Losing $2.79M Pipeline? Use Odoo 18's 6 Lead Generation Methods
By Braincuber Team
Published on December 22, 2025
Sales pipeline empty. Zero leads this month. Sales team: "Where are the prospects?" Marketing: "We ran Facebook ads!" Results: 847 clicks, 0 leads captured. Why? No contact form on landing page. Visitors land, read, leave. No way to capture them. Next attempt: Email alias "info@company.com" set up. Sounds good. Reality: 127 emails weekly to that inbox. Sales checks it... never. Buried under spam. Lost 23 hot leads who emailed asking for quotes. They went to competitors. Revenue lost: $287,400 (those 23 deals).
Your lead generation disaster: Website gets 2,847 visitors monthly. Leads captured: 12 (0.4% conversion). Competitors: 8-12% conversion. Why? No live chat (visitors have questions, no one answers). Contact form broken (submits to nowhere). Email alias configured but no one monitors it. Lead enrichment disabled (got email "john@techcorp.com" but no company info, can't qualify). Sales team manually Googles every lead = 23 minutes per lead = can't scale. Lost opportunities: Website visitor from Fortune 500 company browsed 8 pages, left, never heard from again.
Cost: 2,847 monthly visitors × 8% target conversion × $12,400 average deal = $2,827,680 potential annual pipeline. Actual: 12 leads × 25% close × $12,400 = $37,200. Gap: $2,790,480 lost opportunity. Sales team wastes 23 min/lead on manual research × 12 leads × $50/hour = $2,760/month wasted time. Live chat missing: Competitors respond in 47 seconds, you respond never = lose deals. Lead mining could find 500 qualified prospects/month, you find 12 random ones instead.
Odoo 18 Lead Generation fixes this: Email-to-lead automation (every email = automatic lead created), website contact forms (capture visitors instantly), live chat integration (respond in real-time, qualify on the spot), lead mining (find 500 pre-qualified prospects monthly), lead enrichment (auto-fill company data from email address), visit-to-lead conversion (track anonymous visitors, convert to leads). Here's how to configure all 6 lead generation methods so you stop losing $2.79M in pipeline opportunity.
You're Losing Leads If:
6 Lead Generation Methods in Odoo 18
| Method | How It Works | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Email to Lead | Emails sent to alias auto-create leads | Inbound inquiries, support emails |
| Website Contact Forms | Visitors fill form, creates opportunity/lead | eCommerce, service businesses |
| Live Chat | Real-time chat converts to lead with /lead | High-touch sales, instant qualification |
| Lead Mining | AI finds companies matching your criteria | B2B prospecting, outbound sales |
| Lead Enrichment | Auto-fills company data from email domain | Qualifying leads, prioritization |
| Visit to Lead | Tracks website visitors, converts to leads | Passive traffic, behavior tracking |
Method 1: Email to Lead Automation
Every email to specific address automatically creates lead in CRM.
Step 1: Enable Leads in CRM
- Go to CRM → Configuration → Settings
- Enable Leads checkbox
- Click Save
Step 2: Configure Email Alias
- Go to CRM → Configuration → Sales Teams
- Select your sales team (or create new one)
- In team settings:
- Email Alias: leads@ (creates leads@yourcompany.odoo.com)
- Accept Emails From: Everyone (or Authenticated Partners for security)
- Create Leads: ✓ Enabled
- Click Save
Step 3: Test Email to Lead
- Send test email to:
leads@yourcompany.odoo.com - Subject: "Interested in your services"
- Body: "I need quote for 500 units"
- Go to Settings → Technical → Email → Incoming Mail Servers
- Click Fetch Now
- Check CRM → Leads
- New lead created:
- Title: Email subject
- Contact Email: Sender's email
- Description: Email body in notes
- Assigned Team: The team with alias
✓ What Happens Automatically:
- Email arrives at alias address
- Odoo creates lead instantly
- Email thread preserved in chatter
- Sales team notified
- Can reply directly from lead record
Use Case: Support Emails as Leads
Setup: Create alias support@company.odoo.com
Customer sends support email:
From: john@techcorp.com
Subject: "Need pricing for enterprise plan"
Body: "We're migrating from competitor, need quote for 200 users"
Odoo creates lead:
- • Lead Title: "Need pricing for enterprise plan"
- • Contact: john@techcorp.com
- • Notes: Full email body
- • Team: Support team
- • Priority: Can set based on keywords
Sales rep:
- • Sees lead in pipeline
- • Replies from Odoo (continues email thread)
- • Converts to opportunity
- • Closes $24,800 deal (200 users × $124)
Method 2: Website Contact Forms
Visitors fill contact form → instant lead/opportunity in CRM.
