SFDC created date vs. date lead was converted

[Anonymous]

I was trying to use Marketo reports for our leads but the numbers from Marketo aren't accurate. In salesforce we run reports on when leads are created and I was trying to do the same thing in Marketo. It seems the SFDC created date changes when a lead is converted to a contact.

Example:
03/25/2013
John Smith comes to our website and fills out a form
SFDC created date: 03/25/2013

04/02/2013
Salesperson finally talks to John Smith and converts him to a contact
SFDC created date: 04/02/2013

My reports don't reflect when the lead truely came in ruining my monthly and quarterly reports. 

Is there a way to recover the date the "lead" was created in salesforce and incorporate that in Marketo analytics?

[Anonymous]

That's because the Created Date field will pull that date from whatever object the record currently resides in. To go the Lead Created Date for a Contact, use the "Lead was Created" field in your criteria.

Another method which I use is capturing the date where the Lead first became a marketing qualified lead. That field exists at both the Lead and Contact level and carries over upon conversion.

[Anonymous]

We created a custom formula field "Lead Created Date" to preserve this date. The system generated Created Date is copied into this field when a new Lead is created.  This field is mapped to the Lead Created Date on the Contact record.  This allows the original date that the lead was acquired to be preserved after conversion.