[QUICK START] Organizing Contacts
Cloze will create a contact profile for every person and company you know from the accounts you connect. When you get started, we recommend organizing the people and companies you are currently working with using the options provided in the Relationship section. The Relationship section helps you track the client journey.
When you tap on a contact you’ll find a section within the profile called "Relationship" (On cloze.com, look for it on the right side of the screen; on mobile, tap on "About") Relationships can be organized by Stages (a), Segments (b), Next Steps (c), and Custom Fields (d).
To organize a contact, simply tap on a Stage and Segment when viewing their profile in Cloze.
Stages
Stages show where someone is in their process — for example: Warm > Hot > In Contract > Closed).
- As you make progress, you’ll move the contact from one Stage to the next.
- Stages work together with Segments (who the person is) to give you the full picture of your relationship.
Segments
Segments show who the person is to you — like a Buyer, Seller, Customer, or even personal ones like Family or Friend.
- Business Segments — Clients, customers, coworkers, and other business contacts. These can be shared with your team.
- Personal Segments — Friends, family, and personal contacts. Always private, even on a team account.
- Custom Segments — Create your own if the defaults don’t fit. Learn more: Customize your Segments
Examples:
- Your leads would be organized with the Stage "Warm" and Segment "Buyers".
- Customers you are actively working with would be organized as "In Contract Customers".
Next Steps
Next Steps help you stay organized by showing what needs to be done next.
- Think of them as your built-in playbook—a checklist you can reuse for each Stage and Segment.
- Define Next Steps in Settings for each type of relationship.
- Each step can include its own reminder or email template to keep you consistent.
- As you complete tasks, you’ll always know what’s done and what’s still ahead.
Learn more: Set up Next Steps
Stages & Next Steps
Think of Stages as the big milestones (Warm > Hot > In Contract > Closed). Think of Next Steps as the smaller tasks that move someone from one Stage to the next. This combination makes your process consistent and repeatable—so nothing slips through the cracks.
- Sales — Stages + Next Steps form your pipeline or sales funnel.
- Projects — Track the steps to win and deliver an engagement.
- Real Estate — Outline the steps to help a client buy or sell a home.
Learn more: Adjust your keep in touch settings for each Stage and Segment combination
Each person in Cloze can only have one Stage, one Segment, and one Next Step at any given time. For example, a contact cannot be classified as both a Client and a Partner at once.
We recommend setting their primary business relationship as the Segment. If you need to track additional details or sub-types, you can do this with Custom Fields (see section below).
Custom Fields
Custom Fields let you add details beyond Stages, Segments, or Next Steps. They give you a flexible way to classify People, Companies, Projects, or Deals so you can track what matters most to your business.
- Capture details like Type, Role, Department, or Lead Source.
- Create your own custom classifications to fit your workflow.
- Organize fields into Custom Sections for easier management.
- On Cloze Business, Custom Fields are shared across your team for consistency.
Learn more: Overview of Custom Fields
Tags
Tags are like labels you can add to People, Companies, Projects, or Deals. They help you organize contacts by traits or characteristics—and share that organization with your team.
- Use Tags when you need to group contacts across different Segments or Stages.
- Tags give you flexibility because they don’t change as a relationship moves forward.
- Great for organizing by shared interests, events, or lists.
Examples:
- Track everyone you met at a networking event.
- Create a holiday card list that spans potential clients, current clients, and partners.
- Group contacts by common interests (e.g., gardening, hiking, travel).
Learn more: Get Started with Tags
Audiences
Audiences let you quickly access groups of contacts without rebuilding filters each time. They’re built using filters you choose—like Stage, Segment, Tag, or Custom Fields—to focus on specific groups of people.
- Flexible — There’s no single “right” way to define an Audience.
- Personalized — Tailor outreach and marketing to each subset of contacts.
- Dynamic — As you organize contacts, Audiences update automatically.
Example:
An Audience defined with a Tag (e.g., Holiday Card List) will automatically update as you add or remove that Tag from contacts.
Learn more: Audiences
