In Salesforce, companies set their own rules and thresholds for when leads need to be converted into contacts. Often, the conversion is triggered by the lead reaching an important milestone in the sales process. In some companies, this may teacher database be when sales reps first make contact with a lead. In other companies, it may be when contract negotiations start. In some, a lead may not be converted into a contact until a deal is signed. It all depends on each company’s processes and how they use both leads and contacts within Salesforce.
This pivotal point is both a milestone and, often, a cause of operational pain, due to how the Salesforce lead conversion process handles merging and creating new records.
In Salesforce, if the lead is matched to an existing contact record by email, the lead will be merged with the existing contact. But not all data from both records is retained during the merge, particularly when using automated tools to convert Salesforce leads in bulk. This operation uses the APEX programming language to merge the records, employing different logic than the logic used to manually convert Salesforce leads through the user interface. As a result of this different logic, the lead's ownership often does not carry over to the contact during this conversion process.
Failing to retain lead ownership information after conversion is not just a minor hiccup; it can be a significant challenge.
Sales teams rely on clear and consistent data to inform their strategies and actions, and they may be confused by the lack of updated information. This can lead to inefficiencies in follow-up processes, miscommunication within teams, and, ultimately, a degradation of the customer experience.
Let’s dig a bit deeper into some of the reasons that reliable contact owners are critical for sales teams.
