Lead Management

Lead Management in simpleBillBook helps you track potential customers, manage sales opportunities, and convert prospects into paying customers. This guide covers how to create leads, track their progress, filter and search leads, and manage the complete sales pipeline.

Overview of Lead Management

Lead Management helps you:

• Capture Potential Customers: Record and organize prospective customer information
• Track Sales Opportunities: Monitor leads through the sales pipeline
• Measure Conversion: Track how many leads become actual customers
• Assign Responsibility: Assign leads to specific team members
• Follow-up Management: Schedule and track follow-up activities

Lead Dashboard

To access lead management:

1. Navigate to Lead Management → Leads from the main sidebar
2. You'll see the lead dashboard with key metrics and lead list

Figure 1: Lead management dashboard showing key metrics and lead list

Key Metrics Dashboard:

Metric	Description	Example Value
Total Leads	All leads in the system	1
Processing	Leads currently in negotiation/qualification	0
Won Leads	Leads successfully converted to customers	0
Lost Leads	Leads that did not convert	0

Lead Cards Display:

Each lead is displayed as a card showing:

• Name: Lead/customer name (e.g., bharath)
• Product/Interest: Product of interest (e.g., ps5)
• Assigned To: Team member responsible (e.g., kannan)
• Contact: Phone number (e.g., 766574674)
• Created Date: Date lead was added (e.g., Feb 9, 2026)

Creating a New Lead

Step 1: Access Lead Creation

Click Add New Lead button from the leads dashboard.

Step 2: Fill Lead Details

Figure 2: Form for creating new leads

Required Information:

• Customer*: Select existing customer or create new customer profile
  • If selecting existing customer, their details auto-populate
  • Contact information displays (phone, email, address)
  • Customer status shows (e.g., Created)

Assignment Information:

• Assign To: Select a team member from dropdown
  • Assigns lead responsibility to specific user
  • Helps distribute workload among sales team
  • Enables individual tracking of lead progress

Additional Information:

• Notes: Add detailed information about the lead
  • Specific product requirements
  • Follow-up dates and reminders
  • Budget constraints or special requests
  • Communication history
  • Competitor information

Step 3: Save Lead

• Click Save to create the lead
• The lead appears in the leads list
• Lead becomes visible to assigned team member

Lead Filtering and Search

Advanced Filtering Options

Figure 3: Lead filtering interface with multiple filter criteria

Filter Categories:

1. Leads Type

• All Leads: Display every lead in the system
• Additional type filters as configured

2. Status

• All Status: Show leads regardless of status
• New: Recently added, not yet contacted
• Contacted: Initial contact made
• Qualified: Meets basic criteria for potential sale
• Proposal: Quote or proposal sent
• Negotiation: Price/terms under discussion
• Won: Successfully converted
• Lost: Did not convert

3. Assigned To

• All Users: Show leads assigned to anyone
• Specific Users: Filter by individual team members
• Unassigned: Leads not yet assigned

4. Date Range

• Month: Filter by specific month
• Year: Filter by year (e.g., 2026)
• Custom Range: Specify custom date period

Search Functionality

Search leads by:

• Name: Customer or contact name
• Email: Email address
• Phone: Contact phone number
• Product: Product or service of interest

Lead Status and Lifecycle

Typical Lead Stages:

Stage	Description	Actions
New	Lead just entered into system	Initial contact, qualify interest
Contacted	First communication established	Present products/services, understand needs
Qualified	Valid potential customer	Prepare proposal, pricing discussion
Proposal	Quote sent to customer	Follow up on proposal, address questions
Negotiation	Discussing terms and pricing	Finalize deal terms, overcome objections
Won	Successfully converted to customer	Create customer account, process sale
Lost	Did not convert	Record reason, archive for future follow-up

Lead Conversion Process:

1. Lead Qualification: Determine if lead has genuine interest and budget
2. Proposal Submission: Send quotation with pricing and terms
3. Follow-up: Regular communication to address concerns
4. Negotiation: Finalize pricing, delivery, payment terms
5. Conversion: Convert lead to customer
6. Sale Processing: Create sales invoice or order

