Leads

Open leads and All leads

The Leads area has two views: Open leads ↗ is your work list, All leads ↗ is your inventory. You switch between them via the heading at the top left. Contents - Open leads - All leads - Reading the header - Why a lead does not show up - Searching and filtering - Next Open leads Shows exactly the leads that need something from you. A lead appears here when both conditions hold: 1. It sits on Qualify, Set discovery, Discovery scheduled, Discovery failed or Discovery done. 2. It has not yet been converted into a deal. And one exception: a lead on Qualify with neither a follow-up date nor a sentiment counts as cold and does not appear. That is the key difference from All leads, and the most common surprise after an import. Sorting is by urgency: overdue first, then due today, then the rest. The lead list with the view switcher, filter bar and the first rows All leads Shows your complete inventory, including cold leads, lost leads and the ones that have already become deals. This is where you look when you want to find a particular contact again. Reading the header Below the title sits a summary: {total} leads · {overdue} overdue · {dueToday} due today · {fresh} new. Those numbers always refer to the view you are in, including any filters you have set. Why a lead does not show up Four causes, in the order worth checking: 1. You are in Open leads rather than All leads. Cold, lost and already-converted leads are not in there. 2. The lead is cold. Stage Qualify, no follow-up date, no sentiment. Set a follow-up date and it appears. 3. A filter is active. The list then shows Filtered: {label}. Clicking it clears the filter. 4. You have the Sales role. Then you only see leads assigned to you. Searching and filtering Above the list you find: - The search field Name or company …. - The quick option Today & overdue. - Filter (stage, campaign, sentiment, …) for everything else, including Stage, Follow-up date with the options Overdue, Due today, Upcoming and No date, plus Owner. - Sorted by with Urgency, Follow-up date, Touchpoints, Value and Stage. Reset discards all filters, Apply activates them. Next - Lead views: Kanban and list - Editing a lead

Lead views - Kanban and list

Both lead views can be displayed two ways. At the top right you switch between Kanban and List. The selection of leads is identical in both, only the presentation differs. Contents - Kanban - List - Editing several leads at once - What stays the same in both views - Next Kanban One column per stage, in the order Qualify, Set discovery, Discovery scheduled, Discovery failed, Discovery done and Lead lost. Above each column sit the count and the value as {value} potential. The Kanban view with one column per stage You can drag cards into another column with the mouse. That is the fastest way to change a stage. If the target stage needs extra details, a small window opens - more on that under Setting stages correctly. If a column holds more cards than shown, Load {n} more appears at the bottom. Use Kanban when you need an overview of the distribution or want to move several leads on quickly. List One row per lead, grouped by urgency into Overdue, Due today and Later. The columns are: | Column | Content | |---|---| | Lead | name, below it job title and company | | Stage | the current stage | | Follow-up | when the next step is due, otherwise No follow-up | | Last activity | when something last happened | | Next step | the text you stored, otherwise a dash | | TP | number of touchpoints | | Value | the estimated value | | Action | quick access | The list view with its columns Use the list when you are working through follow-ups, sorting, or editing several leads at once. Editing several leads at once In the list you select leads with the checkboxes on the left. As soon as one is selected, a bar appears at the bottom with {count} selected and these options: - Update - opens Update {count} leads. There you pick Change stage or Set follow-up under Field, enter the Value and confirm with Apply. - Delete - moves the selection to the trash. Deleting asks first: The selected leads move to the trash and can be restored there. Leads with a linked deal are skipped. After deleting, Undo appears briefly. There is an upper limit on how many leads can be selected at once. When you reach it, a note asks you to refine the filter. Both options require permissions. With the Sales role you see neither Update nor Delete. What stays the same in both views Search, filters and sorting apply to both presentations. If you filter in the list and then switch to Kanban, the filter stays. The view then shows Filtered: {label}. Next - Open leads and All leads - Setting stages correctly

