How To Add Custom Fields In Distributed Source

Ever faced a problem where you are looking to store data that doesn’t really fit into any of our standard fields?

Distributed Source now offers you the opportunity to tailor your data and have Custom Fields to solely serve this purpose. This would now make it simpler to organize your data and not hunt for it elsewhere, eventually helping your business grow and save time in collecting information that was earlier not possible when you had to struggle to gather it.

Creating A Custom Field:

Here's how simple it is to add custom fields in Distributed Source:

1. Login to your Distributed Source account.

2. Click on your name in the top right corner to pull down a menu.

3. Click on ‘Settings’ in the menu.

4. Choose  ‘Custom Fields’ in the new page that opens.

5. Click on the ‘+ New Field’ button.

6. A ‘Create a Custom Field’ pop-up with four tabs will appear on your window.

7. Give a name to your Custom Field (A) and select which entities it is meant for (B). A Custom Field for an entity will make it a standard field for all objects of that type.

      

8. Choose the type of input (C), maximum number of characters for every value (D) and if multiple values are allowed (E).

(Note: If "Phone number" is your Custom Field and it is meant for Contacts, choosing to have multiple values will enable a single Contact to have multiple Phone numbers)

9. Give a default value (F), determine if you want to provide a set of predefined values (G) and if values other than the ones predefined can be accepted (H).

10. Select the type of users who can edit values of this Custom Field (I). Finally, review your options and save your custom field (J).

Using Custom Fields:

Now that you know how to create a Custom Field, we'll now see how to add/edit values of a Custom Field.

1. We had selected "Account" as an entity, so navigate to the Accounts tab. All the accounts will  have a  "Custom Fields" section alongside Tasks, Documents and Products.

2. Go to any Accounts’ page and go to the "Custom Fields" section. You can see the "Registration No." field we created.

3. If you had chosen "Specify predefined values (a drop down box)" when you created your Custom Field, the list of optional values will show up every time the user clicks on the textbox to edit/add a value.

4. If you had opted for "Allow Multiple Values", a '+New' button will show up when the user finishes inserting a value.

5. If you had chosen "Allow Other Values Too", it will enable the user to add a value other than those in the drop down.

Note: You also have the option to delete these values. Click the trash image adjacent to the value to delete it.

Note: You can add up to 5 values for every Custom Field in every object.

Search based on Custom Field values:

Just how you search for a Contact using its Name, Phone, Email etc. or an Account using its Name or ID, you can now search for any object (Contact, Account, Deal or Lead) using a value of its Custom Field. Using the example described before, searching for "10028" will show all Accounts which have the value "10028" for the Custom Field "Registration No."

Note: Search based on Custom Fields is only enabled for types Text and Numbers (both Integers and Decimal types).

Got questions? Post a comment below or write to us at support@distributedsource.com

How To Add Comments On A Lead

In addition to editing information of leads, you can also add comments to a lead at any given point of time. Comments and interactions will help you know your lead better and increase the chances of converting the lead to a successful deal.

Distributed Source lets you jot down custom notes and add comments to a lead, which you can refer to later.

Here is how to add comments to a lead in Distributed Source:

1. Login to your Distributed Source account.

2. Go to the ‘Leads’ tab. All your leads will be displayed here.

3. Click on the lead where you wish to add a comment.

4. In the lead detail page, click on the "Comment" button.

5. A text box will now appear below the ‘History & Comments’ label.

6. Type in your comments into this box and hit the return key to save your comment.

7. Your comment will be automatically saved and will be available for future reference.

Got questions? Post a comment below or write to us at support@distributedsource.com

How To See Tasks By Date

Distributed Source provides a Tasks page, using which you can perform a multitude of activities with regard to tasks. One such activity is filtering pending tasks within a date range.

There are two ways to filter and view tasks in Distributed Source. One allows you to select any particular period and the other has a predefined set of options enabled for easy filtration. This article walks you through on how to use both these methods for selective viewing of tasks.

1. Login to your Distributed Source account.

2.  Go to the 'Tasks' page of your account.

3. Click on menu icon on tasks page to open a filter task section on right side of the page.

4. Click on the Filter by date drop down list.

5. You can now choose an option from the list - today, tomorrow, this month, last month and all.

6. The tasks assigned in that period will now be displayed in the same page.

Got questions? Post a comment below or write to us at support@distributedsource.com

How To Add A Lead To An Existing Deal

In addition to merging leads, Distributed Source allows you to link leads with existing deals. Sometimes it is possible that you might receive multiple leads from a business with whom you already have an ongoing deal.

To avoid such situations, Distributed Source lets you link leads to existing "Deals". This article explains how to associate leads with "Deals" in Distributed Source:

1. Login to your Distributed Source account.

2. Go to the 'Leads' tab. All the leads which are a part of your account will be displayed here.

3. Click on the lead to which you wish to link a deal.

4. In the lead-detail page of that lead, a lot of options will be present under the 'Actions' label.

5. Click on the '+Existing Deal' button.

6. A search box will be displayed now.

7. Type in the first few initials of the deal you want to link with the lead. All the deals starting with those initials will be displayed in a drop-down format.

8. Select the deal to be linked and click the '+Add' button.

9. The deal will now be successfully linked to the lead. You will automatically be navigated to the deal-detail page of the deal you chose. The lead details will be shown in this page under the 'Involved Contacts' label.

Please note that the lead you linked will no longer be available in the 'Leads' tab.

Got questions? Post a comment below or write to us at support@distributedsource.com

How To Convert a Lead To Deal

In a typical sales process, there are three stages which has to be gone through before a prospect is converted to a customer.

• Acquiring the Lead.
• Converting the lead to a deal.
• Processing the deal.

'Leads' signifies a person or an "entity" who has expressed interest in your product or service. When you contact your lead and initiate the business process, you make a "Deal".

In time, you will have a queue of open leads in your Distributed Source account. Before you initiate any business communication with a "Lead", you should first convert the "Lead" to a "Deal" and then start your sales cycle.

This article shows you how to convert a lead into a deal:

1. Login to your Distributed Source account.

2. Go to the 'Leads' tab. All the leads which are a part of your account will be displayed here.

3. Click the lead which you want to convert into a deal.

4. In the lead-detail page, a lot of options will be displayed under the 'Actions' label.

5. Click on the '+Convert' button.

6. A pop-up confirming the conversion of lead to deal will appear on the page.

7. Click on the 'Ok' button.

8. The lead will now be converted into a "Deal" and you will be taken to the deal-detail page of the converted lead.

Got questions? Post a comment below or write to us at support@distributedsource.com