A deal can have multiple contacts and one business. That is how you represent "this deal is with Acme Corp and we are talking to Jane and John."
Adding contacts to a deal
When you create or edit a deal, you can link one or more contacts. From the deal detail page, use the Contacts section in the sidebar: pick a contact to add, or remove one. Every linked contact is associated with the deal. Their activity (e.g. logged emails) can show in context, and you can add next actions on the contact or on the deal.
Use multiple contacts when several people are involved (e.g. the champion and the economic buyer). Everyone stays visible on the deal so you do not lose track of who is who.
When to add a business
Link a business to the deal when the opportunity is "with a company" and you want to:
- See the company name and context on the deal.
- Have the deal show up on the business page (deals for Acme Corp).
- Reuse the same business across multiple contacts and deals.
Create the business first via Businesses and then Add, then link contacts to that business from the contact or business page. When creating or editing the deal, select that business. You can still link multiple contacts to the deal; often those contacts are already linked to the same business.
One business per deal
A deal has at most one business. If your process is "one deal = one account," that is a natural fit. If you need two companies on one deal, pick the primary account as the business and link contacts from both. The contact list is the full set of people involved.