In Zoho CRM, you can create leads by:

• Entering data in the lead details form: You can manually fill in the Lead details gathered from various external sources, e.g. trade shows, exhibitions, colleagues, business cards, etc.
  
• Importing leads from external sources: You can gather data through various sources, e.g. purchasing a leads' database, leads from different business units, etc. and import the CSV and XLS files into Zoho CRM.
  
• Capturing leads from website: You can create web forms and allow website visitors to submit their contact details or questions directly through forms. These details submitted in the website are captured directly in the Leads module.

Create Leads Individually

You can create leads manually by entering the details in the lead form. For instance: While traveling you met a person who showed some interest in your product or service. You exchanged business cards and assured them you would contact him or her again with more details about the product/service. The next day, you create a lead manually with the available details and contact the person. In such cases, it is easy to manually enter in the available details and create a lead record instantly.

You can create leads individually by using the following:

• Filling in the details in the lead creation form.
  
• Cloning the lead with a few changes in the existing record.

To create leads individually

1. In the Leads module, click create lead button.
   
   
2. In the Create Lead page, enter the lead details. (Refer to table)
   
3. Click Save.
   

To clone leads

1. In the Leads tab, click a particular lead that is to be cloned.
   
2. In the Lead Details page, click the More icon.
   
3. Click Clone.
   
   
4. In the Clone Lead page, modify the required details. (Refer to Standard fields in leads)
5. Click Save.
   

Qualify Leads

After collecting the lead details in your CRM account, the next stage is lead qualification. With further negotiations or follow up, the lead can be qualified into a business opportunity. In this stage the focus is on evaluating leads based on their interest and readiness to be promoted to sales.

Following are some of the methods for leads qualification:

• Phone Call: A direct and quick follow up method after the lead generation to initiate further discussion on the sales process.
  
• Direct Mail: A traditional approach of delivering materials such as advertising circulars, brochures, catalogs and other commercial materials through postal mail.
  
• Email: Send email communications to enhance business relationships if the email addresses are captured during the lead generation process. This enables a quicker method to send specific or mass mailings to qualifying leads.
  
• Meeting: A one-to-one personal meeting or a scheduled online meeting provides a good approach for further development towards the next stage.
  
• Documents: The process of exchanging documents to understand the prospective business, enabling clarity of expectation and understanding to provide business solutions.
  
• Notes: Notes in the form of remarks or comments included during the follow up sessions that act as a record of the previous follow ups during the qualifying stage.
  

Associate Leads with Other Records

As qualification of leads is the focus, associating various records with the leads is the next step. You may need to associate leads with other records, until the lead reaches a certain stage where it can be converted to Potential as per your organization's sales process.

In the Lead Details page, you can associate the following:

• Open Activities: To add tasks and events (meetings and calls).
  
• Closed Activities: To archive the closed activities.
  
• Attachments & Notes: To attach documents and notes.
  
• Mails: To send e-mail messages to the selected lead.
  
• Campaigns: To associate many campaigns to a single lead.
  
• SocialInteractions - To view the Twitter and Facebook interactions associated to the lead and send messages, like posts, retweet, etc.
  

Access Leads Related Lists

To access Leads related lists

1. Click the Leads module.
   
2. Click the desired record.
   
3. In the Lead's details page, under Related List section, click on the required related list name to navigate to the corresponding section.
   
   
4. You can add a new related list by clicking on a the Add (+) icon beside Related List. You can add new items to existing related lists by clicking on the Add (+) icon that appears when you hover your mouse over a related list name.
   

Access More Lead Options

You can access more lead options by clicking on the More icon in the Lead's Details page.