Lead Management in Zoho CRM – How Does it Work?

One of the main reasons businesses choose Zoho CRM is because it provides a comprehensive lead management process for your sales team.  Within Zoho CRM, you can capture new leads and then assign them to sales reps who will nurture them based on the guidelines you set. 

What is lead management?

Let’s get back to basics for a moment… what is lead management, and why is it important? Lead management is the process that a sales team goes through as they take a person from potential client (lead), to someone they are actually doing business with. There are many different methodologies and steps for this process depending on whom you ask. Today I am going to show you how to use Zoho CRM to set up your own lead management process.  

How do I keep track of how my leads are generated in Zoho CRM?

In Zoho CRM, out of the box they give you a few options: Website, Email, Social Media, Phone, In Person and Other. Of course, if you are an administrator, you are able to customize and add options to this pick list. You can even add your specific campaigns and track the leads that come into each specific one. 

So, how can this information help your business in the long run? Data, data, data! By keeping track of how your leads are generated, you can devise and tackle a plan for gaining more business. If I see that my emails and phone calls are generating new leads, but no one who visits my website is converting to a client, maybe it’s time to revisit my web design. If I am putting a lot of time and money behind my social media management, with little to no avail, maybe it is time to put my money behind something else that is reaching our potential client base in a more productive manner. Keeping an eye on this data could be a big key in your innovative sales strategies moving forward. 

There are many other Zoho apps like Webforms and Sales IQ that can help you connect with leads.  Check out our video library to learn more about these Zoho apps. 

How do I assign leads in Zoho CRM?

Once a lead is generated, it is time to assign them to a sales rep. Zoho has three different assignment rules . All are great, and choosing one is a matter of what works best for your business.

1. Lead Location

   1. You can assign a sales rep based on where the lead is located.

2. Product/Line of Business (LOB)

   1. If you sell multiple products in your business, you may have a sales person that specifies in a specific product. This allows you to assign the rep that would best fit this lead’s needs

3. Round Robin

   1. This choice will assign leads to your sales team in a round robin manner (think like you are dealing a deck of cards). 

How do I know if a lead is being worked in Zoho CRM?

Once leads are assigned, it is time to nurture those leads!  Your sales reps will need to work through the stages of your lead process and hopefully get the leads to agree to do business with you. You will want to track their different activities  (i.e. emails, phone calls) to get a better understanding of the sales efforts to convert the lead.  

One of the most effective tools in the leads module is scoring rules . This tool will create a score based on the amount of interaction you have with a lead in order to predict the likelihood of that lead converting to an account. This a helpful tool to prioritize which leads your reps should work on first. 

How do I convert a lead in Zoho CRM?

After your sales rep has taken a lead through the stages of your lead process, they will hopefully be ready to convert to a contact, account and/or deal.  It is up to you to decide when this lead conversion happens.  In some businesses this is done when they determine a lead is validated while for others the time for conversion isn’t until the sale is complete.  

The Marks Group offers expert-led Zoho training and support on all Zoho apps and products. Contact us at info@marksgroup.net to find out more and check out our YouTube video library!