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Navigating to Leads

CRM > LEADS > MANAGE LEADS

Using Leads

A Lead is a potential opportunity for additional business. Prospective customers, which can either be a physical person or company, can be managed using the Leads module.

Navigate to Leads and explore existing entries via the Summary page.
Click on the Number link of the entry of your interest to enter the Data Entry page and see more detail.
Use the Actions Menu to create a NEW Lead, modify (EDIT) or DELETE an existing one.
Use BACK to return to the Summary page and CANCEL to revert any unwanted changes made to the Lead.
Click on ACTIONS to discover other possibilities available for Leads.
Click on the Audit Log button to view a log of changes performed on the displayed Leads.

View the Attributes Table below for a comprehensive description of Leads' fields. Check the Validations & Restrictions Table for a list of available Actions when working with Leads including each Action's related restrictions, validations and additional information.

The Action Panel is available for Leads as from R11.1.0.

Up until R11.0.0, Actions can be selected and applied through the Actions Menu at the top of the page and the following fields are found in the Section tabs of the Lead Data Entry page:

Status
Life Cycle State
Owned by Group
Shared Notes
Assignments

Validations & Restrictions

Action	Validations	Restrictions	Additional Information
Create	Mandatory fields must be defined Multiple Leads can be created, but each one should have a unique Name and Alternative Code.	Leads can be modified only if they are in a 'Pending' or 'In Progress' Life Cycle State Leads that are assigned to a specific Unit and not to a specific User (pending acceptance) can have all of their fields modified except the 'Assign To' field. The Type of the Lead cannot be modified after it is created.	AVAILABLE FROM CRM.COM R11.1.0 The following are validations for Contact Phone and Contact Email based on conditions: If the trigger to send an Email Communication for the Action is 'Enabled' in the Lead Type Communication Settings, then the Contact's Email Address must be defined on the Lead. If the trigger to send an SMS Communication is 'Enabled' in the Lead Type Communication Settings, then the Contact's Phone must be defined on the Lead.
Edit	Mandatory fields must be defined	Not Applicable	AVAILABLE FROM CRM.COM R11.1.0 The following are validations for Contact Phone and Contact Email based on conditions: If the trigger to send an Email Communication for the Action is 'Enabled' in the Lead Type Communication Settings, then the Contact's Email Address must be defined on the Lead. If the trigger to send an SMS Communication is 'Enabled' in the Lead Type Communication Settings, then the Contact's Phone must be defined on the Lead.
Delete	Not Applicable	Leads can be deleted only if they are in a 'Pending' Life Cycle State. Information related to a Lead, such as the Contact Information cannot be deleted unless the Lead is deleted or completed.	Not Applicable
Accept	Users belonging to the 'Assigned to' Unit can access the Lead and accept it.	Not Applicable	Not Applicable
Complete	Leads cannot be completed if there are related activities which are not yet completed.	Not Applicable	Completed Leads are those with the following statuses: Lost Won Cancelled AVAILABLE FROM CRM.COM R11.1.0
Start Progress	Not Applicable	The Lead's Life Cycle State is Pending	Not Applicable
Complete	Leads cannot be completed if there are related activities which are not yet completed.	Not Applicable	Completed Leads are those with the following statuses: Lost Won Cancelled AVAILABLE FROM CRM.COM R11.1.0
Win	An Accounts Receivable is set if required by the Lead Definition	Leads can be 'Won' only if they are in a 'Pending' Life Cycle State.	When a Status is set as 'Won', depending on Lead Definition setting, the Accounts Receivable modal window opens to which all relevant information is transferred. The User must complete the empty and mandatory fields before the Account Receivable is created. AVAILABLE FROM CRM.COM R11.1.0 The following are validations for Contact Phone and Contact Email based on conditions: If the trigger to send an Email Communication for the Action is 'Enabled' in the Lead Type Communication Settings, then the Contact's Email Address must be defined on the Lead. If the trigger to send an SMS Communication is 'Enabled' in the Lead Type Communication Settings, then the Contact's Phone must be defined on the Lead.
Lost	When a 'Lost' Status is set then a Reason should be selected.	Leads can be 'Lost' only if they are in a 'Pending' Life Cycle State.	AVAILABLE FROM CRM.COM R11.1.0 The following are validations for Contact Phone and Contact Email based on conditions: If the trigger to send an Email Communication for the Action is 'Enabled' in the Lead Type Communication Settings, then the Contact's Email Address must be defined on the Lead. If the trigger to send an SMS Communication is 'Enabled' in the Lead Type Communication Settings, then the Contact's Phone must be defined on the Lead.
Schedule an Activity	Not Applicable	The Activity Types which can be used for Activities performed for Leads are filtered based on the 'Allowed' Activity Types specified on the Lead Type.	Not Applicable
Cancel AVAILABLE FROM CRM.COM R11.0.0	If any Activities were already scheduled for the Lead, then they should be in a 'Completed' or 'Cancelled' Life Cycle State.	Leads can be Cancelled only if they are in a 'Pending' or 'In Progress' Life Cycle State.	AVAILABLE FROM CRM.COM R11.1.0 The following are validations for Contact Phone and Contact Email based on conditions: If the trigger to send an Email Communication for the Action is 'Enabled' in the Lead Type Communication Settings, then the Contact's Email Address must be defined on the Lead. If the trigger to send an SMS Communication is 'Enabled' in the Lead Type Communication Settings, then the Contact's Phone must be defined on the Lead.

