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Lead Management

Manage your leads as they progress from one stage to another. Learn how with this article!
R
Ruba
21 Nov, 2023 - Updated 1 year ago
Table of Contents

 Introduction

A lead is a potential customer of your business. It can be associated with a company you want to do business with. 

 

The Leads module in Vtiger CRM is, however, optional. You can use the Contacts module to store your lead information. 

Let us look at the possibilities associated with the Leads module.

Important Fields in Leads 

Fields

Description

First Name

First name of a lead.

Last Name

Last name of a lead. This is a mandatory field.

Company

The lead’s company name.

Designation

The role of the lead in their company.

Industry 

The industry that the company belongs to.

Primary Email

Email address of the lead.

Email Opt-in

Enable this checkbox if the lead would like to receive emails from you.

Assigned to

Assigning a user to a lead record makes them the owner of the record.

Lead Source

Where was the lead generated from? For example, website, cold call, referral, etc.

Enabling the Leads Module

In case you do not see the Leads module, chances are it is disabled.

Follow these steps to enable the module:

  1. Log in to your CRM account.
 
  1.  Click the Main Menu. 
 
  1.  Click the Settings button at the bottom. 
 
  1.  Look for the Module Management section.
  2. Select Modules. 
 
  1. Find the Leads module and enable the checkbox.

Now that we have the module ready, let’s get started with the process of creating a lead!

Creating a Lead

There are four ways to create a lead.

  • From the Leads module
  • Syncing from IndiaMART
  • Using Quick Create
  • By importing

Let’s look at the first method.

From the Leads module

Follow these steps to create a lead from the Leads module:

  1. Log in to your CRM account.
 
  1.  Click the Main Menu. 
 
  1.  Go to Essentials.
  2. Select Leads 
 
  1.  Click +Add Lead. 
 
  1.  Fill out all the necessary fields.
    1.  You can fill out only the mandatory fields (marked with *) or all the essential fields. 
    2. Click View full form to see all the fields.
  2. Click Save.  

Syncing from IndiaMART

If you use IndiaMART and have stored your leads’ data, you can bring it into Vtiger CRM by syncing it.

To learn in detail about syncing IndiaMART data, click here.

Using Quick Create

 Quick Create is a handy option for creating records anywhere in the CRM. You can identify Quick Create by the + icon on the top bar of your CRM screen.

Follow these steps to create a lead using Quick Create: 

  1. Log in to your CRM account.
 
  1.  Click the + icon on the top of your CRM screen.
  2. Select Leads under Essentials. 
 
  1.  Fill out the necessary fields.
  2. Click Save. 

By Importing

You can import leads from a local CSV or ICS file into Vtiger CRM

To learn more about the importing process, click here.
 

From Incoming messages

  • If the Lead module is enabled, you can create a lead from incoming SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook, or Instagram messages.
  • The message sender is created as a lead only if a contact is not found in the CRM, and all incoming messages will be linked to the same lead. 

Note:

  • Message senders will be created Contacts as default with the Contact Type as Lead.
  • If a Lead or Contact is present, the SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram DM, Twitter, or Website is added to the related record.

Ways of Viewing Lead Records

You can view your lead records in two ways:

List View

The ListView is what you see when you land on the leads module from the Main Menu (Main Menu > Essentials > Leads).

In the List View, you can see lead information in columnar format. You can also perform actions such as export, mass edit, merge, etc., on lead records.

To learn more about the List View, click here.

Summary View

The Summary View is what you see when you open a lead record. It offers a birds-eye view of a lead’s information, such as its related records, updates made, etc.

Here are a few essential features of the Summary View:

  • Header section - This is the part below the lead name. It shows the Header fields you set up under Module Layouts & Fields for Leads to deliver critical information.
  • Best time to contact - This is located beside the Convert Lead button. It uses customer touchpoints, such as emails, meetings, etc., to show the best time to reach out to a lead. 
  • Related tabs - The tabs you see on the right side display the related information of a lead, such as documents, quotes, invoices, etc.
  • Activity section - It shows internal comments (@mentions and conversations you have with other CRM users), customer touchpoints, and other record updates.
  • More icon - the More icon on the top-right corner of a lead record shows all the nice-to-haves such as options to 

Converting a Lead

When a lead is qualified and determined to be a potential sale, you can convert it into a deal. You can also create an organization record simultaneously to store their company information.

Converting a lead in Vtiger CRM is a simple process.

Follow these steps to convert a lead:

  1. Log in to your CRM account.
 
  1.  Click the Main Menu. 
 
  1.  Go to Essentials.
  2. Select Leads
  3. Open the lead that you want to convert. 
 
  1.  Click the Convert Lead button on the top of the Summary View.
  2. Enter all the mandatory information in the following sections:
    • Create Contact: Enter the name, email address, lifecycle stage, and other information.
    • Create Organization: Enter the lead’s organization name, industry, etc.
    • Create Deal: Enter deal name, deal amount, expected close date, pipeline name, etc.
    • Transfer related records to: Choose where to transfer the lead’s related records.
  3. Click Save 
 

Note: When converting a lead, creating an organization or a deal is optional.

Exporting Leads

You can export lead information in mass from the List View. Leads are exported into a CSV file. 

Choose which records to export with the following options:

  • Export selected records - You can use this option when you have chosen a set of records.
  • Export records in the current page - Use this option to export only the leads on the current page of the List View.
  • Export all data - This option allows you to export all the lead records in the CRM.

Follow these steps to export leads:

  1. Log in to your CRM account.
  1.  Click the Main Menu. 
  1.  Go to Essentials.
  2. Select Leads 
 
  1. Select records on the List View by hovering over the left corner of the lead rows.
    • You can select only the records that you want to export.
    • You can hover over the left side of the leftmost column to select all the records.
  2. Click the Export icon on the toolbar on the column names' top-left.
 
  1.  Choose one of the export options (explained above).
  2. Click Export. 

Mass Deleting Leads

You can delete multiple lead records at once.

Follow these steps to delete lead records in mass:

  1. Log in to your CRM account.
 
  1.  Click the Main Menu. 
 
  1.  Go to Essentials.
  2.  Select Leads  
 
  1. Select records on the List View by hovering over the left corner of the lead rows.
    • You can select only the records that you want to export.
    • You can hover over the left side of the leftmost column to select all the records.
  2. Click the Delete icon in the toolbar on the column names top-left.
 
  1.  Click Yes, delete to confirm. 
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