Add a "Referred by" lookup field to leads in Zoho CRM

Add a "Referred by" lookup field to leads in Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM doesn't link a lead to the contact who referred them as standard. You can set this up by adding a Lookup field to the Leads layout, for example a "Referred by" field that points to the Contacts module.

Applies to: Zoho CRM – All clients

Background

The best advertisement is word of mouth: your customers referring you to new potential customers. A cross-referenced (Lookup) field lets you record which contact referred each lead.

Steps

  1. In Zoho CRM, open the settings menu by clicking the tools icon at the top right of the screen.

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  2. In the list of menus, find Customisation and click Modules and Fields.

  3. Click the Leads module. If you see a list of Leads layouts, select the one you want to change. If you haven't created other layouts, there is only one, named Standard. Click it to open it.

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  4. The layout editor has three parts: the top right is for saving or cancelling your changes, the left lists all the field types you can add, and the main part shows the current Leads layout.

  5. Drag the Lookup field type from the left onto the layout, wherever it makes sense. In this example, it's placed just under Lead Source.

  6. Click the three dots to the right of the field.

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  7. In the menu that appears, select Edit Properties.

  8. Type the label to show on the form, in this example "Referred by".

  9. Select the module to get the related information from. In this example, it's the Contacts module.

  10. Enter a unique related list name. In this example, it's "Referring Contact Name".

  11. Optionally, tick the box for a tooltip, so users of the form understand what the field is for.

Note: Not every lead comes in through a referral, so this field isn't marked as required.

The field menu has these options:

  • Mark as required: a new lead can't be saved unless this field is filled in.
  • Set permission: set special permissions for the field, so only some user groups can see or edit its content.
  • Edit properties: configure the field's properties.
  • Remove field: remove the field from the form if you no longer want it.