Attributes

An * indicates a field is mandatory.

Name	Description
Number	An auto-generated number that uniquely identifies each Lead.
Contact Information
Contact Information*	The person or company for which the Lead is created. New and existing contacts can be used.
Account Information
Accounts Receivable	The Accounts Receivable of the already existing Contact that the Lead is associated with. Only existing and 'Effective' Accounts Receivable can be used. The Accounts Receivable is mandatory only if the Contact selected is an existing Customer with an Accounts Receivable in an 'Effective' Life Cycle State.
Lead Information
Type*	The Type of the Lead which will determine the attributes that can be added to it. The Type cannot be modified once the Lead is created. View Configuring Lead Types for more information.
Category*	The Category of the Lead. It defaults to the Type's default Category.
Priority Level*	The Priority Level of the Lead determines the priority that will be given for the processing of a Lead. A default value is established in the Lead Type.
Importance Level*	The Importance Level of the Lead determines how important the Lead is for the company. The Importance Level defaults to the one set on the Lead Type.
Probability to Win (%)	The likelihood of winning the Lead which can vary from 0 to 100.
Target Amount	The amount that is predicted to be gained if the Lead is 'Won'.
Lead Source*	Lead Source contain information related to the source through which the Lead was introduced or proposed to the company. The following Lead Sources are supported: Advertisement Notifications Communications Recommended by contact Recommended by employee Recommended by partner Website Other Custom 1 Custom 2 Custom 3 Custom 4 Custom 5
Lost Reason	Lost Reasons are configured in Lead Types and describe why the Lead was eventually Lost. The Lost Reason is visible and must be provided once a 'Lost' Life Cycle State is selected.
Description	A description of the Lead.
Contact Email	The email address of the Contact that the Lead is created for and to which all email Communications will be sent. All email addresses associated with the Contact Information are available, but only the selected one can be edited. The Contact Email is mandatory for one or more email Communications to be sent to the customer based on Lead Type.
Contact Phone	The phone number of the Contact that the Lead is created for and which will be used for all telephone Communications. All phone number related to the Contact Information can be retrieved, but only the selected one can be edited. The Contact Phone is mandatory for one or more phone Communications with the customer to take place based on Lead Type.
Key Dates & Assignment
Key Dates	Significant dates related to the Lead that help track its progress. Key Dates include the following: Start Date: An editable field which defaults to the date that the Lead is created. Estimated Completion Time: It is the difference between the Start Date and Expected Completion Date. It is editable, measured in minutes, hours, days, weeks, years. Expected Completion Date: The date on which the Lead is expected to be completed and is equal to the Start Date plus the Estimated Completion Time. Actual Completed Date: The date on which the Lead is Completed. It is Read-only and set automatically on completing the Lead, i.e. on setting the Lead to a 'Won' or 'Lost' Life Cycle State. Time To Completion: The time that is left until the Expected Completion Date. It is dynamically calculated and updated based on the current date and the Expected Completion Date. Time Overdue: The time past the Expected Completion Date. It is calculated dynamically, based on the Expected Completion Date and the date of execution of the calculation (current date).
Products of Interest
Physical Goods	A list of the Physical Goods and Physical Good Types that the Lead Contact is interested in. The available Physical Goods and Physical Good Types are the ones included in the list of 'Allowed' Physical Goods of the related Lead Type.
Services	A list of Services and Service Types that the Lead Contact is interested in. The available Services and Service Types are the ones included in the list of 'Allowed' Services of the related Lead Type.
Lead Team
Lead Team	A list of Users that are part of the Team that is working on the Lead.
Competitors
Competitors	A table that lists all possible Competitors that can reach the same Lead with the same objective. View Configuring Lead Competitors for more information.
Activities
Activities	A set of Activities which are planned for the specific Lead, filtered by their Life Cycle State. If a State is not selected then, all related Activities are displayed. New Activities can be planned for each Lead. The Activity Types which can be used are controlled by the associated Lead Type through the respective Action. The Activities Section is displayed only for existing Leads; not when creating new ones. States available for filtering include: Pending In progress Completed
Communications
Communications	A list with all the Communications exchanged regarding the specific Lead.
Attachments
Attachments	The attachments associated with the Lead.
Log Information
Privacy Level	The Privacy Level of the Lead (as it is an Explicit Viewing Access Entity), which is always Read-only and can be changed through a dedicated action or it will be automatically set by the Privacy Level Assignment Rules (PLAR).
Log Details	The standard set of Log Details information available in all entities.