Step 1: Create/Edit Contact Page
- Go to Website → Site → Pages
- Open Contact Us page (or create new)
- Click Edit
- Drag Form block onto page
Step 2: Configure Form Action
- Click form block to select it
- In right sidebar:
- Form Action: Create an Opportunity
- (If Leads enabled: Creates Lead instead)
- Sales Team: Select team
- Success Message: "Thanks! We'll contact you within 24 hours"
- Or Redirect to URL: /thank-you page
Step 3: Customize Form Fields
- Add/remove fields by clicking form
- Common fields:
- Name: Text input, Required ✓
- Email: Email input, Required ✓
- Phone: Telephone input, Optional
- Company: Text input, Optional
- Subject: Text input, Required ✓
- Message: Textarea, Required ✓
- Click Save
Step 4: Test Form Submission
- Visit your Contact Us page
- Fill form with test data
- Submit
- Check CRM → Pipeline (or Leads if enabled)
- New opportunity created with all form data
Form Submission → Lead Mapping:
| Form Field | Maps To |
|---|---|
| Subject | Opportunity/Lead Title |
| Name | Contact Name |
| Email Address | |
| Phone | Phone Number |
| Company | Company Name |
| Message | Internal Notes |
Method 3: Live Chat to Leads
Real-time chat with visitors → qualify on the spot → convert to lead with command.
Step 1: Install Live Chat
- Go to Apps
- Search: "Live Chat"
- Click Install
Step 2: Create Chat Channel
- Go to Live Chat → Channels
- Click New
- Configure channel:
- Name: Sales Support
- Operators tab: Add team members who will chat
- Options tab:
- Button text: "Chat with us!"
- Button color: Your brand color
- Welcome message: "Hi! How can we help?"
- Chat input placeholder: "Ask a question..."
- Channel Rules tab:
- Show when: URL contains /pricing
- Or: After 30 seconds on page
- Or: Based on country
- Click Save
Step 3: Add Chat to Website
- Go to Website → Configuration → Settings
- Enable Live Chat
- Select your channel
- Click Save
- Chat widget now appears on all pages
Step 4: Convert Chat to Lead
Visitor: "Do you offer enterprise pricing?"
Operator: "Yes! We have custom plans for 50+ users."
Visitor: "We need 200 licenses."
Operator: "Perfect! Let me create a quote."
# Convert chat to lead - type this command:
/lead
# Odoo creates lead:
- Contact: Visitor's name (if provided)
- Email: From chat session
- Title: "Live chat: [date/time]"
- Notes: Full chat transcript
- Team: Assigned to operator's team
✓ Live Chat Advantages:
- Instant qualification (ask questions in real-time)
- Higher conversion than forms (47% vs 3%)
- Chat history attached to lead
- Can send quote/product links during chat
- Visitor feels valued (instant response)
Method 4: Lead Mining (Enterprise)
AI-powered prospecting: Find companies matching your ideal customer profile.
⚠️ Requirements:
- • Odoo Enterprise only (not Community)
- • IAP Credits: 1 credit per company, extra for contact data
- • Purchase credits via Odoo IAP
Step 1: Enable Lead Mining
- Go to CRM → Configuration → Settings
- Under Lead Generation:
- Enable Lead Mining
- Click Save
Step 2: Configure Search Criteria
- Go to CRM → Configuration → Lead Mining Requests
- Click New
- Set filters:
- Target: Companies only (or Companies + Contacts)
- Countries: United States, United Kingdom
- States: California, New York, Texas
- Industries: Technology, SaaS, eCommerce
- Company Size: 50-200 employees
- Assign to: Sales Team, Salesperson
- Tags: Lead Mining, Q1 2025
- Click Generate Leads
Step 3: Review Generated Leads
- Odoo generates leads (uses IAP credits)
- Go to CRM → Leads
- Filter by tag "Lead Mining"
- Each lead contains:
- Company name
- Industry
- Employee count
- Country/State
- Technologies used (in notes)
- Website URL
Lead Mining Example:
Target: SaaS companies in California with 50-200 employees
Generated Lead:
- • Company: TechStart Solutions
- • Industry: SaaS / Cloud Services
- • Employees: 127
- • Location: San Francisco, CA
- • Website: techstartsolutions.com
- • Technologies: Using AWS, Stripe, HubSpot
- • Notes: Growing fast, raised Series A $12M
Method 5: Lead Enrichment
Auto-fill company data from email address → better lead qualification.
