1. What is Lead Finder?

Lead Finder is a Zoho CRM extension that helps teams discover local businesses using Google Places, enrich them with website, email, phone and review intelligence, organize them into lists and companies, then import or email prospects directly from CRM. It combines search, research, AI drafting, and CRM prospecting in one workspace.

1.1. Business Discovery Search

Search for businesses by keyword and location (Managed Search or your own Google API key). Results show ratings, contact details, websites, and operational status so you can filter before saving or importing.

1.2. Company Intelligence

Saved businesses become company records with overview, brand analysis, CRM link status, notes, tags, lists, Smart Follow-Up, and enrichment actions.

1.3. CRM Prospecting & Import

Map Lead Finder fields into any Zoho CRM module (Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Products, custom modules), import selected records, export CSV, and track which companies are already in CRM.

1.4. Credits, Plans & AI Features

Business Credits power managed business search. AI Credits power email generation, review formatting, Smart Follow-Up, and related AI features. Usage, add-ons, and billing are managed under Settings.

2. Download & Install

Lead Finder is available on the Zoho Marketplace and can be purchased through monthly or yearly subscription plans. A trial is available so organizations can explore the product before committing.

3. Pre-Requirements

1.    A valid Zoho CRM account with administrative access.

2.    Compatible Zoho CRM edition for Marketplace extensions.

3.    Lead Finder subscription or free trial enabled.

4.    For Managed Search: Business Credits (included with Managed Search add-on or trial allowance).

5.    For Bring Your Own Key (BYOK): a Google Cloud project with Places API enabled and billing.

4. Installing Lead Finder

1.    Log into Zoho CRM.

2.    Navigate to Marketplace → All (placement of the Marketplace icon may vary by CRM layout).

3.    Search for Lead Finder and start a free trial or purchase.

4.    Agree to terms and select user profiles for installation.

5.    Complete installation — Lead Finder appears in CRM navigation once enabled.

5. Navigation Overview

The left sidebar provides access to every major area of Lead Finder.

1. Home: The Home section, represented by the Lead Finder logo, provides access to the main dashboard and the Discover area.
2.  Search: The Search section is used to search for businesses, apply filters, view search results, and import selected records into your CRM.
3.  Companies: The Companies section contains your saved company records, allowing you to access and manage previously saved businesses.
4.   Lists: The Lists section allows you to create and manage named lists of companies for organized CRM import and management.
5.   Reports: The Reports section provides market reports based on saved searches, helping you analyze the businesses and markets identified through Lead Finder.
6.   Settings: The Settings section provides access to your plan details, users, add-ons, usage information, billing, and other account preferences.

6. Dashboard (Discover)

The home dashboard is the quick-start surface for discovery and a snapshot of workspace stats.

7. Search Business

Search is the primary workflow: find businesses, filter them, save research, import to CRM, export, or email.

7.1. Search bar

Type a natural query such as Software House. Autocomplete suggests categories, locations, and recent searches. Click SEARCH to run.

7.2. Search modes

There are two ways to run business search:

1.    Your Google key (BYOK) — You pay Google. Lead Finder does not spend Business Credits.

2.    Managed Search — Lead Finder runs Google-powered search for you. Each search spends Business Credits.

The mode badge (top-right of the search header) shows the active mode and remaining Managed Search credits when applicable (for example Managed Search · 391 left).

7.3. Saved searches

Filter saved searches by Today, This week, This month, or All. Use Manage to open, rename, refresh, or report on a saved search.

7.4. Result filters

Toggle filters on the results toolbar: Use the filters available on the results toolbar to refine your search results. You can Select All results or filter them based on Rating, Email, Telephone, Website, Address, Operational status, and Reviews.

7.6. Bulk actions

1. Save Results: The Save Results option allows you to save the current result set as research or company records for future use.
2. Add to CRM: The Add to CRM option opens the Import Wizard, allowing you to select the required records and import them into your CRM.
3. Export: The Export option allows you to download the selected results as a CSV file for further use or analysis.
4. Actions: The Actions menu provides additional bulk options for managing selected records. Depending on the available options, you can add tags, add records to lists, send emails, view records on a map, and perform other actions.
5.  List / Grid: The List / Grid view option allows you to switch between different result display formats. Use List view for a compact, detailed presentation of records or Grid view for a more visual layout.
6. View on Map: The View on Map option allows you to plot selected or loaded search results on a map, making it easier to visualize the geographic distribution of businesses.

8. Companies

Companies is the saved library of businesses discovered through search. Each card shows name, address, rating, and CRM status.

