Lead Management Scenarios
Opening the Same Lead Twice
Situation: I clicked "Get Contact Info" twice on the same lead
What happens: Nothing new. The first click records that you opened the lead and shows the family's contact details; after that the button reads "Contact Info Accessed" and further clicks simply show the same details again. The lead also appears in your Dashboard, where you can add notes and move it through your pipeline.
There is never a charge. Opening a lead costs nothing, and there is no limit on how many leads you open or how many companies may open the same one.
Lead Availability and Timing
Situation: A lead I was interested in disappeared from the marketplace
Only three things take a lead off the marketplace:
- The family closed it. Every family gets a one-click link in their email to close their own request the moment they have chosen a company. Every company stops seeing it immediately.
- A company booked the sale. When a company records a sale from that lead, the lead closes for everyone else.
- It aged out. Each lead has a window based on the family's own timeline (see the table below). When the window passes, the lead retires on its own.
Leads you already opened are never taken away. A closed lead stays in your Dashboard with its notes and pipeline stage, labelled with the reason it closed. It only leaves the Browse Leads marketplace.
Understanding Lead Timelines
The window is set once, when the family submits, from the timeline they chose. Whether or not anyone has opened the lead makes no difference to it.
| Family's timeline |
On the marketplace for |
Suggested first contact |
| ASAP |
21 days |
Same day if you can |
| Within a month |
45 days |
Within a few days |
| 1-3 months |
90 days |
Within a week |
| Flexible |
90 days |
Within a week or two |
| Planning ahead |
120 days |
Introduce yourself, then follow up monthly |
| No timeline given |
60 days |
Within a week |
Families are asked how it is going
Part-way through the window we email the family once and ask whether they have found a company. "Still looking" keeps the lead open for another 30 days; "I've found someone" closes it. A family who has just said they are still looking is a warmer lead than a brand-new one.
Which Leads to Contact First
Situation: Which leads should I contact first?
Every lead is free to open, so reach out first when:
- The family chose ASAP or "within a month"
- The property is inside your primary service area
- The description or photos suggest a full house rather than a few pieces
- You have capacity to take the sale on straight away
Speed matters: when a request arrives we email the five nearest companies straight away, and every other company serving that ZIP code can see it in Browse Leads. Each lead shows how many companies have already viewed it. The first thoughtful, prompt contact usually gets the conversation.
Search Radius and Alerts
Situation: I searched a 50-mile radius but I'm seeing leads 55 miles away by road
Explanation: Distances are measured in a straight line between ZIP codes, not by driving route. Actual driving distance is often 10-20% longer.
Two different radii: the radius you type into Browse Leads only filters what you see. Email alerts use the "How far you travel" figure in your profile, together with the ZIP codes in your service areas. A lead in one of your listed ZIPs always matches, whatever the distance.
Recommendation
If you want to stay within a strict driving distance, set your radius to about 80% of it. For a 50-mile driving limit, use 40 miles.
Sales & Revenue Tracking
Editing Completed Sales
Situation: I need to update the final revenue after the sale ended
Steps to edit:
- Go to Sales records and find the sale
- Click Edit next to it
- Update the revenue field with the actual amount
- Your commission is recalculated from the rate on the sale
- Add a note explaining the adjustment for your own records
Note: the previous value is not kept. If you need a history of adjustments, record the old figure in the sale's notes before you overwrite it.
Handling Multi-Day Sales
Situation: My estate sale runs Friday-Sunday, how do I track daily revenue?
Best approach:
- Create one sale entry with the start date (Friday) and end date (Sunday)
- Use the Notes section to track daily totals: "Day 1: $3,500, Day 2: $2,800, Day 3: $1,200"
- Enter the total revenue ($7,500) in the revenue field
Commission Rate Variations
A sale stores one commission rate, applied to the whole revenue figure. For anything else, work out the commission yourself and record how you got there:
| Scenario |
How to record it |
| Standard rate (for example 35%) |
Enter the rate; the commission is calculated for you |
| Tiered rate (35% on the first $10k, 30% after) |
Work out the blended rate and enter that, with the tiers in the notes |
| Flat fee ($2,500) |
Set the rate to 0% and record the fee in the notes |
| Minimum guarantee |
Enter whichever applied, and note the guarantee |
Documents on a Sale
What you can attach:
- PDF, Word (.doc, .docx) and Excel (.xls, .xlsx) files
- Up to about 4.5MB per file. Scan contracts at a normal resolution rather than photo quality
- Each file is filed as a Contract, Inventory List, Terms & Conditions, Invoice or Other
Recording a Sale from a Lead
Situation: I won a lead. How do I connect it to the sale?
In your Dashboard, move the lead to Won. You are offered a short form to create the sale record on the spot, with the family's details filled in. A sale created this way carries the lead it came from, which is what lets your reports show which leads actually turned into business.
