Reading a lead
Every lead notification is structured the same way, so you can triage without opening the record. Contact details first, then what they are looking for, then the scenario they ran — and that last part is the one worth reading.
What the scenario tells you
| Marked as | What it means for your first call |
|---|---|
| They told us | Established. Do not ask again — they will assume you did not read it. |
| We assumed | A default the tool filled in. This is your opening: "the calculator assumed $150 for utilities — do you know the actual?" |
| Market data | A figure we pulled for their area. Worth confirming against what you know. |
| Set by law | A statutory number — deposit caps, tax brackets. Not negotiable, and not worth debating. |
| Worked out | A result the tool derived. If it looks wrong to you, that is a real conversation. |
Working the inbox
Respond to anything under an hour old first
Recency beats score. A lukewarm lead who filled in a form four minutes ago is more reachable than a hot one from yesterday.
LeadsIf you cannot talk now, touch it now anyway
A two-line reply that says when you will call keeps the lead yours. Then create the task, so the promise is not held in your memory.
Log the outcome, not just that you called
"Called, no answer" and "called, wants to see 5 Elm on Saturday, pre-approved to 950" are different records. The second one is still useful in a month; the first is not.
Set the next action before you close the record
A lead with no next step is a lead you will rediscover cold. Tasks exist so that does not depend on your memory.
TasksMove it onto the pipeline once it is real
The inbox is for triage. Anything with a next step belongs on the pipeline where you can see it against everything else.
Pipeline
Importing and merging
Import by CSV
Map your columns to the fields, review what the importer flags, then commit. It shows you the duplicates it found before writing rather than after.
ImportMerge duplicates deliberately
The same person filling in two forms creates two records. Merging keeps the history of both and one contact record — do it as you find them, because duplicates multiply.
Merge