Lead Management

Lead management is the foundation of your sales process. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about capturing, qualifying, and converting leads into opportunities.

Overview

Leads represent potential customers who have shown interest in your products or services. The lead management system helps you:

• Track and organize prospects
• Score and prioritize leads
• Assign leads to sales representatives
• Monitor lead progression through the sales funnel
• Convert qualified leads to opportunities

Accessing Lead Management

Navigate to CRM → Leads to access the lead management interface.

Creating New Leads

Manual Lead Creation

1. Click Add Lead button in the leads interface
2. Fill in the required information:

Required Fields

• Contact Name - Primary contact person
• Email OR Phone - At least one contact method required

Recommended Fields

• Company Name - Organization name
• Lead Source - How you found this lead
• Priority Level - High, Medium, Low, Critical
• Assigned User - Sales rep responsible

Additional Information

• Job Title - Contact's role
• Industry - Business sector
• Company Size - Number of employees
• Annual Revenue - Company revenue range
• Notes - Any relevant information

Lead Import

For bulk lead creation:

1. Navigate to CRM → Leads → Import
2. Download the CSV template
3. Fill in your lead data
4. Upload the completed file
5. Review and confirm the import

Import Best Practices

• Ensure email formats are valid
• Use consistent data formatting
• Include lead source information
• Validate phone number formats

Lead Sources

Track where your leads come from:

Source	Description
Website	Contact forms, chat widgets
Email Campaign	Marketing email responses
Social Media	LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter
Referral	Customer or partner referrals
Trade Show	Event and conference contacts
Cold Call	Outbound prospecting
Advertisement	Online or print ads
Direct Mail	Physical mail campaigns

Lead Scoring System

Automatic Scoring

Leads are automatically scored based on:

Demographic Scoring (0-40 points)

• Job title and authority level
• Company size and industry
• Geographic location
• Budget authority

Behavioral Scoring (0-40 points)

• Email engagement (opens, clicks)
• Website activity
• Content downloads
• Form submissions

Firmographic Scoring (0-20 points)

• Company revenue
• Industry match
• Company growth
• Technology stack

Score Interpretation

Lead Score Ranges

• 🔴 0-30: Cold Lead - Low priority, nurture required
• 🟡 31-69: Warm Lead - Moderate interest, qualify further
• 🟢 70-100: Hot Lead - High priority, immediate follow-up

Manual Score Adjustment

Sales reps can manually adjust scores based on:

• Direct conversation insights
• Specific needs assessment
• Budget confirmation
• Timeline urgency

Lead Qualification

BANT Criteria

Use the BANT framework to qualify leads:

Budget

• Does the prospect have budget allocated?
• What's their budget range?
• Who controls the budget?

Authority

• Is the contact a decision maker?
• Who else is involved in decisions?
• What's the approval process?

Need

• Do they have a clear business need?
• How urgent is the need?
• What's the impact of not solving it?

Timeline

• When do they want to implement?
• Are there any deadlines driving urgency?
• What could delay the timeline?

Lead Statuses

Track lead progression with statuses:

Status	Description	Next Action
New	Recently created	Initial contact
Contacted	First contact made	Follow-up scheduled
Qualified	Meets BANT criteria	Create opportunity
Nurture	Not ready to buy	Regular follow-up
Unqualified	Doesn't meet criteria	Archive
Converted	Became customer	Handoff to account management

Lead Assignment

Automatic Assignment

Configure automatic lead routing based on:

Geographic Territory

• State or region boundaries
• ZIP code ranges
• Country/international assignments

Industry Expertise

• Vertical market specialization
• Product line expertise
• Account size preferences

Round-Robin Distribution

• Equal distribution among team
• Workload balancing
• Availability considerations

Manual Assignment

Sales managers can manually assign leads for:

• Existing relationships
• Special expertise requirements
• Workload rebalancing
• Training opportunities

Lead Activities

Activity Types

Track all interactions with leads:

