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Converting a Lead to an Opportunity

Once a lead has been qualified and identified as a genuine sales opportunity, you can convert the lead into an opportunity.

The prerequisite for converting a lead to an opportunity is that the lead is "matched" to an existing company or person. This ensures that when the opportunity is created, it is assigned to a true company and person (rather than existing as a disassociated entity, as a lead normally does).

If you have not yet associated the lead with a company and person, you need to do so now. The company and person may already exist in the database, in which case all you need to do is match the lead to the existing records. If the data is not yet in the system, you will need to add a new company and person—or add a new person if the company already exists, but the person is new.

To convert a lead to an opportunity:

Find and open the lead you want to convert to an opportunity.
From the Lead Summary page, select the Convert To Opportunity button.
If you have not yet matched the lead to a company or person, a warning dialog box is displayed.

To match the lead to a company, select the Add Or Find This Company button on the Lead Summary page.
- The system automatically searches for an existing company in the database that matches the company name on the lead.
- If the system finds a name that begins with the company name you have already entered, it first gives you the option of selecting the existing company.
- If you already matched the company at an earlier stage, and just need to match up the person, you can skip the next steps and click on the Add Or Find This Person button.
- If no matching company is found, or if you choose to ignore suggested matches, the New Company page is displayed in a new browser window. This page takes over details, such as Company Name and Person Name, already entered against the lead so that you do not have to retype them. Complete any further known details on the New Company page.
Select the Save button.
Click the Select Company button. The Lead Summary page is displayed, showing that the lead has been matched to the new company and person that you have added to the system.
Select the Convert To Opportunity button. For more information on the Opportunity fields, please refer to Creating a New Opportunity.
Complete any further known details on the Record New Opportunity page.
Select the Save button. The Opportunity Summary page for the new opportunity is displayed.

An opportunity that has been created via conversion from a lead has the following features:

A View Lead button on the Summary page. This allows you to toggle between the details of the opportunity and the lead. You can view communications associated with the lead, but you can no longer add communications to the lead once conversion has taken place.
The Opportunity Tracking tab shows a record of the conversion from Lead to Opportunity.
Communications, which were created in the context of the lead, are displayed in the Communications tab of the Opportunity.

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