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4 min read

Spend less time on lead management with these tips

By Krystina Martinez · May 25, 2021
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How much time do you think your team spends managing leads? If you spend more time sorting your prospects instead of working to make them paying customers, your lead management process may need a major overhaul. 

You know it's important for your business, but if the thought of spring-cleaning your process feels overwhelming, Zapier has you covered. We're an automation tool that allows you to send information from one app to another, so you can reduce manual tasks such as importing leads from a form and spend more time closing the deal. 

Whether you're struggling with managing your leads from social media or need an extra kick to your nurture process, we've collected a few Zaps—what we call Zapier's automated workflows—so you can whip your lead management into tip-top shape. 

Many businesses use a customer relationship management (CRM) tool to track customer interactions and deals. A CRM won't solve all your problems, though. While it's a great source of truth for many business operations, it can be unwieldy to manage without some organization and automation.

You can improve your whole process—from collecting leads to distributing them and nurturing your prospects—by adding automation to your systems.

You'll need a Zapier account to use the workflows in this piece. If you don't have an account yet, it's free to get started.

Streamline your lead collecting efforts

There are so many ways to source leads that it's a little overwhelming. Do you use a website landing page or a form? Social media or events? What about ads? 

Many businesses will use a combination of methods because potential customers are everywhere. When you're trying to acquire leads through multiple channels, it can be difficult to track, organize, and maintain systems long-term without automation. 

Learn more about automatically tracking your leads.

Landing pages

Landing pages are great for putting the focus on a specific product or service. Visitors can fill out a form to learn more about your product—and you can validate what resonates with them.

These workflows will automatically add leads from your landing pages to your CRM, email list, or wherever else you need them. 

Add or update HubSpot contacts for new submissions on Unbounce

Add or update HubSpot contacts for new submissions on Unbounce
  • Unbounce logo
  • HubSpot logo
Unbounce + HubSpot

Learn more: Automatic workflows to get the most out of your landing page.

Forms

Forms are a classic lead generation tool, hearkening back to paper sign-up sheets. They're a quick way to gather the information your sales team needs, while also gathering extra information to help you close the sale—for example, why they're interested in your service.

If you're struggling with managing incoming form submissions, you can try these workflows to route information where you need it. 

Create Salesforce leads with new Gravity Forms submissions

Create Salesforce leads with new Gravity Forms submissions
  • Gravity Forms logo
  • Salesforce logo
Gravity Forms + Salesforce

Create or update HubSpot contacts from new Squarespace form submissions

Create or update HubSpot contacts from new Squarespace form submissions
  • Squarespace logo
  • HubSpot logo
Squarespace + HubSpot

Add new Unbounce form submissions to Zoho CRM as leads

Add new Unbounce form submissions to Zoho CRM as leads
  • Unbounce logo
  • Zoho CRM logo
Unbounce + Zoho CRM

Looking for more ways to add automation to the tools that help you run your business? Read our guide on how to do more with the software you use every day.

Events

While events are a labor-intensive and sometimes costly lead generation tool, they come with benefits other strategies can't offer. They're personal and a great way for potential customers to get a taste of what your business is all about, while also participating in something relevant to their interests.

Whether you're doing an in-person event or running a webinar, these Zaps will ensure your leads are automatically captured.

Add new Eventbrite attendees to Salesforce as leads

Add new Eventbrite attendees to Salesforce as leads
  • Eventbrite logo
  • Salesforce logo
Eventbrite + Salesforce

Add new Pardot prospects to Google Sheets, then register them for Zoom webinars

Add new Pardot prospects to Google Sheets, then register them for Zoom webinars
  • Pardot logo
  • Google Sheets logo
  • Zoom logo
Pardot + Google Sheets + Zoom

Multi-step Zaps—available on our paid plans—allow you to add multiple actions, filters, and even branching logic so you can do more automatically. Learn how to use multi-step Zaps.

Social media ads

While many businesses are alread on social media, placing an online ad can be an effective form of lead generation. For example, Google and LinkedIn allow users to enter information on a form without a redirect—perfect in this attention economy.

You can ramp up your lead strategy on social without the administrative labor with these Zaps: 

Create Airtable records for new Google Ads leads

Create Airtable records for new Google Ads leads
  • Google Ads logo
  • Airtable logo
Google Ads + Airtable

Think about how your leads flow

It's important to think about your sales cycle. When is it time to create a deal for a prospect? How do you know if a lead is sales qualified, marketing qualified, or none of the above? Map out this process first. Then, start from the beginning. Once you have a qualified lead, who on your team needs to know?

If you're struggling to get visibility on your leads as they come in, these Zaps will automatically alert you when a new lead is added to your CRM.