This closes the lead for everyone. Recording a sale from a lead takes it off the marketplace for every other company, and the action is logged against your account. Only do it for a sale you have genuinely booked.
Dashboard Totals and Exports
Situation: My dashboard total doesn't match my exported file
The export covers whichever date range you pick (all time, year to date, last 30 or 90 days, or custom dates), applied to each sale's start date. The dashboard cards use their own periods. Pick a matching range in the export menu and the figures line up.
Account & Access Issues
Login Problems
Situation: I can't log in even though my password is correct
Read the message first. The sign-in page tells you which of three things happened:
- "Invalid credentials" — the email and password did not match. Check Caps Lock, and make sure you are on the company sign-in page rather than the shopper one.
- "Too many sign-in attempts" — wait a few minutes and try again. The limit protects your account from guessing.
- "Our server is having trouble right now — this is not your password" — exactly what it says. Try again shortly; your password has not changed.
If none of that helps, use Forgot your password? and set a new one from the link we email you.
Sessions
How long you stay signed in:
- A sign-in lasts 30 days. There is no inactivity timeout
- Signing in on another device does not sign you out here
- Clearing your browser data signs you out
- Use Sign out in the portal when you are on a shared computer
Multiple User Access
Situation: Can multiple team members use one account?
How it works today:
- One account has one email address and one password
- Several people can be signed in at the same time on different devices
- Every action shows as the account, not the person
Suggestion for teams
Use a shared inbox (team@yourcompany.com) as the account email so that lead alerts and password resets reach whoever is on duty.
Account Status Types
| Status |
What It Means |
Access Level |
Action Required |
| Active |
Email verified — free account in good standing |
Full access, unlimited leads |
None |
| Pending Verification |
Signed up, email not yet verified |
No lead access yet |
Click the link in your verification email, or request a new one from the sign-in page |
| Suspended |
Account suspended for a terms violation |
No access |
Contact support |
Closing Your Account
Situation: I want to delete my account
Email info@estatesaleconnect.com from the address on the account and ask us to close it. We remove the account and stop all lead alerts. If you would like a copy of your sales first, export them from Sales records before you write.
Cost & Account Access
Leads and sale listings are free for estate sale professionals.
There is no per-lead charge, no listing fee and no credit card needed to join. Create an account, verify your email, and browse unlimited leads.
What's included free
- Unlimited access to every lead in the marketplace
- The family's contact details on any lead you open
- Property details and any photos the family attached
- Sales tracking, revenue charts and a lead pipeline
- Scheduled email reports, and CSV or PDF export of your sales
- A public profile page, sale listings with photos, and a message inbox for shoppers
Common questions
Is there a catch?
No. Leads and sale listings are free to sign up for and free to use, and families are never charged.
Why do I need to verify my email?
Verification is the only gate on the platform. It keeps the marketplace free of
spam accounts so homeowners get contacted by real, working estate sale companies.
Common Technical Issues
Photo Loading Problems
Situation: Photos won't load or show as broken images
Troubleshooting:
- Reload the page. A photo that was still uploading when you looked will be there on the next load
- Disable ad blockers and VPNs temporarily, as some block image hosts
- Try a different browser or your phone to rule out the computer
Uploading your own listing photos: photos are resized in your browser before they are sent, so a 6MB phone photo becomes a few hundred kilobytes. If an upload is refused with "photo uploads are unavailable", storage is not switched on yet. Tell us and we will fix it.
Email Notification Issues
Situation: I'm not receiving email notifications for new leads
Check these settings:
- In Account, under Notifications, lead notifications are not set to "Never"
- The email address on the account is the one you are checking
- Your primary ZIP and "How far you travel" in your profile cover the area you expect leads from
- Check your spam or junk folder, and add
noreply@estatesaleconnect.com to your contacts
Not every lead sends an email. When a request arrives we email the five nearest companies. If you are further away you will not get the email, but the lead is still yours to open in Browse Leads. Check the marketplace itself, not only your inbox.
Browsers
The portal works in the current versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge, on desktop and on phones. If something misbehaves in an older browser, updating it is the first thing to try.
Error Messages Explained
What the common ones mean
- "Session expired" or a request that fails with 401 — sign in again. A sign-in lasts 30 days
- "Too many sign-in attempts" — wait a few minutes
- "Our server is having trouble right now" — a problem on our side, not your password. Try again shortly
- Lead not found — the family closed the request, or it aged out. Anything you already opened is still in your Dashboard
- "That change did not save" — the card has reverted to what the server holds. Check your connection and try again
Final Notes
Still Need Help?
If your specific situation isn't covered in this Knowledge Base:
- Email us at info@estatesaleconnect.com
- Include your account email and a description of the issue
- Screenshots help us resolve issues faster
- We aim to reply within one business day
Last updated: September 2026. This page describes the product as it is today; if something here does not match what you see, tell us and we will fix whichever one is wrong.