Ask The CRM Expert: Questions & Answers

Lead generation in Microsoft CRM

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How can I convert an email into a lead in Microsoft CRM? We receive inquiry emails from prospects and I want to show my team the easiest way to convert these into leads.

Dynamics CRM provides the ability to store new leads separately from active prospects and customers. Say, for example, marketing has just returned from a trade show, or has just purchased a list of names for a telesales campaign. These names can be imported into Dynamics CRM as leads, where they can be called and qualified by the tele-sales team. Using leads over time eliminates the clutter that occurs after years of loading suspect lists into CRM, and helps sales teams focus only on the qualified prospects and customers.

Leads are essentially a miniature version of an account (company), a contact, and an opportunity. The team qualifying the lead can enter additional contact and qualification information, log notes, or track activities and campaigns send to the lead. We frequently help customers integrate Dynamics CRM with their Web site, so information requests and responses on their Web site can be automatically logged as leads in Dynamics CRM.

Converting a qualified lead is as simple as clicking the "Convert Lead" button. The lead can be marked as disqualified, with a reason given, or as qualified. If qualified, then the lead is converted into account, contact, and opportunity records, and the new records can be opened and managed immediately.