8.1. Filters

1.    All.

2.    Not in CRM / In CRM.

3.    Has Email / Has Phone / Has Website.

4.    Tag filters (for example custom tags).

5.    Clear tag to reset.

8.2. Company actions

8.3. Company tabs

1.    Overview — Quick info, ratings, brand analysis, social links.

2.    Intelligence — Deeper research insights.

3.    CRM — Link status and CRM match.

4.    Notes — Internal notes (optional CRM sync).

5.    Sources — Source / research origin.

9. Lists

Lists group companies (office or contact entries) for CRM import and outbound workflows.

9.1. Create a list

1.    Open Lists.

2.    Click + New List

3.    Enter a list name (for example Q2 prospects)

4.    Click Create list

9.2. Add a company to a list

1.    Open a company

2.    Click Add to List

3.    Pick an existing list or type a New list name and click Add.

9.3. List detail actions

Open a list to view saved entries, remove entries, or Import to CRM.

10. Market Report

Reports summarize coverage and data quality for a selected saved search: businesses with website, phone, email, high ratings, and CRM presence.

1. Open Reports.

2. Choose a saved search from the dropdown.

3. Review metric cards (With Website, With Phone, With Email, Rating 4.5+, In CRM, etc.)

11. Import to Zoho CRM

The Import Wizard maps Lead Finder fields into the selected CRM module, then creates records.

11.1. Wizard steps

1.    Module — Choose Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Products, or another module.

2.    Mapping — Map Business Name, Email, Phone, Website, Address, Reviews, Contact Person, etc.

Basic module mapping is already [provided by lead finder but this is not the final mapping you can change and select other fields according to your business requirements.

3.    Summary — Confirm module, locale, and selected record count.

4.    Import / Done — Run import and review success counts.

11.2. Field mapping tips

Most text values map to Single-Line or Multi-Line fields. Rating uses Decimal. Country typically uses Picklist. Reviews should map to a Multi-Line field when storing review text.

11.3. Last Name length handling

When Business Name (or any mapped value) is sent to Zoho’s Last_Name field on any module, Lead Finder automatically:

1.    Truncates at the first / or |

2.    Caps the value under 80 characters

Example:
Edward Carter Properties - Manchester Letting Agents | Property
→ Edward Carter Properties - Manchester Letting Agents

11.4. Store reviews

Optionally keep the “store reviews” switch on so reviews are written into the mapped Multi-Line field during import.

12. AI Features

 12.1. Smart Follow-Up

Click Smart Follow-Up to open a form where you can select the email category and enter the required details to generate personalized follow-up messages. Click Generate Smart Follow-Up to create a multi-step sequence. You can edit individual steps, regenerate specific messages, and sync follow-up tasks to CRM Activities.

Each generation uses AI Credits, and the required cost and remaining balance are displayed. If you have insufficient AI Credits, Lead Finder displays a notification showing the available and required credits, along with an option to purchase more.

If remaining AI Credits are below the feature cost, Lead Finder opens Not enough AI Credits with available / required counts and a path to buy more.

Sync Follow-Ups to Zoho CRM Tasks

Lead Finder allows you to sync generated follow-up tasks directly to the Tasks module in Zoho CRM. This helps you organize and track follow-up activities within your CRM, making it easier to manage prospect communication and stay on top of scheduled outreach.

13. Settings (Account Center)

Settings manages plan, seats, add-ons, usage, billing, and search preferences.

 13.1. Overview

Shows the base plan (for example $25 / organization / month · billed by Zoho), trial/paid badge, included users, and feature checklist (Business Search, Website Discovery, Scraping, Email & Phone Extraction, CRM Prospecting, AI Credits).

 13.2. Account

Organization and user identity details for the logged-in Zoho org.

13.3. Users

Seat usage and additional user purchases (+$10 / user / month beyond included seats).

13.4. Add-ons

13.5. Usage

Live balances for Business Credits and AI Credits, plus usage breakdown (Business Search, AI Email Generation, Review Formatting, etc.).

Business Credits cards show Monthly · Purchased · Used · Available.
AI Usage breakdown lists feature-level counts for the current period.

13.6. Billing

Purchase history, renewals, and cancel flows for Managed Search / subscriptions (access may continue until period end when canceled).

13.7. Preferences

Configure Google API key (legacy Nearby Search vs Places API New), search mode (BYOK vs Managed Search), and related preferences.

14. Google API Key Setup (BYOK)

Use this when you prefer to bill Google directly instead of Managed Search credits.

1.    Log into Google Cloud Console

2.    Create or select a project and enable billing

3.    Enable Maps JavaScript API and Places API (and Places API (New) if using New Places mode)

4.    Create an API key (prefer unrestricted or IP-restricted keys for server search)

5.    Paste the key in Lead Finder (Settings → Preferences or Submit API Key) and Save

For setup or product issues, contact info@zenithinnovations.net or submit a ticket through Zenith Innovations support.