Step 1: Enable Lead Enrichment
- Go to CRM → Configuration → Settings
- Enable Lead Enrichment
- Choose mode:
- Automatic: Runs hourly on new leads
- On Demand: Manual enrichment only
- Click Save
Step 2: Enrich Individual Lead
- Open lead with email address
- Click Enrich button (top right)
- Odoo pulls data from email domain
- Updates lead with:
- Company name
- Company logo
- Industry
- Employee count
- Annual revenue
- Phone number
- Address
Step 3: Bulk Enrichment
- Go to CRM → Leads (list view)
- Select multiple leads (checkboxes)
- Click Action → Enrich
- All selected leads enriched
Before vs After Enrichment:
❌ Before (Raw Lead):
- • Email: john@acmecorp.com
- • Name: John Smith
- • Subject: "Interested in product"
- • No other data
✓ After (Enriched):
- • Email: john@acmecorp.com
- • Name: John Smith
- • Company: Acme Corporation
- • Industry: Manufacturing
- • Employees: 847
- • Revenue: $127M annually
- • Phone: +1-555-0123
- • Address: 123 Main St, NYC
Method 6: Visit to Lead Conversion
Track website visitors → convert anonymous traffic to leads based on behavior.
Enable Visit Tracking
- Go to CRM → Configuration → Settings
- Enable Visits to Leads
- Set conversion rules (e.g., visitor views 3+ pages)
- Purchase IAP credits for conversions
- Click Save
Visit Tracking Example:
Scenario: Anonymous visitor browses website
Real-World Impact: Full Lead Gen Strategy
Example: SaaS Company Implementation
Before Odoo Lead Generation:
- Manual prospecting: 12 leads/month
- Website: 2,847 visitors, 12 conversions (0.4%)
- Email inquiries: Lost in spam inbox
- No live chat: Visitors leave with questions
- No enrichment: 23 min/lead manual research
- Pipeline: $37,200 quarterly (3 deals closed)
After Implementing All 6 Methods:
Email to Lead:
23 leads/month from support@ alias
Contact Forms:
87 leads/month (3% conversion, improved form)
Live Chat:
127 conversations, 47 qualified leads/month
Lead Mining:
500 targeted prospects/month
Enrichment:
Auto-fills company data (saves 23 min/lead)
Visit Tracking:
37 high-intent leads/month
Results:
- Total leads: 12 → 721/month (5,908% increase)
- Qualified leads: 12 → 284/month
- Closed deals: 3 → 37/quarter
- Pipeline: $37,200 → $458,800/quarter
- Annual revenue increase: $1,686,400
Common Mistakes
1. Email Alias Not Monitored
Set up leads@ alias, but sales team never checks CRM. Leads sit uncontacted for weeks.
Fix: Set up email notifications when lead created. Assign leads automatically to reps.
2. Contact Form Goes Nowhere
Form action set to "Send Email" instead of "Create Opportunity." Submissions lost.
Fix: Always set action to "Create an Opportunity" or "Create a Lead."
3. Live Chat, No Operators
Enabled chat, but forgot to add operators. Chat widget shows, no one responds.
Fix: Add team members to Operators tab. Set online hours if 24/7 not possible.
4. Lead Mining Too Broad
Searched "all companies in USA" = 50,000 results = burned credits on unqualified leads.
Fix: Use specific filters (industry, size, location). Start narrow, expand later.
Quick Implementation Checklist
- Enable Leads: CRM Settings → Leads checkbox ✓
- Set up email alias: Sales Team → Email Alias (leads@, support@)
- Create contact forms: Website → Contact page → Form → Action: Create Opportunity
- Install Live Chat: Apps → Live Chat → Configure channel → Add operators
- Enable Lead Mining (Enterprise): CRM Settings → Lead Mining → Buy IAP credits
- Enable Enrichment: CRM Settings → Lead Enrichment → Automatic mode
- Configure Visit Tracking: CRM Settings → Visits to Leads (if needed)
- Test each method: Send email, submit form, start chat, mine leads, enrich sample
- Train sales team: Show where leads appear, how to respond, /lead command
- Monitor conversion rates: Track which methods generate best leads
Pro Tip: Don't enable all 6 methods at once. Start with Email + Contact Forms (easy wins). Add Live Chat week 2. Lead Mining week 3. Monitor which channels give highest-quality leads, then double down on those. Quality > quantity.
Losing $2.79M in Pipeline Opportunity?
We configure all 6 Odoo lead generation methods: email automation, contact forms, live chat, lead mining, enrichment, visit tracking. Stop losing website visitors to competitors.
