Contact Visibility options for Salespersons
The Salesperson Role is unique in that visibility restrictions regarding Contacts can be applied to these users, either manually or automatically. This is called "claiming" a Contact, which will hide that Contact from anyone else in the Salesperson Role. This is ideal if your business operates with a sales team that requires insulation from each other (e.g. they work on commission).
This is different than a Contact's Coordinator, who is designated as the point of contact for that user. The Contact can only be Claimed by a single Salesperson but can also have a different Coordinator.
A Salesperson can claim a Contact themselves or this can be done by a Super Admin, Admin, Project Manager, or Office Manager Role.
Shared Mode vs. Exclusive Mode
There are two modes: Shared and Exclusive that can be used for Companies. This can be changed in CRM > Settings.
Shared Mode
In SHARED Visibility Mode, when a Primary Contact represents more than one Company, then each of those Companies can be claimed by a different Salesperson. In these cases, each of those Salespersons will automatically SHARE visibility of the Primary Contact that their respective Companies have in common.
- Each Company can have only one primary Salesperson. That Salesperson (or an Admin) can share the visibility of that Company with other Salespersons.
- A Salesperson can claim Companies that are unclaimed and they can unclaim Companies to which they are assigned.
- A Salesperson can claim an individual Contact who is not Primary or associated with a Company. That Salesperson (or an Admin) can share the visibility of that Contact with other Salespersons.
Exclusive Mode
In EXCLUSIVE Visibility Mode, only ONE Salesperson will be allowed visibility of a Network (Primary Contact and any Companies that are represented by that Primary Contact).
- When a Salesperson claims or is assigned visibility to a Company or a Primary Contact, then that Salesperson will be assigned EXCLUSIVE visibility of the entire Network.
- If another Salesperson is currently assigned to any of the Companies in a Network and the EXCLUSIVE rules are triggered, then that Salesperson will instantly be replaced and lose visibility of the Primary Contact and all Companies in the Network.
- A Salesperson can claim Companies that are unclaimed and they can unclaim Companies to which they are assigned.
- A Salesperson can claim an individual Contact who is not Primary or associated with any Company. That Salesperson (or an Admin) can share the visibility of that Contact with other Salespersons.
How does a Salesperson "Claim" a Contact?
IMPORTANT: All information in these sections depends on whether you are running in Shared Mode or Exclusive Mode. See above to understand the differences and the dynamics they imply.
By default in a new account, all Contacts/Companies are visible to all Salespersons.
However, a Salesperson can "claim" a Contact/Company or be assigned a Contact/Company. This will hide that Contact/Company from anyone in the Salesperson Role other than that user. This visibility restriction only applies to Salespersons - Admins & Office Managers will always be able to see all Contacts/Companies.
MANUALLY CLAIM A NEW CONTACT
Navigate to CRM > Contacts and click the +Add Contact button.
You'll see the Assigned to Salesperson option in the "Basic Info" section. Click this field to choose a Salesperson from the dropdown menu.
If a Salesperson is selected as the Contact's Coordinator they will automatically be Claimed by that user and the "Claimed by" option will be unavailable.
TIP: When a new Contact is added by a user with the Salesperson Role this option will not be visible. Instead, the created Contact will automatically be Claimed by the creator.
CLICK HERE to learn about Adding a Contact
MANUALLY CLAIM AN EXISTING CONTACT
To assign a Salesperson to an existing Contact navigate to CRM > Contacts and click on the Contact you would like to have Claimed.
In the CRM Dashboard, click the icon at the top right-hand corner of the screen. Choose a Salesperson from the Claimed by dropdown menu.
Once Claimed, the icon will change into a icon. If there is no profile picture the icon will be the initials of the Salesperson.
You can also choose to share that Contact with additional Salespersons. Click the Shared with field to choose from other Salesperson(s) from the dropdown menu.
Salespersons that are shared users will be able to view the Contact, but will not be able to see the visibility options.
TIP: A user with the Salesperson Role can also Claim the Contact themselves. In this case, the "Claimed by" option will instead appear as "Assign to me".
AUTOMATICALLY CLAIM A CONTACT
You can also automatically have a Salesperson claim a Contact via a Kickoff Form.
Navigate to Forms and click the +Create Form button. When prompted, choose Kickoff Form.
You'll see the Assign to Salesperson option while choosing the details for your added Contact. Click this field to choose a Salesperson from the dropdown menu.
Any Contacts added via this Kickoff Form will automatically be Claimed by the selected Salesperson.
TIP: When created by a user with the Salesperson Role this option will not be visible. Instead, any Contacts added via that Kickoff Form will automatically be Claimed by the creator.
CLICK HERE to learn about Kickoff Forms
How do I "Unclaim" a Contact from a Salesperson?
To make a Contact visible to all Salespersons navigate to CRM > Contacts and click on the Contact you would like to change the status of.
If the Contact is Claimed by a Salesperson, the icon will appear as a . If it is Claimed by a Salesperson and is also being Shared, it will appear as a icon.
Click this icon to view the Claimed by details.
Click the icon to remove the Salesperson(s) in the Claimed by and Shared with fields, or replace the user with a different one in the dropdown menu.
The Contact will now be visible to all Salespersons.
Claiming a Company
The Salesperson role can also claim a Company.
CLICK HERE to learn about CRM Settings
MANUALLY CLAIM A NEW COMPANY
Navigate to CRM > Companies and click the +Add Company button.
You'll see the Assigned to Salesperson option in the Assign Coordinator and/or Salesperson section. Click this field to choose a Salesperson from the dropdown menu.
If a Salesperson is selected as the Companie's Coordinator they will automatically be Claimed by that user and the "Claimed by" option will be unavailable.
TIP: When a new Company is added by a user with the Salesperson Role this option will not be visible. Instead, the created Company will automatically be Claimed by the creator.
CLICK HERE to learn about Adding a Company
MANUALLY CLAIM AN EXISTING COMPANY
To assign a Salesperson to an existing Company navigate to CRM > Companies and click on the Company you would like to have Claimed.
In the CRM Dashboard, click the icon at the top right-hand corner of the screen. Choose a Salesperson from the Claimed by dropdown menu.
Once Claimed, the icon will change into a icon. If there is no profile picture the icon will be the initials of the Salesperson.
You can also choose to share that Contact with additional Salespersons. Click the Shared with field to choose from other Salesperson(s) from the dropdown menu. Please note this option will only be available if you are operating in Shared Mode. If you are using Exclusive Mode the Company can only be claimed by one Salesperson.
Salespersons that are shared users will be able to view the Company, but will not be able to see the visibility options.
TIP: A user with the Salesperson Role can also Claim the Company themselves. In this case, the "Claimed by" option will instead appear as "Assign to me".