Lead conversion related-object model
Key Takeaway
Lead conversion creates an account, a contact, and optionally an opportunity, but the lead's related items don't all go to the same places.
Lead conversion turns a qualified lead into an account, a contact, and optionally an opportunity. Salesforce fills those records with the lead's data through field mapping. It also moves the lead's related items, such as campaign members, activities, and files, onto them. The original lead stays behind as a read-only converted record.
New records or existing records
Instead of creating new records, the user can choose to update an existing account and contact that share the names on the lead. This choice changes what happens to the lead's data.
If conversion creates new records...
Mapped lead field values overwrite the default field values.
If conversion updates existing records...
Salesforce only adds lead information to empty fields and never overwrites existing data.
Updating existing records has these field-level exceptions:
- Do Not Call and Email Opt Out aren't updated when the lead converts to an existing contact.
- Partner Account isn't updated when the lead converts to an existing opportunity.
- For the composite address field, only the empty individual address fields get filled.
- When State and Country/Territory picklists are enabled, the lead's State/Province and Country transfer to an existing contact only when both of those fields on the contact are empty.
With Contacts to Multiple Accounts, converting a lead to an existing contact creates a relationship record that connects the contact to the lead's account.
The division on each record also depends on whether conversion updates an existing account.
If conversion creates a new account, contact, and opportunity...
All three records get the lead's division.
If conversion updates an existing account...
The account keeps its division. The new contact and opportunity inherit the account's division.