Resources / Glossary / The record
Lead source
Where an opportunity came from, recorded on the customer record and used to judge what marketing is producing.
Lead source is the origin label: a listing site, the store’s website, a search campaign, a tracking number, a walk-in, a referral, a service customer. It is entered automatically for some channels and by hand for others, which is where the accuracy goes.
Sources have to stay stable to be worth anything. Renaming them, splitting one into three, or letting each rep invent their own value means this quarter cannot be compared with last quarter, and the marketing decisions made from the report are guesses. Agree the list once and make it a closed set.
Why it matters for a sales manager
Every advertising decision a store makes runs through this field, and it is filled in by busy people at the end of a call. Before cutting a source that looks weak, check whether its calls are being answered and whether anyone is asking for the appointment, because a handling problem and a marketing problem look identical in a source report.