Editing a lead

A click on a lead opens its detail page. Everything known about that contact is there, and that is where you change it. Contents - The header - Changing fields directly - The field blocks - The two most important fields - Assigning a lead - Deleting a lead - Next The header Name, job title and company sit at the top, with the actions to their right: - Call dials the stored number. If several numbers are stored, you can pick one. - LinkedIn opens the contact's profile in a new window. The button only appears when a profile address is stored. - Email opens a new mail window. Only appears with a stored address. - A button for the meeting. - Enrich data searches for missing contact details. - The menu with the remaining actions. The header of a lead with its actions and the Pipeline & status block The arrows above page through the list you came from. Next to them it reads Lead {n} of {total}. Changing fields directly Just click a value. Almost every field is editable in place; hovering shows the hint Click to edit. Changes save immediately and Saved appears briefly. If it fails, you see Couldn't save. Date fields open a calendar with quick picks; your selection there is only applied with Save. On the Follow-up date you can additionally set an email reminder - see Set a follow-up with a reminder. You change the name via Edit name in the heading. The field blocks Pipeline & status - the stage bar plus Follow-up date, Next step, Deal value, Meeting date and Description. If a meeting that happened or fell through has no date, Meeting date missing appears under Meeting date with a field to add it. Contact - Job title, Mobile, Email, Phone, LinkedIn and Company phone. Company - Company, Employees, Industry and Website. Details - Meeting booked by, Campaign, Channel with the values Inbound and Outbound, Lead source, Lost reason, and, once a reply exists, Last reply and Sentiment. Address - Street, Postal code, City and Country. With an address stored you also get Open in Google Maps. System - Last activity, Days open, Created and Assigned to. These values are not editable, with one exception: the assignment can be changed. The two most important fields Follow-up date and Next step decide whether the lead comes back to you at all. Without a date it appears in no work list and in no metric on Home ↗. Set both whenever you touch a lead. Assigning a lead In the System block you change who is responsible under Assigned to. Deactivated people carry (deactivated) after their name. Careful: with the Sales role you only see your own leads. Assign a lead to somebody else and it disappears from your view. Deleting a lead At the very bottom sits the Danger zone with Move to trash. The note reads: The entry lands in the trash and is purged after 30 days. Until then it can be restored. This requires permissions. With the Sales role you do not see the actions menu. Next - Set a follow-up with a reminder - Setting stages correctly - Activities, notes and history

Setting stages correctly

The stage says where a lead stands on the way to a meeting, and it is the basis of almost every number on Home ↗ - a wrong stage distorts the analysis immediately. Contents - The six stages - Changing the stage - What you are asked for when switching - Discovery failed is not a step backwards - After Discovery done - Lead lost, and what comes after - The most common mistakes - Next The six stages | Stage | Meaning | |---|---| | Qualify | You check whether business with this contact is possible. | | Set discovery | The contact is warm, a meeting is the goal. | | Discovery scheduled | The meeting is booked with a date. | | Discovery failed | The meeting did not take place. | | Discovery done | The conversation happened. | | Lead lost | Nothing will come of this contact. | For every stage, inDeal shows a short hint on the detail page about what to do next. Changing the stage Two ways: 1. On the detail page: click the stage you want in the bar inside the Pipeline & status block. 2. In Kanban: drag the card into the target column. Both lead to the same result. What you are asked for when switching Depending on the target stage, a small window opens with the matching fields. Most of it is optional - the note All fields optional. sits in the window. For the three meeting stages the Meeting date is required, and the window says Meeting date is required, all other fields are optional. - To Discovery scheduled: Meeting date, Meeting booked by and Description. - To Discovery done and Discovery failed: Meeting date, Follow-up date and Next step. The meeting date can't be in the future. If the lead has a calendar appointment, its date is used and can't be changed here (Taken from the calendar appointment.). - To Lead lost: Select reason, with a list of predefined reasons. - For every other stage: Follow-up date and Next step. The dialog when switching to Set discovery Fill these fields in anyway. Without a follow-up date the lead disappears from your work list. If a lead on Discovery done or Discovery failed has no meeting date, the detail page shows Meeting date missing under Meeting date. Add the date there and click Save date - the stage stays as it is. If the lead is still on Discovery scheduled, Add meeting opens the meeting window. Discovery failed is not a step backwards If a meeting falls through, set the lead to Discovery failed instead of back to Set discovery. Two reasons: 1. The stage is highlighted on Home in the Discovery pipeline and carries a hot marker. It will not get lost. 2. The Show rate analysis relies on that distinction. Move the lead back and your meeting rate looks better than it is. After Discovery done Once a lead sits on Discovery done, its detail page shows the Deal phase section with the button Create offer. That turns the lead into a deal, and the work continues under Pipeline. From then on, Open deal sits in the same place. The lead itself stays and remains findable under All leads ↗. It leaves Open leads ↗ because the work there is finished. Lead lost, and what comes after Lead lost is not deletion. The lead stays, keeps its Lost reason and appears in All leads. You can move it to another stage later if something changes. The most common mistakes - The stage sits on Qualify for too long. The analysis then counts the lead as untouched even though you are on it. - Nobody switches to Discovery done after the meeting. Then the deal is missing and Pipeline conversion on Home stays low. - A hopeless lead gets deleted instead of set to Lead lost. The lost reason is gone with it, and nobody learns what went wrong. Next - Editing a lead - Lead views: Kanban and list