Activity	Description	When to Use
Call	Phone conversations	Initial contact, follow-ups
Email	Email communications	Document correspondence
Meeting	In-person or virtual meetings	Demos, presentations
Note	General observations	Record insights, next steps
Task	Action items	Set reminders, assignments

Activity Best Practices

Activity Management

• Log every interaction immediately
• Include specific outcomes and next steps
• Set follow-up reminders
• Tag activities for easy searching
• Use templates for consistent messaging

Automated Activities

Set up automatic activities for:

• Welcome email sequences
• Follow-up reminders
• Birthday and anniversary greetings
• Industry-specific content delivery

Lead Conversion

Converting to Opportunities

When a lead is qualified and ready to buy:

1. Open the lead record
2. Click Convert to Opportunity
3. Review and update information:
   • Deal value estimate
   • Expected close date
   • Sales stage assignment
   • Probability assessment
4. Confirm conversion

Conversion Triggers

Consider converting when:

• Budget is confirmed
• Timeline is established
• Decision makers are identified
• Specific needs are defined
• Proposal is requested

Pre-Conversion Checklist

✅ BANT criteria confirmed
✅ Decision makers identified
✅ Budget range established
✅ Timeline confirmed
✅ Specific needs documented
✅ Next steps agreed upon

Lead Analytics and Reporting

Key Metrics to Monitor

Volume Metrics

• New leads per period
• Leads by source
• Lead generation trends
• Geographic distribution

Quality Metrics

• Average lead score
• Conversion rate by source
• Time to qualification
• Cost per lead

Performance Metrics

• Rep activity levels
• Response times
• Conversion rates by rep
• Pipeline contribution

Standard Reports

Access pre-built reports:

Report	Description	Frequency
Lead Source Analysis	Performance by source	Monthly
Rep Performance	Individual metrics	Weekly
Conversion Funnel	Stage-by-stage analysis	Monthly
Lead Aging	Time in each status	Weekly

Advanced Features

Lead Scoring Configuration

Customize scoring rules:

1. Navigate to Settings → CRM → Lead Scoring
2. Configure demographic criteria
3. Set behavioral triggers
4. Define point values
5. Test and refine rules

Duplicate Management

Prevent and manage duplicates:

Automatic Detection

• Email address matching
• Phone number matching
• Company name + contact name

Merge Process

1. Identify duplicates
2. Review matching records
3. Select master record
4. Merge related activities
5. Archive duplicate

Lead Nurturing Campaigns

Set up automated nurturing:

1. Welcome Series - Introduce your company
2. Educational Content - Industry insights
3. Product Information - Feature highlights
4. Case Studies - Success stories
5. Re-engagement - Win back cold leads

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Lead Not Showing in List

Possible Causes:

• Filter settings too restrictive
• User permission limitations
• Assignment to different user

Solutions:

• Clear all filters
• Check assigned user
• Verify permissions with admin

Email Integration Not Working

Check These Items:

• Email account connection status
• Parsing rules configuration
• IMAP/OAuth credentials
• Sync log for errors

Lead Scoring Inaccurate

Review These Areas:

• Scoring rule configuration
• Data quality and completeness
• Behavioral tracking setup
• Manual adjustments needed

Best Practices Summary

🎯 Lead Capture

• Use multiple lead sources
• Implement lead scoring
• Set up automatic routing
• Ensure data quality

📞 Lead Follow-up

• Contact within 5 minutes of inquiry
• Use multi-channel approach
• Personalize communications
• Set systematic follow-up schedule

📊 Lead Analysis

• Monitor conversion rates by source
• Track response times
• Analyze lead quality trends
• Optimize based on data

🔄 Lead Nurturing

• Create valuable content
• Segment by interest and behavior
• Use marketing automation
• Maintain regular touchpoints

Quick Reference

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl + N - New lead (when in leads section)
• Ctrl + S - Save lead form
• Ctrl + F - Search leads
• Enter - Open selected lead

Common Actions

• Bulk Assignment: Select leads → Assign button
• Export Leads: Select leads → Export → CSV/Excel
• Lead Import: Import button → Upload CSV
• Quick Create: + button in navigation

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