If you’re in sales or marketing, you know the pain: leads pile up, statuses get messy, and before long, nobody’s sure who’s hot, who’s cold, or who’s slipped through the cracks. This guide is for folks who use Aeroleads and want a system that actually works inside its dashboard—without overcomplicating things or falling for shiny feature hype.
Let’s cut through the noise. Here’s how to actually track and manage your lead statuses in Aeroleads, step by step.
1. Get Your Lead Statuses Straight
First, don’t just use the default statuses and call it a day. Aeroleads gives you a basic set—like “New,” “Contacted,” “Qualified,” etc.—but they’re only useful if they fit your workflow.
What to do:
- Decide what statuses you really need. Sit down (even for five minutes) and jot down your actual sales process. Typical stages:
- New/Imported
- Attempted Contact
- Contacted/Responded
- Qualified
- Proposal Sent
- Won/Lost/Do Not Pursue
- Ignore stages you don’t use. If you never send proposals, drop that status. Fewer stages = less confusion.
Pro tip: Don’t try to track every tiny nuance (“Left voicemail,” “Emailed twice,” etc.). The more granular you get, the less likely your team is to update things honestly.
2. Set Up Custom Lead Statuses in Aeroleads
Aeroleads lets you customize lead statuses, but it’s not always obvious how. Here’s the simple version:
- Log in to your Aeroleads dashboard.
- Head to the ‘Leads’ section. This is where your contacts live.
- Look for ‘Manage Statuses’ or similar. This can change as Aeroleads updates, but usually there’s a settings icon near the status dropdown in your leads list.
- Add, rename, or delete statuses as needed.
- Keep names short and clear. (“Qualified” beats “Prospect: Pre-Meeting Assessment.”)
- Save your changes. Double-check the new statuses show up in your leads table.
What works: Custom statuses that actually match your process. What doesn’t: Making everyone use seven different stages just because the sales manager read about it on LinkedIn.
3. Import and Clean Up Your Leads
If you’re starting with a fresh Aeroleads account, you’ll probably import leads from CSV or another tool.
Steps:
- Import leads using the built-in import tool. You can usually map fields during import—make sure you map anything related to lead status if you already have it.
- Bulk update statuses. Aeroleads lets you select multiple leads and update their status all at once.
- Use this to clean up old leads (e.g., mark anything over six months old as “Dormant” or “Archive”).
- Delete duplicates. Don’t let your list get cluttered with the same lead ten times.
Pro tip: If you have a bunch of leads in the “New” bucket, block 15 minutes to triage them. Move them to the right status or archive them. It’s boring, but it’s the only way to keep things clean.
4. Make Updating Statuses Part of Your Routine
This is the step everyone skips, but it’s the only thing that keeps your pipeline real.
How to build the habit:
- Update status after every touchpoint. Made a call? Sent an email? Change the status right then.
- Use bulk actions for follow-ups. If you just did a round of cold calls and left voicemails, select all those leads and update their status together.
- Set reminders for yourself. Aeroleads doesn’t have a full-blown task system, but you can use tags or notes for simple reminders. (“Follow up next week.”)
What works: Making it so easy and fast to update status that you actually do it. What doesn’t: Waiting until Friday afternoon to “catch up” your pipeline. You won’t do it, and neither will anyone else.
5. Use Filters and Views to Focus on What Matters
Once your statuses are set up and up-to-date, Aeroleads’ filtering is actually useful.
- Filter by status. Want to see only leads you need to follow up with? Filter by “Contacted” or “Qualified.”
- Save custom views. Create filtered lists (e.g., all leads in “Proposal Sent” this week) so you don’t have to set it up every time.
- Ignore the “All Leads” view for daily work. It’s just noise. Stick to your filtered views.
Pro tip: Don’t get sucked into creating ten different views you’ll never use. Stick to 2-3 that match your daily routine.
6. Track Changes (and Don’t Chase Vanity Metrics)
Aeroleads shows you activity history for each lead—who updated what, and when. Use it to spot patterns, not to micromanage.
- Spot stuck leads. If a lead’s been “Contacted” for 30 days, something’s wrong. Either move it forward, or close it out.
- Don’t obsess over “pipeline size.” Having 500 “New” leads is useless if you never talk to them. Focus on movement, not volume.
7. Work as a Team (Without Turning into Big Brother)
If you’re not solo, make sure your team’s on the same page with statuses. But don’t turn it into a reporting circus.
- Agree on what each status means. “Qualified” should mean the same thing to everyone.
- Run a quick review weekly. Ten minutes tops. Look for bottlenecks, not to assign blame.
- Skip the endless “pipeline review” meetings. If the dashboard’s up to date, you shouldn’t need them.
Honest Pros and Cons of Aeroleads for Lead Tracking
What works: - Simple, customizable statuses. - Easy bulk actions. - Filtering is good enough for most small teams.
What doesn’t: - No advanced automation or workflow rules. If you want leads to auto-move based on activity, this isn’t Salesforce. - Activity tracking is basic. Good for a quick audit, not for deep analytics. - Reminders and follow-ups are manual. You’ll need another tool if you want automated nudges.
What to ignore: - Don’t get distracted by every new feature. Stick to statuses, notes, and filters. That’s 90% of what you need.
Keep It Simple: Don’t Overthink Your Lead Pipeline
Most sales teams trip over their own systems. The best way to keep your Aeroleads dashboard useful is to keep it simple—clear statuses, regular updates, and a focus on moving leads forward. You can always tweak your process as you go. The important thing is to start, keep it honest, and don’t let the “tool” become the work. The real action is in your conversations, not your dashboard.