Salesforce Contacts

Salesforce Contacts allow you to store details about anyone and everyone. They also allow you to keep track of any communications that St John has had - when was the last meeting? Have they attended any training courses? Have they been involved with any sales activities?

The following guide covers how to create a new Salesforce Contact.

1. Find an Account

All Salesforce Contacts must have an Account assigned. Therefore when creating a Contact, it's best to start from the customer and create the Contact from there. The fastest way to search for an Account is to use the Salesforce global search bar at the top of your screen. Simply search for the customer name you are looking for. As you type, Salesforce will suggest Accounts it thinks may match. If you don't see the customer select the magnifying glass to perform a full search.

You don't have to search by name. You can use an email, phone number or even a related Contact. Anything that will help track the Customer down.

Another great way to find your customer is to - 

  1. Navigate to the Account tab from the Salesforce navigation bar
  2. Select 'My Accounts' from the list selector

This will show a list of Accounts for which you are listed as the owner in the 'Account Owner' field. This is a great way to keep up to date with the Accounts you are responsible for. 

If the Account does not already exist you may need to create a new one. If so, you should read this guide to help you - Salesforce Accounts and Account Hierarchy.

2. Create a New Contact

Once you have opened up the Salesforce Account, select the 'Related' tab. From here, scroll down the page and find the 'Contacts' list. This list shows all the current Contacts related to the Account.

To create a new Contact, select 'New' from the right hand side of the list. Then select 'Corporate' from the record type selection dialogue and press 'Next'.

You can now start to fill out your Contact's details. There are a few required fields to complete, but there is nothing too important to worry about. Fill out the details and select 'Save'.