Lead Records
You may have little information about a lead beyond a name and email or mailing address. As lead qualification and nurturing progress, you gather more information to use to make the sale.
The lead record tracks lead information. The record is similar to prospect and customer records, with some exceptions:
-
The standard lead record contains fewer fields than those for prospect and customer records. The standard lead form, for example, does not include tax-related fields.
-
The standard lead record includes a Qualification subtab. This subtab includes fields that you can use to track information during the lead qualification process. For more information, see Lead Qualification.
-
If you use the Lead Conversion feature, lead records include a Convert button. When you click this button, the Convert Lead page opens. Use this page to select options for the conversion, including the creation of opportunities and tasks related to deal negotiations. For more information, see Lead Conversion Using the Lead Conversion Feature.
As with other records in NetSuite, you can customize the lead form to suit your business needs. Record customization usually occurs when your account is set up. Your organization may not use the standard forms. For information about creating custom forms, see Custom Forms.
Lead Qualification
New leads need to be qualified. The sales organization evaluates whether the lead represents a good opportunity to make a sale. In some organizations, an inside sales team performs this qualification. Often this team is responsible only for determining each lead's willingness and ability to purchase. This team may also determine whether your products or services are applicable to the needs of the lead's company. Then, each qualified lead is assigned to a sales representative or team, who continues the sales process.
You can use the fields on the Qualification subtab to aid in this process. These fields include Sales Readiness, Buying Time Frame, and Buying Reason. You can edit these fields inline and through mass update. For information about these editing options, see Using Inline Editing and Performing a Mass Update on Customer Statuses.
Administrators can configure these fields at Setup > Sales > Setup Tasks > CRM Lists > New.
Lead Nurturing
After leads are qualified, the next step is to convert the lead to a prospect. This process, called lead nurturing, includes direct contact between the lead and the sales representative and may involve sending marketing campaigns.
Your marketing team can target leads with email campaigns, and their responses can help sales representatives gauge interest in products and services. For more information, see Lead Nurturing Campaigns.
Sales representatives can track their contact with leads through the creation of phone call and event records. In addition, they can save the email they receive on the lead record. For more information, see Attaching Events, Tasks, and Calls to Records and Transactions.
When negotiations have reached the point where a sale seems possible, you convert the lead to a prospect.
The following topics include basic procedures for working with lead records: