In this Salesforce tutorial, we will understand why we need a lead record type in Salesforce. Moreover, we will also go through steps that we can follow to create a lead record type in Salesforce Lightning and Salesforce Classic.
Here is the list of topics that we will discuss:
- What is Lead Record type in Salesforce?
- Why do we need Lead Record type in Salesforce?
- How to create Lead Record type in Salesforce Lightning
- How to create Lead Record type in Salesforce Classic
What is Lead Record Type in Salesforce?
A lead record type in Salesforce is a mechanism to classify leads according to their traits or qualities. It is a pre-configured template that establishes the fields, page designs, picklist values, and additional options that are available while generating and changing lead records.
Businesses can tailor the lead-capturing process to fit their own sales processes and consumer groups by developing various lead record kinds. For instance, a business might have many lead record types for leads that are B2B and B2C, or for leads that come from various marketing sources.
Overall, lead record types provide a powerful way for businesses to organize and manage their leads effectively within Salesforce.
Also, check: How to create Lead Status in Salesforce
Why do we need Lead Record type in Salesforce?
There could be multiple reasons why we might need a lead record type in Salesforce. Some of the crucial reasons are listed below.
Reporting:
- This will allow businesses to get more accurate reports on their sales funnel, conversion rates, and other important data by classifying leads into several record kinds.
- Also, this enables them to better their sales and marketing operations by recognizing trends, monitoring performance, and making data-driven decisions.
Customization:
- Businesses can tailor the lead-capturing process to fit their own sales processes and consumer groups by developing various lead record kinds.
- For instance, a business might have many lead record types for leads that are B2B and B2C, or for leads that come from various marketing sources.
Automation:
- There can be a unique set of workflows, validation rules, and other automation for each type of lead record, which only applies to leads of that type.
- This streamlines the lead management process and boosts efficiency by enabling organizations to automate specific tasks and procedures based on the traits of each lead.
Read: How to add lead source in salesforce
How to create Lead Record type in Salesforce Lightning
Now that we have gone through the need and role of using a lead record type, let us discuss the steps of how to create a lead record type in Salesforce.
And for this instance, we will see how to create Lead Record Type in Salesforce Lightning edition. Here are the steps for this task in Salesforce.
Note: Please note that before moving forward with the steps to create a new Lead Record Type, we need a Lead Process. However, if you want to create a new Lead Process, you can follow this tutorial: How to create Lead Process in Salesforce.
Step-1: First, log in to your Salesforce account and open the Home Setup page by clicking the gear icon (⚙️) and then click the Setup option.
Step-2: From the Home Setup page, click on the Object Manager option. This will open the Object Manager page in Salesforce Lightning.

Step-3: From the list of objects, click on the Lead object. This will initially open the details page for the Lead object in Salesforce.
Step-4: Next, from the left side menu, click on the Record Types option.
Step-5: On the Record Types page, click on the New button. This will open the New Record Type page for the Lead object.

Step-6: On this page, under the “Step 1. Enter the details” section, we need to specify the following fields:
- Existing Record Type: We will keep it as default i.e, Master.
- Record Type Label: It is used to specify the display name for the record type in Salesforce.
- Record Type Name: It is used to specify the internal name for the record type in Salesforce. This name will be utilized internally in Salesforce like for API and Apex code.
- Lead Process: It is utilized to specify the steps or stages a lead goes through in the whole sales process. For instance, you might have stages like Contacted, New, Qualified, and Closed/Won.
- Description: This is a concise explanation of the record type can aid users in understanding its functionality or use.
- Active: This checkbox shows whether the record type is active right now or not.

In this example, we specified the following values for these fields.
- Record Type Label: US Real Estate Lead
- Record Type Name: US_Real_Estate_Lead
- Lead Process: USASalesLead
Step-7: After specifying the details, we also need to select the profile to whom this Record Type will be available. Once this step is completed, click on the Next button.
Step-8: After this, under the “Step 2. Assign page layouts” section, we need to select the appropriate page layout.
In our example, we selected the Lead Layout for all the profiles.

Once this step is completed, click on the Save button to save the New Lead Record Type in Salesforce Lightning.

So, by completing the above steps, we have successfully created a new Lead Record Type in Salesforce with the name “US Real Estate Lead“.
Read How to Mass Delete Records in Salesforce
How to create Lead Record type in Salesforce Classic
Here in this section, we will discuss the steps to create a new lead record type in the Salesforce Classic edition.
Here are the steps that we can follow for this task.
1: First, log in to your Salesforce account and open the Setup page by clicking on the Setup option given in the top-right corner.
2: Next, from the Quick Find search box, search for Lead and click on the Leads option given under the Customize section.
3: After expanding Leads, click on the Record Type option. This will open the Record Type page for the Leads object.

4: The above step will open the Record Types page. On this page, click on the New button. This will open the New Record Type page for the Lead object.

5: Next, under the “Step 1. Enter the details” section, we need to specify the following fields:
- Record Type Label: US Financial Lead
- Record Type Name: US_Financial_Lead
- Lead Process: USASalesLead

6: After specifying the details, we also need to select the profile to whom this Record Type will be available. Once this step is completed, click on the Next button.
7: On the next page, under the “Step 2. Assign page layouts” section, we need to select the appropriate page layout.
In our example, we selected the Lead Layout for all the profiles.

Once this step is completed, click on the Save button to save the New Lead Record Type in Salesforce Classic.
So, by concluding the above steps, we have successfully created a new Lead Record Type in Salesforce Classic with the name “US Financial Lead“.
Also, check: How to create web-to-lead form in Salesforce
Conclusion
So, in this Salesforce tutorial, we have seen what is a Lead Record Type in Salesforce. Also, how we can create a lead record type in both Salesforce Classic as well as Salesforce Lightning?
However, we have also illustrated the following topics in this tutorial.
- What is Lead Record type in Salesforce?
- Why do we need Lead Record type in Salesforce?
- How to create Lead Record type in Salesforce Lightning
- How to create Lead Record type in Salesforce Classic
I am Bijay Kumar, the founder of SalesforceFAQs.com. Having over 10 years of experience working in salesforce technologies for clients across the world (Canada, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, etc.). I am a certified salesforce administrator and expert with experience in developing salesforce applications and projects. My goal is to make it easy for people to learn and use salesforce technologies by providing simple and easy-to-understand solutions. Check out the complete profile on About us.