Open Leads is a very powerful application, and it can be daunting at first. But the truth is, from a users perspective, it is really very simple and easy.

First and foremost, Open Leads is a tool, and to get the most of it (or anything, for that matter) you have to actually use it. That means logging in to it - all day, every day. To facilitate this, bookmark your login page in your browser, or better yet - create a home page tab for it. Most browsers support tabbed browsing, and most support multiple tabs as home pages: Here's how to do it in IE9 and here's how to do it in Firefox.

Once logged in, for the user, there are two main tabs that are of key importance: the Leads Tab and the Tasks Tab.

Clicking on your Leads Tab opens your current View or your "All Leads" View. "Views" as referenced in Open Leads are simply saved filters and column configurations. Each user can create their own Views, which segments and displays leads as needed for specific purposes. More on creating your Views here.

The Leads tab is like your email inbox. In your All Leads View, your new (unread) leads are at the top of your list and are highlighted in blue - similar to how you would see your new (unread) emails in your email client. We designed it this way so it would be a familiar protocol for our users, lessening the learning curve. Clicking on Lead in your list opens the Lead Detail, so you can see all of the info on that new lead, see the phone number, address, etc. You can also send them email from this page, as well as complete, edit or add new Tasks for followup, or add comments (such as the notes from a phone call).

The Tasks Tab is your "To-Do" list - daily, weekly monthly, etc - you can see your active and completed tasks here. you can even complete them from here, or click on the Lead Name in the list and be taken directly to the Lead Detail screen. This is useful to review your comments, for example, to refresh your memory regarding previous contact with the client, etc.