Lead management system (LMS)

A lead management system handles the stretch of selling between "someone showed interest" and "someone bought". It makes sure no inquiry is lost, every lead has an owner, and you can see which sources produce customers, not just contacts. The acronym LMS is also used for learning management systems, which are course platforms; this entry is about leads.

What it does

• Capture: brings leads from every source (web forms, calls, chats, ads, directories, email) into one list, with the source recorded.
• De-duplicate: recognizes when the same person inquires twice, through two channels.
• Qualify and score: records what the lead needs, their timing and budget, and ranks leads with lead scoring.
• Route: assigns each lead to a person by rules such as location, service or workload.
• Follow up: sets the next task and tracks how fast each lead got a reply, which is where speed to lead is won or lost.
• Report: shows conversion by source, stage and salesperson.

LMS or CRM?

The two overlap. A CRM manages the whole customer relationship, including existing customers, deals and service history. A lead management system focuses on the front of the pipeline: new inquiries and the first steps of lead qualification. Many businesses run lead management inside their CRM. Others need a dedicated system because they handle a high volume of leads, buy leads from several vendors, or distribute them to agents and partners.

How it relates to Worcia

Worcia builds lead management systems as part of its custom software work, or configures an existing CRM platform when that fits better. Cadenza, Worcia's sales follow-up automation, then runs the follow-up inside it. To compare building with buying, read Custom CRM vs HubSpot, Zoho or Salesforce, or see the lead management system use case.