How to add a single lead manually in VICIdial

Most leads arrive in bulk through a loader, but sometimes you just need to add one. A referral phones in, a manager wants a test record, or you want to drop a single prospect into a Campaign without preparing a whole file. VICIdial's Add A New Lead screen is built for exactly that.

The three-step flow

flowchart TD
  A[Open Add A New Lead] --> B[Pick the target list]
  B --> C[Fill customer fields]
  C --> D[Press Submit]
  D --> E[Lead saved to database]
  E --> F[Eligible for the hopper]

First, at the top of the page you choose which list the lead goes into, from a pulldown of the lists on your system. This matters: the list decides which campaign the record can be dialed on and which list-level overrides apply to it.

Second, you fill in the customer's information in the default lead fields, name, phone number, address, and the rest. Third, you press Submit, and the record is written to the database. From there it behaves like any other Lead: if its status and the campaign rules line up, it becomes eligible for the Hopper and gets dialed.

Single lead versus bulk load

Adding one lead by hand is quick and skips the loader's column mapping. But it also skips the loader's safety nets, the duplicate check, the DNC scrub, and the time-zone lookup that the bulk path can apply. For one record that is usually fine, just be aware you are bypassing those filters. If the number might already be in your data, a quick lead search before you add saves you from creating a duplicate you will later have to clean up.

It is worth thinking about which list you pick, because the list is not just a container. The list you choose decides the call-time rules, the time-zone handling, and any per-list overrides the record will follow. Drop a callback referral into a fast-dialing prospecting list and it may get worked harder than you intended. Picking the right list up front is the difference between a clean add and a record that behaves unexpectedly.

• Use the single-lead screen for one-offs, referrals, and test records.
• Use the loader when you have a file and want duplicate and DNC checks applied automatically.
• Either way, the record lands in a list and inherits that list's Status (lead status) rules.

If you added the lead and it is not dialing, the usual culprits are the list being inactive, the lead status not matching the campaign's dialable statuses, or a call-time restriction. Search for the record to confirm what status it landed on. A freshly added lead normally starts on a NEW status, so if you see something else, an earlier edit or load probably touched it. Confirming the status first saves you from guessing at the dialer when the answer is sitting on the record itself.

For the bigger picture on how lists hold leads and feed the dialer, see the lists and leads guide, and if you are new to lists, start with what a VICIdial list is.

Want a managed VICIdial where adding a lead and dialing it just works? See our plans and pricing and be live in under 40 seconds.