Short answer
Lead conversion is the Salesforce step that turns a qualified lead into an account, a contact and, optionally, an opportunity. In Financial Services Cloud it can also create a person account and household. Conversion is where marketing hands a prospect to sales.
Lead Conversion explained
When a lead is converted, Salesforce maps lead fields to the new account, contact and opportunity records, carries over activity history and marks the lead as converted. Custom field mapping decides which data travels. Duplicate checks during conversion let users attach the lead to an existing account instead of creating a new one.
Common problems include required fields that block conversion, mappings that drop data, and FSC orgs where conversion does not create the household advisors expect.
How Vantage Point helps: we fix conversion mapping, duplicate handling and household creation so leads become clean client records.
Frequently asked questions
What records are created when a lead converts?
An account (or person account), a contact and, if chosen, an opportunity. In FSC, configuration can also create or link a household.
Why won't my lead convert?
Usually a validation rule or required field on the account, contact or opportunity, or a duplicate rule that blocks the new record.