Support your team, manage leads effectively
This guide is for team members assigned to follow up on leads on behalf of a business listed on Cannbus.org. Learn what you can access, how to update leads, and how to keep your team informed.
What Business Staff Can Access
As a business staff member on Cannbus.org, your role is to view and manage leads that have been assigned to you by the business owner. Staff have a focused set of permissions designed for lead follow-up — without access to billing, account settings, or broadcast sending.
Staff vs business owner permissions
✅ Staff CAN
✗ Staff CANNOT
Viewing Assigned Leads
Leads are assigned to you by the business owner. Assigned leads appear in the Leads inbox and are also visible in your notification feed.
How to find your assigned leads
Click Leads in the sidebar or navigate to /dashboard/leads/. The inbox shows all business leads by default.
Leads assigned to you are visually highlighted. The activity timeline inside each lead shows who it was assigned to and when.
Click "New" to see only unactioned leads. "Contacted" shows leads you are in conversation with. All other status tabs work the same way.
Click anywhere on the lead row to open the full detail view — contact details, message, status control, notes, and timeline.
What you see inside a lead
| Field | What it shows | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | The buyer's full name | Always visible |
| The buyer's email address (unmasked in detail view) | Stored encrypted — shown to staff on lead detail | |
| Phone | Phone number (if provided) | Optional field — not all buyers provide it |
| Company | Company name (if provided) | Optional |
| Message | Their full inquiry text | Always visible |
| Source | Organic / RFQ / Broadcast reply | Tells you how they found the business |
| Status | Current pipeline stage | Changeable by staff |
| Assigned to | Which staff member is responsible | Shown in timeline — only owner can change |
| Notes | Internal team notes | All staff can view and add notes |
| Timeline | Full history of changes | See §Timeline below |
Updating Lead Status
Lead status tracks where each prospect is in the business's sales pipeline. As a staff member, you are responsible for keeping status up to date as you interact with leads assigned to you.
The five lead statuses
| Status | What it means | Your responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| New | Just arrived — not yet reviewed by anyone | Open the lead and make first contact within 1 hour of assignment |
| Contacted | Initial contact made (email sent, call made) | Change to Contacted immediately after your first outreach |
| Qualified | Genuine opportunity confirmed | Change to Qualified after you confirm the prospect matches your offer |
| Converted ✓ | Deal closed — new customer acquired | Change to Converted when a purchase or agreement is confirmed |
| Closed | Not a fit or no longer responsive | Change to Closed after reasonable follow-up attempts with no response |
How to change a lead's status
Click the lead row in the inbox.
The dropdown is displayed prominently near the top of the lead detail card.
The change is saved automatically without a page reload. The status badge updates immediately and the change is logged in the activity timeline.
Adding Notes to Leads
Notes are internal — only you and your team can see them. They are the primary tool for keeping everyone informed about what is happening with each lead.
How to add a note
Click any lead in the inbox to open its full detail.
Notes appear below the main lead information card.
Write a clear, concise update. Include: what you discussed, what the prospect said, agreed next steps, and any follow-up date.
The note is saved with your name, timestamp, and the note text. It appears in the activity timeline immediately.
What makes a good note
| Element | Example |
|---|---|
| What happened | "Called at 2pm. Spoke with Sarah directly." |
| Key information | "Looking for 50kg wholesale monthly. Needs COA and lab results for state compliance." |
| Objections or blockers | "Price is 15% higher than their current supplier. Asked for bulk discount options." |
| Next step | "Sending revised quote by EOD Friday. Follow up Monday." |
Notes are visible to the business owner and all staff. Write notes as if your manager will read them — because they will. Clear notes mean smoother handoffs, better team coordination, and fewer missed follow-ups.
Reading the activity timeline
The activity timeline on every lead detail page shows a chronological history of everything that has happened with that lead:
- Lead received — when the inquiry arrived and via what source (organic/RFQ/broadcast)
- Status changes — who changed the status, from what, to what, and when
- Notes added — the note text, who wrote it, and the timestamp
- Assignments — who assigned the lead, to whom, and when; includes any assignment note
The timeline is read-only — it cannot be edited or deleted. This provides a reliable audit trail for the business.
How Lead Assignments Work
The business owner assigns leads to specific staff members to ensure every inquiry has a clear owner. Assignments are tracked in the activity timeline and trigger notifications to the assigned staff member.
The assignment process
When you are assigned a lead
As soon as a lead is assigned to you:
- A bell notification appears in your dashboard topbar with a link directly to the lead.
- The assignment is recorded in the lead's activity timeline with the assigning manager's name and any note they added.
- The lead continues to show in the full team inbox — other staff can still see it, but you are the designated owner.
Viewing your assignment history
Inside any lead detail page, the Assignments section shows every assignment in chronological order:
- Who assigned the lead
- Who it was assigned to
- Any note the assigning manager added
- The timestamp of each assignment
If a lead has been reassigned multiple times, each reassignment appears as a separate entry.
Getting Notified of Assignments
The dashboard bell badge is your primary notification tool as a staff member. It updates automatically so you never miss an assignment.
How the bell badge works
The bell icon in the top navigation bar shows a red number when you have unread notifications. Click it to open the dropdown. For staff, the dropdown shows:
- New lead assignments (leads assigned to you by the business owner)
- Updates on leads you are following (status changes made by others)
The badge count decrements automatically when you click and read a notification. Click "Mark all read" to clear all at once.
If you do not see the bell badge
The bell badge only appears when you have unread notifications. If you have no notifications, the badge is hidden. This is normal — it does not mean the feature is broken.
If you are expecting a notification but do not see it, try:
- Reload the page
- Check with your business owner to confirm the lead was assigned to your account
- Check that you are logged in as the correct user
Best Practices for Lead Follow-up
How quickly and professionally you respond to assigned leads directly impacts the business's conversion rate. These best practices are based on how cannabis businesses achieve the highest close rates.
Response timing
| Lead type | Target response time | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Organic inquiry | Within 2 hours | Leads cool fast. Same-hour responses convert 7× better than 24-hour responses. |
| RFQ lead | Within 1 hour | The buyer contacted multiple vendors. Speed plus specificity wins the deal. |
| Broadcast reply | Within 4 hours | The buyer proactively reached out — they are interested. Warm leads go cold without fast follow-up. |
What to include in your first contact
- Address their specific request — don't send a generic reply. Reference their actual message.
- Include relevant pricing — even a range. "Our wholesale price is $X–$Y per unit" beats "contact us for pricing."
- Note your compliance credentials — licence number, active licence status, COA availability.
- Offer a specific next step — "I can schedule a call this week" or "I'll send samples by Thursday."
- Your contact details — include your direct email and phone even if they already have the business's contact info.
Handing off a lead to another team member
If you need to transfer responsibility for a lead to a colleague:
Before anything else, add a note summarising everything: what was discussed, where the prospect is in the decision process, any specific requirements, and suggested next steps.
Ask them to reassign the lead via the Assign dropdown on the lead detail page. Only owners can reassign.
Don't rely solely on notes. A quick message or call to the incoming staff member ensures continuity and the prospect doesn't experience a gap.