How to Track Leads from First Contact to Deal

Use Piraja CRM to track leads from first contact through to a closed deal. This guide covers Individuals, Organizations, Opportunities, and the Pipeline so you never lose a lead.

Introduction

Why track leads in one place?

When leads are scattered across email, spreadsheets, and notes, deals slip and follow-ups get missed. Piraja gives you one place to store contacts, link them to companies, create opportunities, and move deals through your pipeline. Every team member can see the same picture, and nothing falls through the cracks.

This guide shows how to go from a first contact to a closed deal using the Individuals Module, Organizations Module, Opportunities Module, and Pipeline Module.

Who this is for

• Sales teams who want a clear lead-to-deal process
• Small businesses moving from spreadsheets to a CRM
• Anyone who needs to follow up on leads consistently
• Teams that want visibility into who is working which deal

Step 1: Add the contact and company

When a new lead comes in, the first step is to capture the person and, when relevant, the company they work for.

Create the individual (contact)

1. Go to Individuals in the main navigation.
2. Click Create Individual (or the equivalent button in your app).
3. Enter at least name and email; add phone if you have it. These fields help the CRM match incoming emails and keep history in one place.
4. Save the individual. You now have a contact record.

Add or find the company (organization)

If the lead works for a company you care about (e.g. for B2B sales):

1. Go to Organizations and either create a new company or search for an existing one.
2. Enter the company name and any details you have (website, address). If you operate in Norway or the UK, you can search and import companies using the BRREG or Companies House integrations so you don't have to type everything by hand.
3. Link the individual to the organization so that the contact appears under the company and the company appears on the contact. This gives you a single account view and lets you see all opportunities for that company.

Step 2: Create an opportunity

An Opportunity represents a single deal or sales chance. Creating one and linking it to the contact (and company) puts the deal on the radar and in the pipeline.

How to create an opportunity

1. From the Opportunities module (or from the contact or organization record), click Create Opportunity.
2. Give the opportunity a clear name (e.g. "Acme Corp – Q1 renewal").
3. Link it to the individual and/or organization you created. This way the opportunity shows up on their record and in the pipeline.
4. Set the value (deal size) and any other fields your team uses (e.g. expected close date, stage).
5. Save. The opportunity will appear in the Pipeline view so you can move it through stages (e.g. Lead, Qualified, Proposal, Won/Lost).

Using the pipeline view

Open the Pipeline to see all opportunities by stage. You can drag and drop opportunities between stages as the deal progresses. This gives you a visual board of every deal and makes it easy to spot stalled or at-risk opportunities.

Step 3: Use tasks and mailbox to stay on top

Without follow-up reminders and linked email, leads go cold. Two features help you stay on top: Tasks and Mailbox.

Create tasks for follow-up

1. Create a Task linked to the opportunity or to the contact. For example: "Call back re proposal", "Send quote", "Schedule demo".
2. Set a due date and, if your team uses it, assign the task to the right person.
3. When the task is done, mark it complete. Pending tasks act as a to-do list so nothing is forgotten.

Connect email so conversations are in the CRM

When you connect Gmail or Outlook via the Mailbox module, emails are synced and matched to individuals and organizations. Each email appears as activity on the right contact and keeps the full conversation history in one place. See How to Connect Your Email to the CRM for setup.

Best practices

One opportunity per deal

Create a single opportunity for each distinct deal. Avoid duplicate opportunities for the same deal so the pipeline reflects reality and forecasting stays accurate.

Link individuals and organizations

Always link contacts to their company when you're doing B2B. That way you see all contacts and all opportunities per account, and you can prioritise by company as well as by deal.

Use the pipeline view regularly

Review the Pipeline often to move deals forward and spot those that have been stuck in one stage for too long. A quick weekly pass helps keep the pipeline clean and forecasts realistic.

Add tasks for every next step

For every "I'll follow up" moment, create a task with a due date. That way follow-up is scheduled and visible to the team, and leads are less likely to go cold.

Keep contact details up to date

When a contact changes email or phone, update the Individual record. Accurate data improves email matching in Mailbox and makes it easier for the whole team to reach the right person.

Frequently asked questions

Can I track multiple opportunities per contact?

Yes. One individual or organization can have many opportunities. Create a new opportunity for each distinct deal (e.g. different products, different timeframes). The pipeline and contact record will show all of them.

Where do I see all my deals?

Use the Pipeline module for a visual board of opportunities by stage. You can also list and filter opportunities from the Opportunities module. Both views use the same data; choose the one that fits how you work.

What if I already have the contact in email but not in the CRM?

Add them as an Individual (and Organization if relevant) in Piraja. Once Mailbox is connected, future emails will be matched to that contact. For past emails, the match depends on your provider and sync; going forward, all new conversations will be linked.

Can I assign opportunities to a team member?

Assignment depends on how your business uses the Opportunities module. Check the opportunity form or detail view for an assignee or owner field. Use it so everyone knows who is responsible for each deal.

Who can I contact for help?

For questions about using Piraja, contact support at support@piraja.io.

Conclusion

Tracking leads from first contact to deal in Piraja comes down to: adding the contact (and company), creating an opportunity, moving it in the Pipeline, and using tasks and Mailbox to follow up. When you do this consistently, you get a single source of truth for every deal and no lead is left behind. For more detail, see the Opportunities Module and Pipeline Module guides, and How to Manage B2B Contacts and Companies for account structure.