Activities, notes and history

Three things sit stacked on the left of a lead: the Note field, the logging area and the activity list. That is where you record what happened with the contact. Note field, logging area and activity list stacked Contents - Logging something - The note - The activity list - Deleting an entry - The history - Touchpoints - Next Logging something Four tabs sit above the activity list: - Call - the entry is then titled Call logged. - LinkedIn - the entry is titled LinkedIn touch. - Email - the entry is titled Email logged. - Meeting - the entry is titled Meeting logged. How it works: 1. Pick the right tab. 2. Write what happened into the Log a quick note … field. 3. Click Log. There is a separate button for voice input. Keep it short. One sentence is enough: what was discussed and what follows from it. The entry counts as a touchpoint and shows up as Last activity in the list. The note Above the logging area sits the Note field with the placeholder Add a note …. The difference from logging: - An activity records what happened at a point in time and belongs in the timeline. - A note records what holds permanently: responsibilities, constraints, particulars. Save note stores it. Pin keeps it at the very top, after which it is marked Pinned. Unpin reverses that. Pin whatever somebody opening the lead for the first time needs to know. The activity list Below it, every event appears in chronological order, grouped into Today, Yesterday, This week, Last week and {n} weeks ago. With nothing there yet, it reads No activities yet. Alongside your own entries, automatic ones appear. The important ones: | Entry | Meaning | |---|---| | Outreach | your outreach went out | | Connection request / Connection accepted | the connection was requested or confirmed | | Reply | the contact reacted | | Meeting scheduled / Meeting done / No-show | the state of the meeting | | Stage change | the stage was changed, shown as Stage → {stage} | | Follow-up due | the date you set has been reached | | Offer sent, Won, Lost | events from the deal phase | Automatically created entries carry System as the author. Deleting an entry Delete on an entry removes it. The confirmation reads: This entry will be permanently removed from the timeline. This cannot be undone. Unlike the lead itself, there is no trash here. The history View history shows which fields were changed when and by whom. That is something different from the activity list: the list records what happened with the contact, the history records what was changed on the record. With nothing there, it reads No history yet. Hide history closes it again. The history helps with the question of why a field suddenly looks different from what you expected. Touchpoints The touchpoints number counts the contact points with a person. It sits on the detail page, in the list as TP, and in Contact on Home ↗. You can also sort by it. A high number with no movement in the stage is a warning sign: plenty of effort, no progress. Next - Editing a lead - Creating, importing and enriching leads

