---
title: Lead vs. Opportunity Logic in Salesforce
type: article
created: '2025-10-31'
updated: '2025-10-31'
source_docs:
- raw/2025-10-31-salesforce-call-98340723.md
tags:
- salesforce
- crm
- workflow
- leads
- opportunities
- data-quality
layer: 2
client_source: null
industry_context: null
transferable: true
---

# Lead vs. Opportunity Logic in Salesforce

## Overview

A common source of data duplication in Salesforce is misusing the **Lead** object for contacts who already exist in the system. This article establishes the canonical rule: **leads are for new contacts only**. For existing contacts with new projects, create an **Opportunity** directly.

This distinction was formally clarified during a Quarra Stone workflow review (October 2025) and applies to any client CRM implementation following standard Salesforce conventions.

---

## The Core Rule

| Situation | Correct Action |
|---|---|
| Someone contacts you whom you've never worked with before | Create a **Lead** |
| An existing contact brings you a new project | Create a new **Opportunity** |
| A second person at an existing account reaches out | Add them as a **Contact** to the Account; create an **Opportunity** |

---

## How the Lead Object Works

The Lead is a **hybrid object** — it combines person, company, and project information into a single record. It is designed for the early qualification stage with an unknown contact:

1. A new person reaches out with a potential project.
2. You create a Lead capturing their name, company, and what they want.
3. You nurture the lead through calls and conversations.
4. When they ask for a proposal, you **convert** the lead.
5. Conversion creates three linked records: a **Contact**, an **Account**, and an **Opportunity**.

From that point forward, all future work with that person flows through Opportunities — not new Leads.

---

## Why This Matters

Misusing Leads for existing contacts causes:

- **Duplicate records** — the same person appears as both a Contact and a Lead.
- **Broken history** — activity and emails get split across disconnected records.
- **Inaccurate forecasting** — duplicate or premature opportunities distort pipeline data.

> *"Leads are really only for new relationships. If it's someone you're already working with, it's immediately an opportunity."*
> — Lincoln Durham, Quarra Stone (Oct 2025 call)

---

## Opportunity Stages for Early-Stage Work

If a new opportunity feels too speculative to formalize, resist the urge to create a Lead instead. Use **early opportunity stages** with low probability values (e.g., 0–10%) to represent exploratory work without distorting forecasts. Stage names like "Researching" or "Considering" can serve this purpose.

A custom intermediate object (e.g., "Potential Opportunity") is also possible but adds complexity — prefer modifying opportunity stages first.

---

## Conversion Controls

To prevent premature or incorrect conversions:

- **Salespeople should not have Lead conversion permissions.** Conversion should be controlled by an admin or manager.
- This prevents Leads from being converted before they are properly qualified.

---

## Related Configurations

These supporting configurations reinforce correct Lead/Opportunity usage:

- **Project Name field (required on Lead):** Ensures every lead captures the specific project being pursued. This field carries over to the Opportunity upon conversion. See [[wiki/clients/quarra-stone/index]].
- **Opportunity Approval Flow:** Salespeople can create Opportunities, but they require manager review before becoming active. This maintains data quality without blocking the sales team. See [[wiki/knowledge/salesforce/opportunity-approval-flow]].
- **Task Details field:** An optional free-text field on the Task object that supplements the subject dropdown for more detailed instructions. See [[wiki/knowledge/salesforce/task-management]].
- **Outlook Integration:** Emails sent from Outlook can be logged to the correct Opportunity via the Salesforce Outlook add-in, including a dropdown to select the right record when a contact has multiple open opportunities. See [[wiki/knowledge/salesforce/outlook-integration]].

---

## Process Decision Tree

```
Is this person already a Contact in Salesforce?
│
├── NO  → Create a Lead
│         ↓
│         Nurture → Qualified? → Convert Lead
│                               (creates Contact + Account + Opportunity)
│
└── YES → Create a new Opportunity directly
          Link to existing Contact and Account
          Is this a new person at the same company?
          └── Add them as a Contact to the existing Account
```

---

## Source

Clarified in the [[wiki/meetings/2025-10-31-salesforce-quarra-stone-workflow]] call with Lincoln Durham (Quarra Stone), Karly Oykhman, and Mark Hope (Asymmetric).