The board: move an enquiry through stages and close it

Stage names belong to your firm. The standard set is New, Needs review, Contacted, Awaiting response, Qualified, Consultation proposed, Consultation booked, Consultation completed, Engagement pending, Converted, Nurture and Lost. Your Owner may have changed them.

1. 1

   Select Board in the menu. Each column is a stage and shows how many enquiries it holds. Each card shows the name, priority, reference and practice area.

2. 2

   Drag a card to another column to move it. You can also open the enquiry and choose a new stage in the Stage menu at the top right. Use the Stage menu on a phone, or when dragging is awkward.

3. 3

   To close an enquiry as lost, move it to Lost. In Mark as lost, choose a reason. The reasons come in two groups. Real enquiry, did not go ahead includes Price and Chose another firm. Not a real enquiry (left out of the numbers) includes Duplicate, Wrong enquiry / spam, Job seeker and Sales pitch or advertising. If you choose Other, a note is required. Select Mark lost.

4. 4

   To close an enquiry as won, move it to Converted. See Turn an enquiry into a client.

5. 5

   To reopen a lost enquiry, choose an open stage from its Stage menu.

Some stages set the next follow-up date for you. The consultation stages and Engagement pending also move on their own, when you offer a consultation, a time is booked, a consultation is marked held or a letter is made ready to sign. They only move forward. A lost enquiry leaves the open lists, and its reason feeds the reports.