Creating, importing and enriching leads

Leads reach inDeal three ways: one at a time by hand, in bulk from a file, or automatically from a campaign. Missing contact details you add afterwards through enrichment. Contents - Creating a lead by hand - Importing leads from a file - Leads from campaigns - Enriching data - Next Creating a lead by hand 1. Click the plus button in the top bar. New lead opens. 2. Fill in at least First name or Last name. Without a name you see Please enter a name. 3. Add what you have: Company, Role / title, Email, Phone, Lead source, Estimated value and Channel. 4. Confirm with Create lead. The New lead form The lead then sits on Qualify. Set a Follow-up date right away, otherwise it will not appear in Open leads ↗. Importing leads from a file The import is its own page in Setup: Lead import ↗. The Import button above both lead lists takes you there as well. The import requires permissions - with the Sales role it is not visible. The import page with dropzone and import history 1. Open the page. At the top you see the hint: Upload a CSV file with leads. The first row must contain the column headers. Below it sits the Import history. 2. Pick your file via Choose CSV file - or simply drag it onto the area. 3. Decide per CSV column what happens to it. Whatever inDeal recognises confidently is already mapped and sits collapsed under {n} columns mapped automatically; uncertain matches carry the marker uncertain match and stay visible. For every column there are five options: - Ignore - the column is not taken over. - A Standard field: First name, Last name, Email, LinkedIn URL, Phone, Company, Website, Role / title, Industry, Location, Employees or Estimated value. Each field can only be used once. - Attach as note - the content is collected into a note on the lead, see below. - An Existing field - the values go into a custom field that already exists. Each field can only be used once. - Create as new field - the column becomes a new custom field with Title and Type, see Custom fields in the import. With All open as note and Ignore all open you decide the remaining columns in one go. 4. Lead source and Channel are set once for the whole import. They do not come from the file. 5. Start with Import {count}. The bar at the bottom stays visible while you scroll and counts the progress. At least one name field, an email or a profile address must be mapped, otherwise you see Map at least first/last name, an email, or a LinkedIn URL. The mapping step with automatically mapped and open columns Custom fields in the import You manage custom fields under Layout ↗, see Customizing the layout: sections and custom fields. In the import: Open columns in the mapping: Paket goes into an existing field, Jahresbudget is created as a new currency field - New field: You can choose the same types as in the layout editor. inDeal suggests a type based on the values, for example checkbox for yes/no, date or date and time for matching values. New fields are added to the end of Additional data. Their API name is generated automatically and never reuses the one of a hidden field. - Dropdown and multi-select fields are created without options. You add the options in the layout afterwards. Until then the values of that column are reported and not saved. - Values are converted when they fit the type: - numbers and amounts in German or English format, for example 1.234,56 or 1,234.56 - dates as 2026-10-15, 15.10.2026 or 15.10.26 - date and time such as 15.10.2026 14:30, in German time - checkbox with yes/no, true/false, 1/0, x, ja/nein - dropdown by the option's name or API name, case does not matter; for multi-select several values separated by semicolon, comma or vertical bar - Invalid values do not stop the lead: the lead is created, only the invalid value is left out. Invalid are, for example, an unknown option, a date that does not exist, or a number with a leading zero or more than 15 digits (such IDs belong in a text field). On a repeat import everything is prefilled If you later import a file with the same column headers, inDeal takes over your last mapping: at the top it says Mapping taken from {date}, the columns sit under {n} columns taken from your last import. If everything fits, start right away via Import now. Reset falls back to the automatic mapping. After the import A summary appears with {n} new, {n} duplicates and {n} errors - plus how many new fields were created and how many notes were written. Columns attached as a note are collected into a note titled Lead import {date} in the activity list of each lead. If there were errors or values were left out, Error report (CSV) downloads the report so you can fix the data and import again. It has the columns row, field, raw value and reason, for example "Option "Gold" unknown". It opens directly in Excel; with an English interface the separator is a comma. Leads that already exist are skipped. Start another import begins the next run right away. Important, and the most common question afterwards: imported leads are cold. They sit on Qualify, have no follow-up date and therefore do not appear in Open leads, only in All leads ↗. They show up in the work list as soon as a reply arrives or you set a follow-up date. That is exactly what the note after the import says. Undoing an import The import history in Setup lists every run with File, Date, Run by and Result. Move imported leads to trash removes a whole run again. Leads that have already been worked are kept - the dialog names the number. The action is reversible: via Undo or the trash. Leads from campaigns Contacts who reacted to your outreach appear as leads automatically. The Details block then names the Campaign they came from. There is nothing for you to do. More on that in the Campaigns category. Enriching data If a phone number or email is missing, Enrich data in the lead header helps. inDeal then searches publicly available contact details. How it goes: 1. Click Enrich data. The button changes to Enriching data …. 2. If it takes longer, you see Extending search across additional providers …. 3. Afterwards the values found sit in the fields. Verified details are marked verified. If a lead has been enriched before, the button reads Re-enrich; after a failed attempt, Retry enrichment. Hovering shows when it was last enriched. Some leads are enriched automatically as they arrive. A note then appears at the top saying contact details are being searched and the page refreshes itself. Enrichment costs credits Contact details consume credits, company data does not. Your balance sits at the bottom left of the sidebar as {n} credits. | Detail | Price | |---|---| | Mobile number | 5 credits | | Email address | 1 credit | | Landline number | 0.5 credits | | Company data | free | Only what is actually found and newly written is charged. A field that is already filled is not overwritten and costs nothing. The number of providers queried makes no difference - the price depends on the field found. Direct dial and switchboard together count as one landline number. If your credit doesn't cover everything, we add what fits. The order and what the lead then shows are explained in Credits and usage. Your usage is in Setup under Plans & Billing ↗ in the History, broken down into Email, Mobile, Landline and Company data. More on that under Credits and usage. Next - Open leads and All leads - Editing a lead

