Almost all records display a Details tab and a Related tab. The Related tab shows a list of additional object related to that record. Additional information about the record are displayed here. You can create new related records by using the buttons on each Related List.

Leads should be converted to once the Lead relationship develops and/or that relationship involves a project. They can be converted into Accounts, Contacts, and Opportunities. You may want to convert a lead to an Account in the following situations: 

• When the Lead shows interest in applying for a program (Opportunity)
• When needing to create Sites/Locations 
• When needing to create Contact Roles 

To convert a lead, select the Convert button at the top of that Lead record to bring up the Convert Lead screen. In the Convert Lead screen, you will need to make the following selections based on the information in the table below. Your name will default as the Record Owner, and the Converted Status will default to Qualified. These fields can remain unchanged.

An Account is an organization or company that you want to track.  Examples: City of Albany; Solar City. Contacts are the individuals associated with Accounts.

When adding a new Account, you will be asked to choose a Record Type for which there are two choices:

Business Account: This is a company under which you will be adding contacts. This should be used a majority of the time when creating new accounts.

Individual Account : This is for residential customers or individuals that are no representing a company in the CRM. This is rarely used. The name would be something like John Smith Individual Account and would have once contact under it: John Smith.

Finding a Contact Record to Update

Use the Global Search to enter the name of the Contact that needs to be updated. Ensure the Account the Contact is assigned to matches the company your contact belongs to. There may be multiple Contacts with the same name but assigned to different Accounts for a reason; i.e. Jane Smith can be assigned to the Volkswagen Account and another Jane Smith contact is assigned to the Tesla Account.

In addition to checking the Account, there are other ways to help determine which Contact record to use:

• look for records that are more active and have an activity history like emails, calls, tasks etc.
• check what campaigns, if any, the Contact belongs to
• confirm if the Contact has any program partnerships (if applicable)

What Can be Updated?

After the correct Contact record has been located, all fields on the record can be updated except the Account Name assigned to the record. If the Contact doesn't associate with the Account listed anymore, select the No Longer with Company checkbox.

Duplicate Management 

Duplicate management features are set up and turned on by default for business accounts, contacts and leads. Here’s how duplicate management works:

• When a user tries to save a new record, the record is first compared with existing Salesforce records to identify possible duplicates. The criteria used to compare records and identify the possible duplicates are defined by a matching rule . 
• Next, a list of possible duplicates is returned. What happens when the record being saved is identified as a possible duplicate depends on what’ s defined in the duplicate rule. For example, the duplicate rule could block users from saving the possible duplicate record or allow them to save it anyway. Both the Block and Allow options include an alert, which tells users why they can’t save the record and what to do about it. The Allow option includes the ability to report on the duplicate records.

How to Select Which Account & Contact Record to Use

When duplicate results display for Accounts and Contacts, first look for the one that most closely matches your search criteria. Look for records that are more completely filled out with information, have activity history, project history, has a supplier ID, etc. More often than not, the erroneous duplicate record will have little-to-no activity on the record.

An Opportunity can be added to an Account or Contact and used to track interactions such as a response to a NYSERDA offering or an indication that an Account is a prime candidate to partner with NYSERDA.

An activity may be a task or event completed or scheduled by a Salesforce User. All interactions with Customer and/or Strategic Partner Accounts and Leads should be entered as Activities. 

Image Removed

To create a new Opportunity record, click the drop down arrow on the Opportunities tab and click New Opportunity. Select either a NYSERDA Opportunity or Outreach Opportunity. All fields marked with a red asterisks (*) must be entered:

Opportunity Name - Create a name to keep track of your Opportunity. Most naming conventions include the contact's name and company or program for which they're interested in applying.

Account Name - Enter the Account associated with the Opportunity. If the Account doesn't exist, a new one can be created within the same window.

Close Date - Enter a date you think the Opportunity will occur. It can be any date in the future.

A Campaign is a grouping of contacts used for marketing outreach.  It can be the vehicle for a direct mail program, seminar, print advertisement, email, or other type of marketing initiative. Campaigns have been organized into a hierarchy reflecting the NYSERDA Organizational Chart. The Program Campaign type allows program staff to create their own non-marketing campaigns in order to organize contacts, leads, and accounts.

Campaigns

Who can manage a campaign?

What changes can be made to a campaign?