How to Work the Lead Inbox in LeadLocate

The lead inbox is the list every salesperson starts the day in. This guide covers the loop: open the newest lead, contact the customer from the record, update the status, move on.

1. Open the lead list

   Sign in and open Leads from the main menu; on the phone app it is the Leads screen. The list shows every lead assigned to you, newest first, with the source feed, the Lead Posted Date and the current status on each row. Rows in the color your store set for new leads are the ones nobody has touched.

2. Take the newest untouched lead first

   Click the row to open Lead Details. The customer's name, phone, email, vehicle of interest and the message they submitted are at the top, with the source feed and the Lead ID. If the same person has submitted before, the record shows the earlier leads so you are not starting cold.

3. Contact the customer from the record

   Use Send a Text to text from the store's tracking number or Make a Call to dial from the softphone, both from the lead. The text thread, the call recording and any email land on the same record, so the next person who opens it reads the whole story. If the customer called or texted first, the reply is already threaded there.

4. Write notes and set the status

   Type what happened in the notes; the record autosaves as you type, so there is no save button to forget. Change Lead Status to the stage you reached, for example contacted or appointment set, using the statuses your store defined. Add a tag if the store uses them for things like trade or cash buyer.

5. Schedule the next touch

   Set an appointment or a to do from the record so it shows on your Workspace the day it is due. A lead with no next step is a lead that goes quiet; the Workspace only chases what you schedule.

6. Close what is dead, report what is bad

   When a customer buys elsewhere or stops responding, choose Mark Lead As Lost and pick the reason in the popup; the reason feeds the reports. A lead with a wrong number or a person who never inquired is not lost, it is bad: choose Report Lead to Quality Control, describe the problem, and a manager reviews it.

7. Add a walk in or phone up by hand

   For a customer who was never a lead, click Add New Lead, enter the name and phone, and the record is created on the walk in source so it is worked and reported like every other lead.

You need a LeadLocate CRM login and at least one lead source delivering into the store. Sources are set up as feeds in Lead Feeds Manager by a Manager or Master Administrator; a salesperson does not need to touch that page, only to know which feed name means which source. Turn on your alerts before the first lead lands: Notify me when I get a NEW LEAD sends the text or email alert, and Play New Lead sound chimes on the desktop, both under your notification preferences.

Know your store's statuses. The Lead Status list is customized per dealership, with row colors and tags set by a manager, and the reports count whatever your team picks. If the list does not describe how your store actually moves a deal, ask a manager to fix the custom statuses rather than working around them.

A row for every lead assigned to you, newest at the top, colored by status. Opening a row shows the full record: contact details, the source, the message, the vehicle, the communications log with every text, call, email and voicemail in order, and the notes area. As you type, the record saves in the background; you can close the tab mid sentence and the words are there when you return.

After you text or call from the record, the thread or the recording appears in the log within seconds. After you change Lead Status, the row color in the list changes to match. After Mark Lead As Lost, the lead leaves the working list and the reason shows on the record and in the reports. After Report Lead to Quality Control, the lead shows a pending review and the manager sees it in the quality control queue. On the phone app the same record opens as a sheet, and the bottom dock places Text, Call and New Lead one tap away.

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No new leads appear. Either the feed is not delivering or the lead was assigned to someone else. A manager checks Lead Feeds Manager for the source and the assignment rule; a round robin rule sends each lead to the next person in the rotation, so your neighbor may have it. All Leads, visible to managers, shows everything the store received.

The alert did not fire. Open your notification preferences and confirm Notify me when I get a NEW LEAD is on and the phone number and email on your profile are right. Desktop sound needs the browser tab open at least once after login so it is allowed to play. The lead notifications page covers every setting.

Two records for the same customer. Open one of them and use Merge Duplicate Records; the merge keeps every text, call and note from both and leaves one record with the older lead history intact.

A lead you deleted by mistake. Deleted leads go to the trash bin, where a manager can restore them.

The inbox hands off to three other screens. Texting continues in the two way texting inbox, where every conversation on the store's numbers lives one thread per customer. Calls and recordings live under Calls. Appointments, reminders and to dos collect on the Workspace, which is the page to open each morning after the inbox.

Every task on the platform has a guide in the LeadLocate Help Center: texting a customer, making a call from the CRM, sending a vehicle in a text, and setting up notification preferences all start from the lead record you just opened. A lead workflow your store needs that the inbox does not express is available on request, and our team puts it in production for your dealership.

Work newest first, always; the value of an internet lead falls by the minute. Text before you call, because a text gets read and a cold call from an unknown number gets ignored, then call the ones who reply. Never leave a record without a status change and a next step, even if the step is a to do for next week. And mark lost with the real reason; the lost reason report is how a manager finds out the store keeps losing on trade value, and it only works if the reasons are true.

Where do new leads show up in LeadLocate?

In the Leads menu on the desktop and the Leads screen in the mobile app, newest first, with the source and posting time on each row. New leads also trigger a text, email or sound alert if you turned them on.

Do I have to save my notes on a lead?

No. The lead record autosaves as you type. Change the status, type the note and move to the next lead.

What is the difference between marking a lead lost and reporting it?

Lost is a real customer who did not buy from you; pick the reason and it feeds the reports. Reporting to Quality Control is for a lead that was never a real inquiry, such as a wrong number, and a manager reviews it.

Can I work the lead inbox from my phone?

Yes. The LeadLocate mobile app has the same lead list and record, with Text, Call and New Lead on the bottom dock.

Lead inbox, texting, calling and notifications are part of every LeadLocate plan on desktop and in the app. See it in the pre-recorded demo or start month to month.

Prefer to talk right now? Call or text 844-376-2274.