Best Practices for Lead Management

1. Lead Qualification

• BANT Framework: Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline
• Score Leads: Prioritize high-potential leads
• Define Criteria: Clear qualification standards

2. Timely Follow-up

• Response Time: Contact leads within 24 hours
• Consistent Communication: Regular, value-added touchpoints
• Multiple Channels: Email, phone, in-person as appropriate

3. Detailed Documentation

• Complete Information: Capture all relevant lead details
• Conversation Logs: Record all interactions
• Requirements: Document specific needs and preferences
• Objections: Note and address concerns

4. Assignment Strategy

• Territory Assignment: Assign by geographic region
• Expertise Matching: Assign based on product knowledge
• Workload Balancing: Distribute leads evenly
• Follow-up Ownership: Clear responsibility for each lead

5. Regular Review

• Pipeline Review: Weekly team meetings to review leads
• Aging Analysis: Identify stalled leads needing attention
• Conversion Analysis: Learn from won and lost leads

Lead Status Definitions

Active Statuses:

• New: Recently added, awaiting initial contact
• Contacted: Initial outreach completed
• Qualified: Meets basic criteria for potential sale
• Proposal: Quote or estimate sent
• Negotiation: Actively discussing terms
• Follow-up: Awaiting customer decision

Terminal Statuses:

• Won: Successfully converted to customer
• Lost: Did not convert (record reason)
• Disqualified: Does not meet qualification criteria
• Unresponsive: Multiple contact attempts failed

Integration with Other Modules

Customer Management:

• Lead Conversion: Convert qualified leads to customers
• Customer Creation: Auto-create customer profile when lead is won
• History Retention: Maintain lead history in customer record

Sales Management:

• Quotation Creation: Generate quotes directly from lead
• Sale Order: Create orders from converted leads
• Invoice Processing: Process sales for won leads

Product Management:

• Product Interest: Track which products generate most leads
• Lead Analysis: Identify popular products and services
• Cross-selling: Identify complementary product opportunities

User Management:

• Performance Tracking: Monitor lead conversion by team member
• Activity Monitoring: Track follow-up activities
• Sales Targets: Measure against individual and team goals

Reports and Analytics

Available Lead Reports:

1. Lead Summary: Total leads, conversion rate, pipeline value
2. Lead Source Analysis: Where leads are coming from
3. Conversion Rate by Stage: Drop-off rates at each stage
4. Lead Aging: How long leads remain in each stage
5. Team Performance: Individual conversion rates and volume
6. Product Interest Analysis: Most inquired products/services

Key Metrics to Monitor:

• Lead Volume: Number of new leads per period
• Conversion Rate: Percentage of leads becoming customers
• Average Conversion Time: Days from lead to customer
• Lead Value: Average sale value from converted leads
• Cost per Lead: Marketing/sales cost per lead acquired
• Lead Source ROI: Return on investment by lead source

Common Scenarios and Solutions

Scenario 1: High Lead Volume with Low Conversion

Solution:

1. Review lead qualification criteria
2. Assess follow-up timeliness and quality
3. Analyze lost lead reasons
4. Implement lead scoring system

Scenario 2: Leads Not Being Followed Up

Solution:

1. Review assignment strategy
2. Set up automated reminders
3. Monitor follow-up compliance
4. Provide additional training or resources

Scenario 3: Duplicate Lead Entries

Solution:

1. Implement duplicate detection
2. Train staff on search before create
3. Regular cleanup and merging of duplicates

Scenario 4: Long Sales Cycle

Solution:

1. Map out typical decision process
2. Identify and address bottlenecks
3. Maintain regular, value-added contact
4. Set realistic follow-up schedule

Scenario 5: Lead Quality Issues

Solution:

1. Review lead source quality
2. Refine qualification questions
3. Adjust marketing targeting
4. Create ideal customer profile

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