> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dealerfunnel.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Lead Records: Structure, Statuses, and Lifecycle Guide
> Learn how lead records are structured in Dealer Funnel — what data they hold, how statuses work, and how leads move through your sales process.
Every prospective car buyer in Dealer Funnel is represented as a **Lead** — a single record that brings together contact information, vehicle interest, financial data, and the complete history of every conversation, appointment, and note your team has ever exchanged with that person. When you work a lead in Dealer Funnel, you have everything you need in one place: no digging through spreadsheets, no switching tabs, no lost follow-ups.
## What a Lead Contains
A lead record is organized into several panels inside the Lead Detail view. Together, these panels give you and your team a 360-degree picture of the buyer.
The contact panel stores the buyer's **first name**, **last name**, **phone number**, and **email address**. Phone is the primary identifier — Dealer Funnel uses it to prevent duplicate records and to route inbound SMS replies to the correct conversation thread.
Vehicle interest captures the **year**, **make**, and **model** the buyer is shopping for, along with any notes about trim preferences, color, or mileage requirements. This information flows into automated funnel messages so your outreach feels personal and specific rather than generic.
The financial panel surfaces enriched credit and demographic data alongside information your team captures directly. You can see the buyer's **FICO score** (both reported and modeled), **financing ability** (cash buyer, finance-ready, or needs special financing), **estimated income**, **auto type preference** (new, used, or certified pre-owned), **vehicle ownership history**, and additional data such as age and gender when available from enrichment sources. This data helps you prioritize leads and route them to the right desk or F\&I specialist without having to ask qualifying questions the buyer has already answered.
Every appointment your team sets — whether booked through Dealer Funnel's scheduling tools or logged manually — appears here with date, time, and outcome. You can see at a glance whether a buyer has shown, no-showed, or rescheduled.
The full conversation thread — SMS, email, and any other channel — is visible in chronological order. Your team can pick up right where the last agent left off without asking the buyer to repeat themselves.
Free-text notes let agents record anything that doesn't fit a structured field. Labels (color-coded tags) let you categorize leads by segment, campaign, or stage so you can filter and report on them later.
***
## Lead Statuses
Every lead carries a **status** that reflects where the buyer is in your sales process. Statuses drive reporting, filter views, and can trigger automated funnel actions.
| Status | What It Means |
| ------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Hot** | High purchase intent — this buyer needs an immediate response, ideally within minutes. Every minute of delay reduces close probability. |
| **Warm** | Moderate interest — the buyer is engaged but may be comparing options or waiting on timing. Regular, personalized follow-up keeps you top of mind. |
| **Cold** | Low engagement — the buyer has gone quiet or shown minimal interest. Automated nurture sequences are ideal here to stay in the picture without burning agent time. |
| **Follow-Up** | A specific check-in is scheduled. The lead is not yet sold but has a clear next action associated with it. |
| **Sold** | The deal is closed. The lead remains in the system for service follow-up, referral campaigns, and lifetime value tracking. |
| **Dead** | The buyer is no longer a viable prospect — moved away, bought elsewhere, or otherwise closed. Dead leads are hidden from active queues but retained for historical reporting. |
| **Test** | Used for demo leads, sandbox testing, or training new agents. Test leads are excluded from all reporting dashboards by default. |
You can update a lead's status from the lead detail panel at any time, or in bulk from the Leads table by selecting multiple records and using the **Bulk Actions** menu.
***
## The Lead Lifecycle
Leads move through a predictable flow in Dealer Funnel, though the path is never perfectly linear. Understanding this flow helps your team know what action to take at each stage.
```
Captured → Assigned → Worked in Conversations → Appointment Set → Sold
↘ Recycled (Warm/Cold nurture)
```
1. **Captured** — A lead enters Dealer Funnel from any source: a web form submission, a Facebook Lead Ad, an inbound SMS, a DMS feed, or a CSV import. The record is created automatically and lands in the conversation inbox.
2. **Assigned** — The lead is routed to an agent, either by automatic round-robin assignment rules or manually by a manager. Unassigned leads appear in a shared queue.
3. **Worked in Conversations** — The assigned agent sends messages, answers questions, and builds rapport. The status is updated to reflect engagement level (Hot, Warm, Cold).
4. **Appointment Set** — The agent books a showroom visit or phone appointment. The status typically moves to **Follow-Up** until the appointment is confirmed.
5. **Sold or Recycled** — If the deal closes, the lead moves to **Sold**. If the buyer isn't ready, the lead moves back into a nurture funnel or is marked **Cold** for long-term follow-up.
***
## Lead Score
Dealer Funnel calculates an AI-generated **Lead Score** from 1 to 100 for every lead. The score reflects two factors: how engaged the buyer has been (open rates, reply rate, appointment history) and how financially qualified they appear based on the data in their profile.
Sort your Leads table by Lead Score descending to surface your highest-opportunity buyers at the top of your working queue. Combine this with a **Hot** status filter for a laser-focused priority list.
A score above **70** generally indicates a buyer who is both engaged and financially ready — these leads deserve same-day follow-up. Scores below **30** are best handled through automated nurture sequences rather than direct agent time.
***
## Explore More
Upload a CSV to bulk-import leads from a previous CRM, event list, or spreadsheet.
Track which channels — Facebook, website, Cars.com — are driving your best buyers.
Tag leads with color-coded labels and build saved filter queues for your team.