Recording the source at the moment of capture is the only reliable way to do it. Asking the buyer later (“where did you hear about us?”) gives vague answers, and agents filling the field by hand tend to pick the first option in the list.
Most teams keep two levels: the source (portal, Meta, Google, website, referral) and a detail such as the campaign, ad set, portal listing or the name of the referring client. For new projects the channel partner who brought the buyer is a source too, and it decides who earns the commission, so it needs to be stored with a date.
When the same buyer enquires through two sources, keep both: the first source shows what started the conversation, the latest shows what brought them back.
Example
Two levels of source (illustrative)
A Noida builder tags a lead “Meta · Diwali 2 BHK campaign · Ad set: Greater Noida West, 28–40”. Another reads “Channel partner · Shree Realty · registered 3 Oct”. At month end the sales head filters bookings by source and sees, for example, 6 bookings from channel partners and 3 from Meta — and which partner and which ad set produced them.
Figures are illustrative, not market rates.
Questions about Lead source
Should walk-ins and calls to the office have a source?
Yes. Ask the buyer at the first conversation and record it as walk-in or direct call, with what prompted it if they say — a hoarding, a newspaper insert, a friend. Leaving it blank makes offline channels look as if they produce nothing.
What if a buyer enquires on two portals?
Keep one contact and record both enquiries with their dates and sources. The duplicate should be labelled, not silently merged, so the agent sees the full history and the reports can still count each portal’s contribution.
See also
Reviewed