Track enquiries as leads

1Open the Leads table

Leads is a table, but it is not pinned in the sidebar to begin with. Click All tables beside TABLES in the sidebar and open Leads from the Tables page. To pin it, click the eye beside TABLES, titled Configure visible tables, and tick Leads under Visible tables.

Each row shows the lead's number, code, name, email, phone and matter type. Click the chevron beside a lead number to unfold the rest: Source, Referred By, Status, Person Responsible, Date Received, Next Follow-up and Converted Matter.

Type in Search leads... to narrow the list. Export CSV downloads what is showing.

2Add a lead by hand

Click New record. The New Leads record window asks for one thing, Client's name. Type it and click Create.

The lead's number and code are assigned for you (260001, LD-1001 and so on). Every other field is filled in on the lead's own page, which opens next.

3Fill in and follow up a lead

On the lead's page, Details lists every field. A field that reads Click to edit is empty; click it and type or pick a value. Status offers New, Contacted, Consultation Booked, Consultation Held, Quote Sent, Converted, Declined and Lost.

Set Person Responsible so the lead shows under that person on the dashboard, and Next Follow-up so it is not forgotten.

The Tasks tab holds to-dos for this lead. Click Add tab to give leads another tab, the same way a matter can.

4Read the pipeline dashboard

Click Leads under DASHBOARDS. The four tiles count leads that are New, have a Consultation Booked, are Converted, and the total.

The Person Responsible and Date Received boxes at the top filter everything below them. The form under the filters adds a lead without leaving the page: fill it and click Add.

5Turn an emailed enquiry into a lead

Open the Gmail page, open its label settings, and set Leads label name. Any email you file under that label in Gmail becomes a lead.

Diract picks the email up as soon as you label it. To pull the label in yourself, click Sync leads on the Gmail page; it reads Syncing leads... while it runs.

The new lead gets the sender's details and the date the email arrived, with the status you chose under Settings, then Leads (see the next step). An email already turned into a lead is not turned into a second one.

6Tell Diract which field means what

Click Settings, then Leads. Pick the Leads table, then under Which field means what match each role, Name, Code, Email, Phone, Status, Date received, Notes and Converted to, to the field in your table that holds it.

Pick the Status for a new lead. Click Save changes; it confirms with Saved.

7Log each follow-up

Click All tables beside TABLES in the sidebar and open Lead Activities. Click New record, name the activity, and on its page set the Lead it belongs to, the Type (Call, Email, Meeting, SMS, Letter or Other), the Date, Done By and the Outcome / Notes.

Type in Search lead activities... to find every touchpoint for one lead.

8Convert a lead into a matter

Open the matter once it exists, or create it from Matters as usual.

Back on the lead, set Status to Converted and click Converted Matter to pick that matter. The dashboard's Converted tile counts it from then on.