including what changes during lead conversion and why Account and Contact stay separate.
Pause and apply
Where would you record a customer's open deal versus their product problem?
Official references
- Salesforce Trailhead: CRM Basics (opens in a new tab)
- Salesforce Trailhead: Understand Custom & Standard Objects (opens in a new tab)
Reviewed 2026-09-23. Examples are illustrative; no code is executed here.
Key takeaways
- Objects represent different stages and responsibilities.
- Lead conversion creates or connects enduring customer records.
Practice next
No linked assessment is available for this lesson. Use the pause-and-apply question to check your reasoning.
Reading these lessons does not yet save completion. Challenge results continue to provide assessment evidence.