Workflows help you automate certain actions in your business process to boost your team’s productivity.
Following are some of the common scenarios that you'll find useful based on the different actions available with Freshsales workflows.
A. Action: Updating field property
Scenario 1: Create a workflow to segment customers from prospects
If you want to segment your contacts as prospects and customer, you can automatically do so using workflows. When a deal is created and is in open state, you can mark the contact status as ‘Prospect’ and when the deal is won, change the contact status to ‘Customer’
Here is how to configure this.
You need two workflows to achieve this.
Workflow 1: Update contact status to ‘Prospect’
Which Record type: Deal
When do you want to execute the workflow: when record is created
Perform actions on a record: once
Conditions: Deal Stage is in open
Actions: Update all related contact - Contact Status = ‘Prospect’
Workflow 2: Update contact status to ‘Customer’
Which Record type: Deal
When do you want to execute the workflow: once, when record is created or update
Perform actions on a record: Once
Conditions: Deal Stage is in won
Actions: Update all related contact - Contact Status = ‘Customer’
Scenario 2: Create a workflow to update Lead stage when the lead is contacted
Let’s say you want to update the lead stage to ‘Responded’ when the lead replies via email. This will allow the users to filter the interested leads and close more number of deals.
Which Record type: Lead
When do you want to execute the workflow: once, when record is created or update
Perform actions on a record: Once
Conditions: Lead Stage is in new, or contact attempted and last contacted mode is ‘replied’
Actions: Update lead property - Lead Stage = ‘Responded’
Scenario 3 - Create a workflow to update lead stage when the lead is created via email
When the lead is created via email, the contact is already established. Thus, it makes sense to start the stages from ‘Contacted’. We can make use of source field here. When a lead is created via email, the source is automatically set to Email.
Which Record type: Lead
When do you want to execute the workflow: when record is created
Perform actions on a record: Once
Conditions: Source is in Email
Actions: Update lead property - Lead Stage = ‘Responded’
Scenario 4 - Create a workflow to assign all the unassigned lead to sales ops
All the leads are assigned to respective sales reps using territories but there might be a case or two where the lead remains unassigned. These might be important leads that fall through the cracks. You can assign the leads to your sales ops rep so that he/she can rightly assign the lead.
Which Record type: Lead
When do you want to execute the workflow: weekly on Monday at 9am
Conditions: Lead owner is empty
Perform actions on a record: multiple times
Actions: Update lead property - Lead owner = Sales ops user
Scenario 5 - Update account country when contact country changes
You can use the update made to one field to apply to another field as well. Say if you are updating the contact country, then you can use the value to update your account country as well. This can be done using the country field in contacts as a Reference field to update the account field. Hence, whenever the workflow is triggered for the particular record, the country field in the account is updated to that of the country field under contact.
Here’s how you can set the workflow:
Which Record type: Contact
When do you want to execute the workflow: Whenever the record is created or updated
Perform actions on a record: Runs recurrently for the same record.
Conditions: Country is changed
Actions: Update Account Country with Contact Country
Scenario 6: Automate lead qualification on the basis of criteria
Workflows can be used to automate lead qualification on the basis of criteria such as Lead quality. You can use Lead Quality to trigger a workflow to convert a Hot Lead into a Contact.
Here’s how you can set the workflow:
Which Record type: Lead
When do you want to execute the workflow: Whenever the record is created or updated
Perform actions on a record: Once, for each record.
Conditions: Lead Quality is Hot (Lead score: 71-99)
Actions: Convert Lead
B. Action: Create a task
Scenario 1 - Create a workflow to add a follow up for sales rep if he/she has not responded to customer email for more than 3 days
Sales reps sometimes forget follow up with the lead when the activity is more than a few days so it is always good to remind them to follow up if they have not responded to the lead within 3 days
Which Record type: Lead
When do you want to execute the workflow: Daily at 9am
Perform actions on a record: multiple times
Conditions: Last contacted mode = Incoming email and Last contacted time is greater than 3 days ago
Actions: Create Task
Scenario 2: Create follow up for Lead owner to prepare for an appointment
If you want to create a task for the owner to prepare for an upcoming appointment, you can do the same by creating a workflow that triggers a follow-up reminder one day before the appointment.
Here’s how you can set the workflow:
Which Record type: Appointment
When do you want to execute the workflow: Whenever the record is created or updated
Perform actions on a record: Runs recurrently for the same record.
Conditions:
1) Appointment Property Start date is in 1 Days
Actions: (i) Create Follow-up task to Prepare for appointment
C. Action: Send emails
Scenario 1 : Create a workflow to send an automated email reminder to the related contacts of a deal when subscription renewal date is nearing.
Sales reps generally focus on getting new business. It becomes difficult to follow up on existing business. Thus, an automated email reminder can be sent to the associated contacts to renew the subscription.
Which Record type: Deal
When do you want to execute the workflow: daily at 12pm
Perform the action on a record: Once
Conditions: Deal renewal date is in 15 days
Actions: Send email to related contacts
Scenario 2: Send follow-up email to Lead owner when a Demo task is overdue
To remind the owner of a lead about an overdue demo, create a workflow that triggers a follow-up reminder when the due date is less than a day away.
Here’s how you can set the workflow:
Which Record type: Task
When do you want to execute the workflow: Whenever the record is created or updated
Perform actions on a record: Runs recurrently for the same record.
Conditions:
1) Task Property Title is in Demo
(AND)
2) Task Property Related to is in Lead
(AND)
3) Task Property Due Date is in 0 Days
Actions: (i) Send email to owner
Scenario 3: Send birthday greetings to contacts every year
If you want to send birthday greetings to your contacts, you can automate the same using workflows. You can create a workflow that triggers an email on the date of the contact’s birthday in the current year and updates the date to the next year after the email is sent. This can be done by updating the birthday field by 1 year.
Here’s how you can set the workflow:
Which Record type: Contact
When do you want to execute the workflow: Whenever the record is created or updated
Perform actions on a record: Runs recurrently for the same record.
Conditions: Birthday is in 0 days
Actions: (i) Send Birthday Email
(ii) Update birthday relative value in 1 year.
IMPORTANT FIELD BEHAVIOR TO CONSIDER FOR WORKFLOW
Source - Source field stores the source of lead creation. This field gets auto updated based on the channel such as if the lead is created via email, the source will be auto updated to email. You can run multiple workflow actions based on the source.
Last Contacted Mode and Last Contacted Time - Last contacted mode and time stores the activities done to contact the lead. These activities can be a common trigger to take some actions.
