Lead
A Lead records someone who may buy: who they are, where the lead came from, who owns it, what they need, and every call, meeting and task with them. It sits in the Sales menu beside Opportunity. The CRM area has a Lead screen of its own, on the same lead records; see Lead in CRM and expenses.
What it is for
It keeps the enquiry and its follow-up in one place until it becomes an opportunity or a quotation. Nothing posts and nothing is created from a lead automatically.
The one rule people get wrong: Lead Status is required, but its lookup is missing in the configuration, so the status cannot be picked from a list. See If something looks wrong.
Every field in plain words
General
| Field | What it means | What to put |
|---|---|---|
| Lead | The lead number | Required, unique |
| Start Date | When the lead came in | Required |
| Lead Status | Where the lead stands | Required |
| Required Date | When the customer needs it | Required |
| Account Type | Customer or Prospect | Required. Customer lets you pick the customer in Account Type no |
| Account Type no / Name | The customer, or the prospect's name | |
| Origin Document / Origin Reference | Where the lead came from | Pick an origin from Lead Origin; Origin Reference then lists campaigns |
| Revenue | The revenue expected | |
| Lead Owner | Who follows it up | Required |
| Industry | The prospect's industry | |
| Priority | How urgent | Picked from a list |
| Rating | How good a lead | From Rating |
Requirement and Line Details
Requirement holds free text. Line Details lists what is needed: Requirements (an item), Unit, Quantity and Line Text, all but the text required. The Line Details tab is hidden when the CRM setting (CRM Setting) says lines are not required.
Address and Contacts
Name of Address, Street, City, State, Country, Zip/Postal Code; Email, Phone, Phone 1 and 2, Mobile, Mobile 1 and 2.
Calls, Meetings, Tasks
- Calls: Call Date, Call Time, Duration, Discussion, Next Action, Next Action Date.
- Meetings: Meeting Date, Meeting Time, Duration, Meeting Place, Discussion, Next Action.
- Tasks: Task Date, Task Time, Task Details, Task Status.
How to configure it
Set up the lead origins, categories, ratings and owners first. Many more lead fields are configured (salutation, first and last name, breakdown and equipment details, building and floor) but not placed on the screen; they never show.
Scenarios
- An enquiry from a trade-show campaign. Origin Document the campaign origin, Origin Reference the campaign, owner the salesman who met them, requirements on the lines.
What it is connected to
- Opportunity and Sales Quotation - the next steps, entered by hand.
- Lead Origin, Category, Rating.
- Lead in CRM - the same lead records, with the pipeline; see also CRM Setting.
If something looks wrong
- The Lead Status lookup shows nothing - its lookup is not registered in the configuration. Report it; until it is fixed, the required status cannot be picked.
- "Required date should be greater than Lead Date" - Save compares the Start Date with a close date the screen does not show. If it appears, the stored close date is earlier than the Start Date; report it.
- Salutation and First Name are reported missing - they are configured as required but are not on the screen.