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HelpdeskAgentdevTesoro CRM

A lead is not a buyer — it is your intake phase

Many agents think: lead = someone who wants to buy a home. That is often true — but in Tesoro, a lead is not a type of client. It is the phase in which you determine whether and when you will actively help this person. Only after that does it become a contact with a deal.

When is this article for you?

Section titled “When is this article for you?”
  • You search for someone in Leads and think: “But this is just a buyer, isn’t it?”
  • After conversion, someone disappears from Leads and you think the file is lost
  • You want to explain to your team when something stays a lead and when it becomes a deal
  • You want to know what Preselect has to do with that first Idealista inquiry

The misunderstanding in one sentence

Section titled “The misunderstanding in one sentence”
What agents often think What Tesoro means
“Lead = potential buyer” Lead = intake phase — still qualifying
“Contact = someone in my address book” Contact = person you are actively working with now
“Deal = the transaction” Deal = your working file for matching, proposing, and closing

Someone can want to be a buyer and still be a lead. That is not a contradiction — it describes where in the process that person is.

Video: leads vs. deals in practice

Section titled “Video: leads vs. deals in practice”

Open the video in Loom (English, with a screen recording of the CRM).

Three phases, one person

Section titled “Three phases, one person”

Compare it to an intake at the doctor:

flowchart LR
  A[Aanvraag binnen] --> B[Lead\nkwalificeren]
  B -->|Nu actief helpen| C[Contact]
  C --> D[Deal\nmatchen & begeleiden]
  B -->|Timing past niet| E[Unqualified / Lost\nblijft of sluit af]
Phase In Tesoro What you do
Intake Lead Call, ask questions, check budget and timing
Decision Status Qualified or Unqualified “Do I pick this up now?”
Active work Contact + Deal Search homes, make proposals, arrange viewings, pipeline

What happens in the lead phase?

Section titled “What happens in the lead phase?”

A lead comes in via a portal, your website, phone, or personal contact. You don’t yet know enough to actively match.

Typical first steps:

  1. Call or email — what exactly is this person looking for?
  2. Record basic details in Property Details: property type, bedrooms, budget range, location
  3. Note timing — Looking to (Buy/Rent) and Timeline
  4. Update status on the progress bar: New → Contacted → Qualified

When does someone remain a lead?

Section titled “When does someone remain a lead?”
  • The timing is too far away (e.g., moving only in a few years)
  • Budget and requirements are still too vague
  • You first want to assess over the phone whether this is serious
  • The inquiry came in but you haven’t had time to follow up yet

Then set the status to Unqualified or Lost, or leave the lead on Contacted until you know more. That is not a mistake — it keeps your pipeline honest.

When does it become a contact + deal?

Section titled “When does it become a contact + deal?”

If you decide: I’m going to work on this now, you convert the lead.

  1. Set the lead status to Qualified and fill in at least Price range Min/Max (required for Qualified in the system).

  2. Click Converted on the progress bar. Without Qualified, Tesoro blocks with “Lead not qualified”.

  3. In the side panel, choose whether you want a deal directly:

    • Create deal from contact off → only contact, no deal
    • Create deal from contact on → contact and deal, with pre-filled name and deal value

  4. After saving, the lead disappears from Leads and you find the person under Contacts, with a Deals tab.

What changes in the deal phase?

Section titled “What changes in the deal phase?”

After conversion, matching begins. On the deal, in the Properties tab, Tesoro automatically fills the Preselect column with homes that match the search criteria from the lead.

Column Meaning
Preselect First pool — automatically suggested by the match engine
Proposed Presented by you to the client
Approved Approved by the client (required to move further in the pipeline)

In the deal, you can tighten criteria (e.g., sea view, air conditioning). Does a filter feel too strict? Remove or loosen it — otherwise Preselect will remain empty.

Common misconceptions

Section titled “Common misconceptions”
Misconception Fact
“Every buyer is a lead” Every buyer can be a lead, but only after conversion do you work with them as contact + deal
“Lead type Buyer = this is a lead file” Buyer describes the direction (looking for a home), not the phase
“I don’t need to convert, I manage everything as a lead” Without conversion, no deal, no Preselect, no pipeline tracking per transaction
“Converted means won” Converted = moved on to contact (+ optionally deal), not the same as the deal stage Won
“Contacts are only notaries and lawyers” Buyers and sellers are also contacts after conversion

Quick decision tree

Section titled “Quick decision tree”
  • Inquiry has come in, you haven’t called yet
  • Timing is uncertain or too far in the future
  • Budget or wishes are not yet concrete enough
  • You want to keep the inquiry in your queue without actively matching

Summary

Section titled “Summary”
  • A lead is a phase (intake and qualification), not a label for “buyer”
  • The same person can be a buyer while the file is still a lead
  • Qualified → Converted turns it into a contact; optionally immediately a deal
  • Preselect and refined searching only start in the deal, not in the lead phase
  • Soft preferences in Notes; hard criteria in search filters

Further reading

Section titled “Further reading”
Leads & contacts: overviewTechnical comparison of lead vs. contact and the standard workflow.
Working with leadsCreating, qualifying, and converting — step by step in the CRM.
Creating and managing dealsPreselect, Properties tab, and pipeline after conversion.
Lead sources & statusesReference for source, stage, and the six pipeline statuses.