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Action Groups Overview

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Forest Myers
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SharpSpring provides ways for you to create powerful automations based on your lead behaviors. Automations in SharpSpring are composed of workflows and action groups, which themselves are composed of various actions or events. This article will provide an overview on action groups.


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The Visual Editor

The Visual Editor shows how action groups are configured, as well as the logic that defines the group as a whole.

This is done by way of a workflow. Every trigger, action, filter, and the like are on full display in how they interact with one another.

As such, the Visual Editor allows you to create action groups in a point-and-click fashion in real time.


Creating Action Groups

SharpSpring allows you to create standalone reusable visual action groups. With reusable visual action groups, you do not have to continuously recreate common action groups. SharpSpring's Visual Editor allows you to create these reusable action groups. SharpSpring recommends using the Visual Editor when creating action groups.

To create action groups using SharpSpring's Visual Editor, do the following:

  1. Click Automation > Action Groups in SharpSpring's left toolbar.
  2. Click New Action Group.

    Left navigation and clicking New Action Group.
    Click to enlarge.
  3. Choose a checkbox for the action group to be:
    • Event Based
    • Time Based
    • Recurring
  4. Click Get Started.

    Select the action group type then click OK.
    Click to enlarge.
  5. Enter a name for the action group.
  6. Optionally choose a non-default action group folder.
  7. Click any of the following checkboxes:
    • Make this action group repeatable
    • Make this action group available in the Contact Manager
  8. Click Save.

    Add an Action group name then choose if you want it repeatable and to show in the contact manager.
    Click to enlarge.


Setting up Actions

Once you have created the blank action group, you will need to add and set actions and options in order for it to function.

To set actions for an action group, do the following:

  1. Click Automation > Action Groups in SharpSpring's left toolbar.

    Use the left navigation to select workflows then action groups.

  2. Create or edit an action group.

    Create a new action group or click new.
    Click to enlarge.
  3. Click + Add > Action under Start or an applicable branch.

    Add an action.

  4. Select the action to use in this visual action group.

    Choose an action for the action group.
    Click to enlarge.
  5. Set action parameters as necessary, then click OK.

    Add any details then choose OK.
    Click to enlarge.
  6. Add branch options as necessary.
  7. Set the action group toggle to Active.

    Add additional actions then activate with the switch on the upper right.
    Click to enlarge.

When creating action groups and setting actions, consider the following:

  • Action groups can be set as reusable. Reusable action groups are a collection of standalone events that can be referenced within a visual workflow or be manually scheduled to a list.
  • Action groups can have multiple branches. Branches refer to a collection of actions created for use only within a visual workflow. As the name implies, this collection of actions branch out from the action group and are dependent upon additional criteria in order to function. This means that action groups can be complex and have multiple branches stemming from a single action.
  • Branches are not action groups. Branches will not be added as reusable, standalone action groups.

 

Available Branch Options

When setting actions, the following options are available when creating action group branches:

Option   Description
Actions

The available actions.
Triggers

Starts a branch from the initial action group. 
Filters

Criteria that must be fulfilled before moving on to actions.
Time Delay

Sets a time delay for actions.
Action Groups

Multiple actions previously constructed together as a group.
Yes/No Branching filters

Evaluates if specified criteria are met or not, then filters down to their own Yes and No action groups.

 


Navigating Action Groups

Once created, you can view action groups in the Action Groups menu. Click Automation > Action Groups in SharpSpring's left toolbar to access the Action Groups menu and navigate its features.

 

Filter Menus

The Automation Action Groups page offers many different viewing options in that you can filter your various action groups.

  1. The first filter on the Action Groups page is for action group types. This menu allows you to separate action groups based on if they are recurring, event-based, or time-based.
  2. The second filter available on the Action Groups page is the active/inactive filter. This filter separates action groups that are active from those action groups that are inactive.
  3. The filter search bar allows you to type in custom search parameters to find applicable action groups.

    On the Action Group Page you'll have various options on how to sort and filter Action Groups.
    Click to enlarge.

 

Folders

folder.png  Folders house action groups within.

The folders state how many action groups they house and are useful to keep action groups organized as your account grows. Clicking on a folder opens the folder and displays all associated action groups. By default, the Miscellaneous folder is open and displays all action groups inside.

Folders will display only active or inactive action groups, but not both at once.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION

Click to enlarge.


Action Groups Information

The Automation Action Groups page displays information associated with action groups.

When viewing action groups in a folder, the following information is displayed:

  1. The action group name
  2. The action group's creation date
  3. The number of actions in the action group
  4. The number of workflows the action group is attached to

    IMAGE DESCRIPTION
    Click to enlarge.

In addition, visual action groups are listed under Workflows. If an action group is attached to a workflow the word will appear blue. Clicking these blue words will open a pop-up window detailing what the action group is a part of.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION

Click to enlarge.

When comparing visual and repeatable action groups at-a-glance, consider the following:

  1. Each action group is represented by their own icon.
  2. Repeatable visual action groups are represented by the  loop.png  Repeatable icon.

    IMAGE DESCRIPTION
    Click to enlarge.


Options

The  cog.png  Options menu allows you to configure an action group. The available options are as follows:

  1. Rename action groups
  2. Activate or deactivate action groups
  3. Copy action groups
  4. Schedule action groups
  5. Move action groups to specified folders

    IMAGE DESCRIPTION
    Click to enlarge.


Deactivating and Activating Action Groups

You cannot delete action groups. You can, however, deactivate and activate them at any time. Deactivated action groups will not fire their actions and will be disabled, while being placed in a collection of other deactivated action groups.

To deactivate or activate an active action group, do the following:

  1. Click Automation > Action Groups in SharpSpring's left toolbar.

    Click Automation then Actiong Groups from the navigation.

  2. Set the menu listing to Active or Inactive.
  3. Locate the desired visual workflow and click one of the following:
    •   cog.png  Options > Deactivate.
    •   cog.png  Options > Activate.

      Click to enlarge.

      Click to enlarge.
      Deactivate an Action Group Activate an Action Group
  4.  If you are deactivating an action group, click one of the following toggles depending on your needs:
    • Do not allow currently scheduled events to fire.
    • Allow currently scheduled events to fire.
  5. Click OK.

    Select the desired option then click OK.


Removing Contacts from Action Groups

To prevent actions from a scheduled action group from occurring, the contact must be removed from the action group.

To remove contacts from action groups, do the following:

  1. Click Contacts in SharpSpring's left toolbar.

    Click Contacts from the navigation.

  2. Click the desired contact's name.

    Location the contact name then click it.
    Click to enlarge.
  3. Click the Memberships tab.
  4. Click  flow-branch.png Action Groups.
  5. Locate the action group that the contact will be removed from and click  cog.png  Options > Remove.

    Click the memberships tab, then Action Groups, then the cog before selecting Remove.
    Click to enlarge.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the Make this action group available in the Contact Manager option?
A: This option allows you to add contacts to this action group directly from their contact profile.


Q: What is the Make this action group repeatable option?
A: This option allows for the lead to go through this action group more than once.

Q: What happens to leads who enter automation before actions are added or removed?
A: When a lead enters an action group and you add or delete actions from that action group, the changes will not reflect upon that lead. This is because when a lead enters the action group, the events present at that time will write to the lead's individual contact record. Additional actions or edits will not occur for those leads.

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