Organizing Leads

[11-10]

Maybe I'm blinded from staring at the screen too long, but I can't find what I'm looking for. On the off chance that I'm not really blind, but that what I'm looking for really doesn't exist, I thought I'd post here.
I want to be able to categorize my leads. I have a few projects going on, and so I have leads in different segments, (like marketing segments) and I'd like to be able to sort and view my leads by these groupings. For example, leads of those we will call to invite to our conference, leads of those local in my state, leads of those that use products similar to ours and leads that haven't yet discovered the beauty of our products and those similar.

I'm sure there's a way, that this functionality is in sugar somehow. I'm unable to see where or how though. Would someone please point me the right way?

Thanks so much for your time!

[Angel]

Saved searches should allow you to look at your leads in the manner described.

A saved search is essentially a predefined search criteria of your liking, for example, leads whose status is set to "New" or whatever. Whenever you want to see the matching records, simply select the saved search from the listing on the search panel above the record list while in ListView and you'll be able to see the corresponding records. You can define as many saved searches as you like, each which different criteria, giving you the effect you are seeking.

To define a saved search, click on the Advanced Search panel, define your criteria, give the search a name and click "save" on the bottom of the search panel.

[11-10]

Thank you, that's very useful!
But it isn't quite as flexible as I'd like. Say for example, I only want certain types of companies, (tech firms) from across the country. Unless they have a common identifier, then the search won't do me any good.

I suppose then, the feature I was looking for doesn't exist?
...In that case, I suppose my fix would be to create a custom field, to categorize them by, and then use search to search the custom field I've made (and any other criteria I deem needed). Is that possible, to make a custom field searchable? And does this seem to be the appropriate solution?

[Angel]

That would be the best alternative, and yes, it is possible to search based on custom fields (including Saved Searches). Just add the custom field to the search layout(s) and you can then leverage it within your searches.