Send channel messages in Microsoft Teams for new Pipedrive leads

Send channel messages in Microsoft Teams for new Pipedrive leads
  • Pipedrive logo
  • Microsoft Teams logo
Pipedrive + Microsoft Teams

Create and email a digest of new leads from Zendesk Sell

Create and email a digest of new leads from Zendesk Sell
  • Zendesk Sell logo
  • Digest by Zapier logo
  • Email by Zapier logo
Zendesk Sell + Digest by Zapier + Email by Zapier

Post messages to a Slack channel when new HubSpot contacts are added to lists

Post messages to a Slack channel when new HubSpot contacts are added to lists
  • HubSpot logo
  • Slack logo
HubSpot + Slack

You can use filter steps or paths—available on our paid plans—to automatically send leads where you want them to go. For example, maybe you want your marketing-qualified leads added to a newsletter subscription list, while you want your sales team to be notified in Slack for your sales-qualified prospects. 

Learn more about filters and check out our guide to Zapier paths

Prefer using a spreadsheet to analyze your leads? With an automated workflow, you can first automatically add leads to your spreadsheet or database.

Collect new Typeform responses as rows on Google Sheets

Collect new Typeform responses as rows on Google Sheets
  • Typeform logo
  • Google Sheets logo
Typeform + Google Sheets

Add new Facebook Lead Ads leads to rows on Google Sheets

Add new Facebook Lead Ads leads to rows on Google Sheets
  • Facebook Lead Ads logo
  • Google Sheets logo
Facebook Lead Ads + Google Sheets

Add new Typeform entries as rows on an Excel spreadsheet

Add new Typeform entries as rows on an Excel spreadsheet
  • Typeform logo
  • Microsoft Excel logo
Typeform + Microsoft Excel

Add new Jotform submissions to Excel spreadsheet rows

Add new Jotform submissions to Excel spreadsheet rows
  • Jotform logo
  • Microsoft Excel logo
Jotform + Microsoft Excel

Add new Typeform entries to Airtable as records

Add new Typeform entries to Airtable as records
  • Typeform logo
  • Airtable logo
Typeform + Airtable

Create Airtable records from new Google Forms responses

Create Airtable records from new Google Forms responses
  • Google Forms logo
  • Airtable logo
Google Forms + Airtable

Then, stay updated on new leads when they come in by setting up automatic emails or team chat notifications for updates to that spreadsheet. 

Spending too much time organizing your CRM? Learn how CRM automation can boost your team's productivity. 

Lead nurturing

Now that you have leads to work with, the real work begins: turning them into paying customers. Think back to your sales cycle. Once you have a prospect, how do you encourage them through different deal stages? Do they need to go into a drip email campaign first? How do you know when it's time for a sales call?

Every business has its own strategy for converting leads, but timely follow-up is universal. There's a short window in which you have a prospect's interest—automation can help you capitalize on it. 

Do your prospects need a little encouragement? Here are 8 ways automation can help.

Send a personal message to new leads

When someone expresses interest in your product, it's a nice gesture to let them know what to expect next from you. This could be a simple thank you email and a note that a sales rep will follow up soon, or even a text as a part of an SMS campaign. 

Try these workflows to give your prospects a personalized touch. 

Get notified via email when new contacts are added to HubSpot lists

Get notified via email when new contacts are added to HubSpot lists
  • HubSpot logo
  • Email by Zapier logo
HubSpot + Email by Zapier

Send a Twilio SMS when a Typeform form is filled out

Send a Twilio SMS when a Typeform form is filled out
  • Typeform logo
  • Twilio logo
Typeform + Twilio

Note: Delay steps—available on our paid plans—allow you to wait for a specific amount of time before your Zap completes the next step. 

Enroll in a campaign

A lead may not be ready to have that sales conversation right away. That's where email drips and SMS campaigns come in handy because you can encourage prospects over time. You can use a Zap to automatically add new leads to an email newsletter, a drip email list, or an SMS list. 

Create or update Mailchimp subscribers from new Google Forms submissions

Create or update Mailchimp subscribers from new Google Forms submissions
  • Google Forms logo
  • Mailchimp logo
Google Forms + Mailchimp

Add new Eventbrite attendees to ConvertKit tags

Add new Eventbrite attendees to ConvertKit tags
  • Eventbrite logo
  • ConvertKit logo
Eventbrite + ConvertKit

Book demo calls

Depending on the service you're offering, you may want to book consultation or demo calls with prospects. You can get started quickly with these workflows, which will automatically send call invites to leads when they're in a specific deal stage. If you use a booking or scheduling app, include your calendar link in the email message.

Send emails in Gmail when new deals are added to a stage on Pipedrive

Send emails in Gmail when new deals are added to a stage on Pipedrive
  • Pipedrive logo
  • Gmail logo
Pipedrive + Gmail

Let automation guide your leads

The sales cycle can be a long one, but that time doesn't need to be tied up on the administrative side of lead management or nurture. Automation can help you streamline the process, to focus more on making the best pitch to your prospects. 

Zapier is the leader in workflow automation—integrating with thousands of apps from partners like Google, Salesforce, and Microsoft. Use interfaces, data tables, and logic to build secure, automated systems for your business-critical workflows across your organization's technology stack. Learn more.

Related reading: 

  • 4 ways to improve your real estate business with automation

  • 6 fatal mistakes in lead generation strategy

  • How to segment leads from a quiz or survey

  • The best lead management software

  • 4 ways to automatically qualify your leads

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A Zap with the trigger 'When I get a new lead from Facebook,' and the action 'Notify my team in Slack'