Custom fields for leads

You now create custom fields for leads and deals centrally in Setup under Layout ↗. There you drag a field type from the palette to the spot you want, group fields into sections and hide fields without losing any data. The full guide is in the article Customizing the layout: sections and custom fields. In short - There are nine field types: text, number, currency, checkbox, dropdown, multi-select, date, date and time, and link. - Every field has an API name. It is generated automatically from the name and never changes, even if you rename the field. - In the lead detail view your custom fields appear in your sections and under Additional data. - During the import you can create a CSV column as a new field or map it to an existing field, see Creating, importing and enriching leads. Next - Customizing the layout: sections and custom fields - Editing a lead

Set a follow-up with a reminder

The Follow-up date decides whether a lead comes back to you - in the work lists and in the metrics on Home ↗. Here you'll learn how to set it with the calendar and get an email reminder at the right moment. Contents - Opening the calendar - Adding a reminder - The reminder email - On deals too - When a reminder expires - Unsubscribing from reminders - Next Opening the calendar On a lead's detail page, click the Follow-up date field. A calendar opens: The calendar on the follow-up date with month view and quick picks - The arrows switch the month; the calendar stays open while you browse. - Today is marked, the selected day is highlighted. - For the most common cases there are the quick picks Today, Tomorrow, In 3 days and Next week. - Your selection is only applied with Save. Cancel, the Escape key or a click outside discard it. - If a date is already set, Remove date clears the follow-up again. On a phone the calendar opens as a sheet from the bottom of the screen - with the same options. Adding a reminder Below the quick picks you'll find + Add reminder. Clicking it unfolds the time picker: The unfolded reminder block with time and checkbox - Pick the time in 15-minute steps. - The Get email reminder checkbox is ticked by default. If you only want to note the time without receiving an email, untick it before saving. - After Save, the field shows a small bell with the time next to the date. The reminder email At the chosen time you'll receive an email with everything you need for the call: the lead's name, phone and mobile, the email address, the follow-up with date and time, the Next step and a button that opens the lead directly. Empty fields are simply left out. The recipient is the person the lead is assigned to. If nobody is assigned, the email goes to the person who set the reminder. On deals too In the deal detail the Follow-up date works exactly the same way: the same calendar, the same time picker, the same email reminder. Two things differ: the email additionally shows the deal's value and stage, and its button opens the deal directly in the Pipeline ↗. When a reminder expires If the Follow-up date changes anywhere else - in the stage dialog, in the list's bulk edit or through a workflow - a set reminder is removed. Otherwise it would remind you of an appointment that no longer exists. If you move a follow-up and still want to be reminded, just set the reminder again afterwards: click the field, check the time, Save. Unsubscribing from reminders Under Notifications ↗ you'll find the Follow-up reminder toggle: The notification settings with the follow-up reminder toggle The toggle applies to lead and deal reminders together. Switch it off and inDeal stops sending you reminder emails. Reminders that are already set remain visible on the lead - only the email is skipped. The setting applies to you only, not to your team. Next - Editing a lead - Open leads and All leads