A CRM is organised around the pipeline
Traditional CRMs model opportunities, stages and revenue. The contact exists to support the deal, and when the deal closes or dies, the person effectively falls out of view.
That is the right model if your job is forecasting. It is the wrong one if your job is being known and trusted over years.
Relationship management is organised around the person
Here the unit is the human being and the history you have with them, whether or not there is money attached today.
The former client, the person who introduces you to people, the candidate who is not ready yet — none of these fit a pipeline stage, and all of them matter.
Most people need both, in the right order
Capture relationships properly, then push the subset that becomes commercial into your CRM.
Trying to do the first job inside a pipeline tool is why so many contacts end up in a spreadsheet nobody trusts.