Glossary · Sales and customers
What is a lead?
A lead is a person or company that has shown interest in what you sell but has not been qualified yet. A web form, a card left at a trade fair, or a price question on WhatsApp can all create one. Once the need, budget, and decision-maker are clear, the lead becomes a sales opportunity.
Last updated: · Author: Şevket Erer, Co-founder, AI Specialist
Why track leads apart from customers?
Interest that reaches a company is not always ready to buy. Someone asking for a price may just be checking the market, and someone who left a card at a fair may not be the one who decides. Keeping leads separate lets the team plan its time around that uncertainty and keeps the forecast honest. The source of each lead is recorded as well. Over time it shows which channel brings interest that turns into customers and which one mostly takes up time.
How is a lead qualified?
Lead qualification starts with the record: the person's name, contact details, source channel and first message are written down, and if the same person wrote before, the entry is added to the existing record. The sales team asks about the need in a short contact; need, budget, decision maker and timing become clear. A suitable lead becomes an opportunity; an unsuitable one is closed or parked with the reason on record.
- Capture
The person's name, contact details, source channel, and first message are recorded. If they have written before, no new record opens; it is added to the existing one.
- First contact
Sales asks about the need in a short call or message. At this point the aim is to find out whether there is a fit, and the pitch can wait.
- Qualification
Need, budget, decision-maker, and timing become clear. Many teams ask these through a short checklist.
- Decision
A good fit becomes an opportunity. A poor fit is closed or parked for a later call, with the reason written on the record.
An example
A factory looking for a time and attendance system fills in the web form asking for pricing. The record opens as a lead. The salesperson calls and learns that the factory is moving to a new shift pattern, the HR manager and the general manager will decide, and budget is set aside for this year. With that, the lead becomes an opportunity. Another form that came in the same day turns out to be a student's homework question; that record is closed with the reason noted.
How it looks in Corex360
In Corex360, a WhatsApp, Instagram, or web chat can be turned into an opportunity, which then shows as a badge on the conversation. The lifecycle line on the customer card starts with the Prospect stage. How the same person is matched across channels is shown in the demo.
Terms often confused with it
| Sales opportunity | A lead is interest; an opportunity is a deal. Once the lead's need, budget, and decision-maker are clear, the record becomes an opportunity and enters the forecast. |
|---|---|
| Lead scoring | Lead scoring gives leads points so they can be put in order of priority. The lead is the person; the score helps decide how quickly to get back to them. |
Related terms: Sales opportunity, Lead scoring, İYS (Turkey's commercial message consent registry)
FAQ
Is every web form a lead?
As a record, yes; as a sales opportunity, no. A form shows interest, and it stays out of the forecast until it is qualified.
When should a lead be closed?
Close it, with the reason, when the need, budget, or decision-maker stays unclear and the prospect does not respond after a few attempts. The record is kept, so the history is there if they get in touch again.
Are a lead and a prospect the same thing?
They are often used for the same thing. Some teams keep the word prospect for a qualified lead. What matters is that the team agrees on one meaning.
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