How do I handle long-term cycles?

**bluefox112** · 2008-01-29, 03:27 PM

Hi,

I'll come straight out and admit I'm not a CRM expert. I'm not even a salesperson. But I have been using Sugar for awhile now, and it helps me keep track of alot of things. I could be using just my Outlook task list, but I plan on adding people to my small operation, at which point having put my info in Sugar will pay off.

Now, I have a relatively long sales cycle (like alot of people). I typically enter all real prospects into my "leads". I manage the follow-up using my dashboard (the "Leads" section). Although some people sign up quickly and some others saying they aren't interested quickly (both easy cases), alot of prospects end up cluttering my dashboard view. Those are the ones who typically say "I might be interested, but only in 6 months/a year/2 years).

I still want to keep them in my long term lead list, but not have them clutter up my view. Is there any way to "hide" those leads and have them pop back out, let's say 2 months before a specified date?

Or am I using Sugar all wrong?

Mike

**susiewilliams** · 2008-01-29, 05:39 PM

Hi bluefox112,

One nice thing about Sugar is that it's so flexible, it's hard to be "using it all wrong"

There are sometimes just easier ways to do things, but very few "wrong" ways!

Regarding your question about leads, I suspect the answer lies with using both the Leads and the Opportunities areas of the product; leads for those sales leads that haven't been qualified, or aren't ready to move into an active sales cycle; opportunities for those sales leads that you are actively pursuing in a deal.

My suggestion would be for you to check out Sugar University's free online library, in particular, the How Do I guides on the Sales tab. There are topics on Creating and Managing Leads, Converting Leads, and Creating and Managing Opportunities.

Also, you might check out the podcast series (on iTunes and on SugarForge.org); in particular, the areas labeled "For Users" and "CRM Topics" should be of interest to you. You can learn about some general CRM principles, as well as some specifics, like the difference between a Lead and an Contact (and between an Account and an Opportunity). Each podcast is just a few minutes long, so they're easy to get through, plus there's a transcript of each one if you don't feel like listening.

Hope this helps!