by Jack Bailey-Grundy 
Spring ’18 looks set to deliver big functionality changes to the way Leads are handled in Salesforce and in the process are fixing a number of issues that have been around for years. Here are 3 new things to looks out for:
1. Connect the Dots Between Leads and Accounts
Have you ever been frustrated that you have a number of leads in the system from the same account – but no standard way of knowing just how many? A new lightning component brings “Matched Leads” to solve this. Using a standard matching rule, potential leads for that company are added to the Account page, ranked best to worst match. Not only does this mean navigating the system becomes quicker, but Sales teams can reduce redundant data and ensure compliance of data protection and privacy regulations.
2. Streamline Lead Conversion Without Opportunities
For some organisations, managing opportunities as part of the lead conversion process has always been problematic. With Spring ’18 and Lightning, you can now set a default lead conversion process for opportunities, or hide the opportunity section of the conversion process entirely. Check out the Lead Settings once your org has been upgraded.
3. Generate Leads from LinkedIn
Connect your LinkedIn account to a Salesforce org and automatically add leads to Salesforce from your lead gen ads. When a prospect completes a form on your ad, the data is entered directly into Salesforce and can be assigned to a user or a queue
These changes look set to increase productivity for you and your teams this year, so make sure you are up to date on all the new features coming your way this Spring.