# Leads

> Collect enquiries, move them through your pipeline, reply, and turn a lead into a client.

A lead is someone who has asked about working with you and is not a client yet. **Leads**, under **Studio**, keeps them in one place, from first enquiry to a yes or a no.

## Where leads come from

- **Your enquiry form.** Everyone has one at forge.page/your-link/intake.
- **A routing form.** See [Routing forms](https://docs.forge.page/routing-forms).
- **Added by you.** Choose **New lead** on the board.
- **A file.** **More ways to add → Import from CSV**, or **Move in from another tool**. See [Moving in from another tool](https://docs.forge.page/moving-in).

## Your enquiry form

Your enquiry form asks one question a screen. Until you change it, it asks five things: what they would like to book, about the project, a rough budget, when they are hoping to do it, and how they found you. It finishes by asking for their name and email.

To change it:

1. Open **Forms**, then **Your enquiry form**.
2. Add, remove or reorder questions. You can add standard questions or your own: **Short answer**, **Long answer** or **Choice (pick one)**. A form can have up to 12.
3. Choose **Save form**. Changes go live when you save.

**Copy link** gives you the address to share, and **Preview** shows it as a visitor sees it.

If someone with an open enquiry sends the form again from the same email, Forge updates their existing lead instead of making a second one.

## The Leads board

Leads live on a board, grouped by stage. There are three ready-made views:

- **Table**, a row per lead.
- **Pipeline**, cards in a column per stage. Drag a card to move it.
- **Follow-ups**, a calendar of the dates you have set for the next action.

Open a lead to see the enquiry, post updates, see activity and add files.

### Stage and status

Every lead has both, and they mean different things.

**Stage** is where you have put the lead: **Enquiry**, **Qualified**, **Proposal sent**, **Won** or **Lost**. You move it. Two moves happen for you: sending a proposal moves a lead to **Proposal sent**, and a lead that becomes a client moves to **Won**.

**Status** is set by Forge from what has happened: **New**, **Replied**, **Going stale**, **Client** or **Archived**. A lead with no activity for 5 days is marked **Going stale**. A reply moves it back to **Replied**.

So a lead can be **Proposal sent** and **Going stale** at the same time: you quoted, and it has gone quiet.

### Next action and value

- **Next action** and **Next action due** are a note to yourself and a date. The date shows on your calendar and in the **Follow-ups** view.
- **Value** is what the work is worth. Type your own figure, or leave it and Forge shows the linked proposal's total, or the budget band they gave.

## Reply to a lead

1. Open the lead and find **Write a reply**.
2. Write your message and choose **Send**.

Their reply comes to your own inbox. Your booking link is added underneath automatically. The lead's status becomes **Replied**.

If you have switched on AI lead replies, Forge drafts a reply when an enquiry arrives through your enquiry form. It waits for you. Nothing is sent until you read it and choose **Send**. See [AI drafts](https://docs.forge.page/ai-drafts).

## Turn a lead into a client

Choose **Convert to client** on the lead. Forge creates the client, or links the lead to an existing client with the same email, and moves the lead to **Won**.

Accepting a proposal does this for you. See [Proposals](https://docs.forge.page/proposals).

## Remove a lead

Deleting a lead on the board archives it, and you can undo that straight away. Switch on **Show archived** to see archived leads.

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Source: https://docs.forge.page/leads