Action Panel - AVAILABLE FROM CRM.COM R11.1.0

An * indicates a field is mandatory.

Name	Description
Status & Notes
Status*	The Status of the Lead also defines its Life Cycle State. Available Statuses are retrieved based on the Configuration of the Lead Type. Depending on Lead Definitions, an Accounts Receivable might have to be created when a Status of Life Cycle State 'Won' is selected, and an Accounts Receivable is not already present. All the relevant existing information is transferred to the new Accounts Receivable automatically. The User needs to provide the required additional information to complete the creation of the Accounts Receivable.
Life Cycle State*	Each Lead Status is related with a Life Cycle State. When the Lead is set to a specific Status, the Life Cycle State is updated accordingly. Available Life Cycle States are the following: Pending In Progress Lost Won Cancelled AVAILABLE FROM CRM.COM R11.1.0
Owned By Group*	The Group that owns the specific Lead which will automatically defaults to the Group of the signed in User or is be automatically set based on the Geographical Area of the Contact, as defined in Groups.
Shared Notes	Notes regarding the Service Request. Each time the Notes are amended, the User and the date are logged.
Assignments
Assignments*	The Assignment information for the Lead. Unit: The Unit which is to handle the Lead. User: The User who is to handle the Lead. The User field may be left empty. Users in the defined Unit will subsequently be able to Accept the Lead. Check the respective Action below.
Lead Actions
Lead Actions	Job Actions provide the major actions that can or must be performed on a Lead. Check the related section below for more information on each Action: Start Progress Win Lead Lost Lead Cancel Lead Schedule an Activity
View History A link that provides additional information related to the Lead
Communications	A list of all the Communications, in which the Lead is defined in the 'Referring To' field of the Communication. View Understanding Communications for more information.

Additional Actions for Leads

Accepting Leads

When newly created Leads are Assigned To only a Unit, its Users must access the Lead and Accept it through a dedicated action. By accepting a Lead, the Assigned To User field is automatically set to the User that accepted it, and the Lead can be modified further.

Navigate to Leads.
Search for the Lead you would like to Accept and click on its Number to go to the Data Entry page.
From the Actions Menu click on ACTIONS > ACCEPT.

AVAILABLE FROM CRM.COM R11.1.0 Starting Progress

This Action is used to enable the processing of the Lead and the addition of the provided items. The Action will change the Life Cycle State from 'Pending' to 'In Progress'. Once the Action is executed, EDIT is required to start working on the Lead.

Navigate to Leads.
Search for the Lead whose progress you want to start and click on its Lead Number to go to the Data Entry screen.
From the Action Panel click on START PROGRESS.
From the modal Window, select a Status if more that one is available. Available Statuses have a Life Cycle State set as 'In Progress'.
Click on SAVE on the Modal.
- The Status is updated.
- The Life Cycle State is set to 'In Progress'.

