> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.saphion.co.uk/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Leads > Capture an enquiry, qualify or disqualify it, and convert it into a Company, a Contact and an Opportunity in one step. A Lead is a raw enquiry: someone who might become a customer, before you have decided it is worth pursuing. Keep enquiries in **Leads** so they do not clutter your pipeline, then convert the real ones. > [!NOTE] > > CRM seat holders create and change Leads. ![The Leads table grouped by status.](https://mintcdn.com/saphion/F5a0XE-YKidXHEWP/images/crm/leads-1.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=F5a0XE-YKidXHEWP\&q=85\&s=8c0c49da865fb244d1576e35020c3b95) Leads by status ## Before you start A Lead names its **Company** as a link to one of your Organisation's Companies, never as typed words. If the company is new, add it under **Companies** first. See [Companies and people](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/companies-and-people.md). ## Add a Lead **1. Open Leads** In CRM's sidebar, choose **Leads** under **Pipeline**. The board is grouped by **Status**. **2. Choose New** The New button in the toolbar opens a short form: **Name**, **Company**, **Email**, **Lead source** and **Owner**. Open the form's extra details for **Phone**. **3. Save** The Lead starts as **New**. Leads can also be loaded by import. See [Import and export](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/import-and-export.md). ## Work a Lead A Lead moves through its **Status**. | Status | Meaning | | - | - | | **New** | Just arrived. Every Lead starts here. | | **Working** | You are in touch. | | **Qualified** | It is a real opportunity. | | **Disqualified** | You have decided not to pursue it. | | **Converted** | It has become a Company, a Contact and an Opportunity. You reach this only by converting. | Change the **Status** in its cell on the board, or in the record panel. Other fields are **Owner**, **Lead source** (Website, Referral, Event, Outbound, Partner or Other), **Email** and **Phone**. **Last activity** is worked out for you from what has been said and logged on the Lead. Notes about a Lead are comments on it. Open the Lead to read and add them. ### Disqualify a Lead Choose **Disqualified**. Saphion asks for a **Disqualified reason**: Not a fit, No budget, No response, Duplicate or Other. You can refine the reason afterwards. A disqualified Lead remembers the open status it came from. Choose **Reopen** to put it back there. ## Convert a Lead Convert a Lead when it is real. Open the Lead and choose **Convert** at the top of its panel. It is offered for a Lead that is New, Working or Qualified. **1. Choose Convert** The **New opportunity** dialog opens, filled in from the Lead: its name, **Company**, **Owner** and **Lead source**. **2. Complete the Opportunity** Give it a name, and add a value, **Expected close** and **Contact** if you know them. To use an existing Contact or Company, choose it here. Otherwise the Contact is made for you from the Lead's name, email and phone, under its Company. **3. Choose Create** Saphion does everything in one go. If anything is refused, nothing is left half done. Converting: * links the Lead to its **Company**; * creates the **Contact** under that Company, or links the one you chose; * creates the **Opportunity**, at the first open stage unless you picked another, carrying the Lead's owner and source; * copies the Lead's conversation onto the Contact and the Opportunity, keeping who said what and when; * closes the Lead as **Converted**. The Lead then reads "Converted on …" with links to the Company, Contact and Opportunity it became. Its primary action becomes **Converted**, which opens the Opportunity. > [!WARNING] > > A converted Lead is read-only for good, because everything on it belongs to the conversion. To change something, change the Company, Contact or Opportunity it became. ### If conversion is refused | What Saphion says | What to do | | - | - | | "Link this lead to a Company (add it under Companies first if it is new), then convert it." | Set the Lead's **Company**, then convert. | | "This lead is linked to a different company. Convert it under that company, or change its Company first." | Make the Company chosen in the dialog the same as the Lead's, or change the Lead's. | | "A disqualified lead cannot be converted; requalify it first." | **Reopen** the Lead, then convert. | | "This lead has already been converted." | Nothing to do. Open the Opportunity it became. | | "Name the opportunity." | Give the Opportunity a name in the dialog. | ## How it works * **A converted Lead is closed.** A Lead that has been converted can no longer be changed by anyone. * A Lead is a record on a board, so everything in [Boards, tables and views](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/boards-and-views.md) applies: **Filter**, **Sort**, **Group**, search, columns and import. * A Lead has a person's round face beside its name until it is converted. * Retrying a conversion that was interrupted replays it; it never makes duplicates. ## Ask Beacon * "Add a Lead called Northgate Developments, referred by Priya, owned by me." * "Which Leads have been Working for more than two weeks?" Beacon acts within your permissions and asks before changes that need approval. ## FAQ > **Why can I not type the company name on a Lead?** > > A Lead links to a Company that already exists, so a typed name never creates a duplicate. Add the Company under **Companies**, then choose it on the Lead. > **Can I convert several Leads at once?** > > No. Conversion is one Lead at a time, because each creates an Opportunity you name. > **Can I undo a conversion?** > > No. A converted Lead stays as the record of where the Company, Contact and Opportunity came from, and it cannot be reopened. Change the Opportunity or Contact it made instead. > **Where do disqualified Leads go?** > > They stay in **Leads** under **Disqualified**, with the reason, so you can see how many you turned away and why. ## Related * [Opportunities and pipeline](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/crm/opportunities-and-pipeline.md): What a Lead becomes. * [CRM overview](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/crm/overview.md): How CRM is laid out. * [Companies and people](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/companies-and-people.md): Companies and Contacts. * [CRM settings](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/crm/settings.md): Change Lead fields and choices. 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