Completing Leads as 'Won'

Once a Lead is 'Won' it is considered to be a Customer. If an Accounts Receivable was not already defined during the Lead's creation, the User must create a new Accounts Receivable for the new Customer once the Status of the Life Cycle State is set to 'Won', provided that Automatic Conversion is enabled through the Leads Definition.

APPLICABLE UP TO CRM.COM R10

Navigate to Leads.
Search for the Lead that was 'Won' and click on its Number to go to the Data Entry page.
Click on EDIT to select the Status of Life Cycle State 'Won'.
If no Accounts Receivable was already set
1. If Automatic Conversion is 'Enabled'
  1. The Accounts Receivable modal opens with all information on Lead transferred as defined in Leads Definition.
  2. The required information must be provided.
2. Else Save without Accounts Receivable.
Click on SAVE.

APPLICABLE UP TO CRM.COM R11.1.0

Navigate to Leads
Search for the Lead that was 'Won' and click on its Number to go to the Data Entry screen.
From the Action Panel click on WIN LEAD.
If no Accounts Receivable was already set
1. If Automatic Conversion is 'Enabled'
  1. The Accounts Receivable modal opens with all information on Lead transferred as defined in Leads Definition
  2. The required information must be provided.
2. Else, SAVE without Accounts Receivable.

Competing Leads as 'Lost'

APPLICABLE UP TO CRM.COM R10

If the Lead is eventually Lost then, it must be closed with a Lost Reason provided.

Navigate to Leads.
Search for the Lead that was Lost and click on its Number to go to the Data Entry page.
Click on EDIT to select the Status of Life Cycle State 'Lost'.
Provide a Lost Reason.
Click on SAVE.

APPLICABLE UP TO CRM.COM R11.1.0

Navigate to Leads.
Search for the Lead that is lost and click on its Number to go to the Data Entry screen
From the Action Panel click on LOST LEAD.
Click on SAVE on the Modal.

Cancelling a Lead AVAILABLE FROM CRM.COM R11.1.0

Leads created by error can be cancelled. Cancelling a Lead changes its Life Cycle State to 'Cancelled'.

Navigate to Leads.
Search for the Lead to be cancelled and click on its Number to go to the Data Entry screen.
From the Actions Panel click on CANCEL LEAD.
Click on SAVE on the Modal.

Scheduling Activities for Leads

Schedule an Activity Action is required in order plan Activities associated with the Lead.

Navigate to Leads.
Search for the Lead for which you would like to schedule an Activity and click on its Number to go to the Data Entry page.
From the Actions Menu click on ACTIONS > SCHEDULE AN ACTIVITY.

Retrieving Overdue Leads

Users can search and retrieve Leads that are overdue to manage them as High Priority.

Navigate to Leads.
To search for Leads that are overdue (past their Expected Completion Date) through the Summary page.
- Specify Expected Completion Date: X days before the current date.
- Specify a Life Cycle State other than 'Won' or 'Lost'.
Click on SEARCH.
- Leads that are overdue for 5 days are retrieved.

Search can be conducted through the:

Leads Summary Screen
Communication Centre (see Understanding Communication Centre )
Web API Layer

Retrieving Leads based on Expected Completion Date

Users can search and retrieve Leads that are close to their Expected Completion Date so that they can be managed as High Priority

Navigate to Leads.
To search for Leads that are close to their Expected Completion Date through the Summary page:
- Specify Expected Completion Date (a range of dates after current date, e.g. 1st - 10th of August if the current date is end of July)
- Specify a Life Cycle State other than 'Won' or 'Lost'
Click on SEARCH
- Leads that are expected to be completed within 1-10 days after the current date are retrieved.

Search can be conducted through the:

Leads Summary Screen
Communication Centre (see Understanding Communication Centre )
Web API Layer

View Understanding Leads for business examples related to Leads.

Related Areas

Page:

Configuring Lead Competitors
Page:

Configuring Lead Lost Reasons
Page:

Configuring Lead Definitions
Page:

Configuring Lead Statuses
Page:

Configuring Lead Categories
Page:

Configuring Lead Types
Page:

Understanding Leads
Page:

Managing Leads
Page:

Working with Leads Status Transitions
Page:

Leads - Configuration Requirements

Helpful Links

Page:

CRM.COM Quickstart Manual
Page:

Working with Summary Pages - R18
Page:

Working with Summary Pages
Page:

Working with Summary Pages - R15
Page:

Extracting a Printout from a Data Entry page