You can schedule automation events to leads based on when an opportunity moves from one pipeline stage to another. This means that, when automated through a visual workflow, you will not need to manually change a lead field in order to schedule the intended automation events.
This article will detail how to create pipeline stage change automation.
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Creating an Opportunity Workflow
You can create pipeline automation using a visual workflow that is based on when a stage changes.
To create the stage change automation:
- Click Automation > Visual Workflows in the left toolbar.
- Click Create > Opportunity Workflow.
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- Enter a name for the workflow.
- Click OK.
- Click + Add > Trigger under Start or an applicable branch.
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- Click has the stage under Opportunity.
- Enter the name of the desired pipeline in the Pipeline field.
- Enter the name of the stage that the opportunity is in originally in the Stage field.
- Note: The Any stage option means any stage within the selected pipeline.
- Select either of the following operators from the Comparison menu:
- exactly
- not equal
- Note: Selecting the Any stage option disables the not equal operator.
- Select either of the following scheduling actions:
- Only schedule actions to the opportunity's primary contact
- Schedule actions to all the contacts on the opportunity
- Note: When the Only schedule... checkbox is selected, the rule will be evaluated only for the primary lead on the opportunity. If the checkbox is not selected, the rule will be evaluated for all leads on the opportunity.
- Click OK.
- Complete the workflow with other triggers, filters, actions, or delays and set the workflow toggle to Active.
Refer to the following help articles for more information on actions and how to structure visual workflows:
Creating Stage Change Lists
You can also create pipeline automation using a rules-based list that is based on when a stage changes.
To create stage change lists, do the following:
- Click Lists in the left toolbar.
- Create or edit a rules-based list.
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- Click the Create Rule button.
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- Select has the stage under Opportunity.
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- Select the desired pipeline in the Pipeline drop-down menu.
- Select the desired stage in the Stage drop-down menu.
- Note: The Any stage option means any stage within the selected pipeline.
- Optionally, click the Only evaluate this rule for the Opportunity's primary contact checkbox.
- Note: When the Only evaluate... checkbox is selected, the rule will be evaluated only for the primary lead on the opportunity. If the checkbox is not selected, the rule will be evaluated for all leads on the opportunity.
- Complete the list with other rules and rule groups as needed and click Save.
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Special Considerations
When creating opportunity automation, be aware of the following:
- Workflows will not fire if there are multiple open opportunities connected to the lead and there is no criteria to distinguish between them. For example, if a lead has two open opportunities that match the exact criteria of the workflow, the workflow will not go through with any of the opportunity actions. Lead Gen & CRM cannot choose which to act on and will therefore act on neither.
- Workflows will fire if they are attached to an open opportunity. Opportunity workflows will fire for contacts that are attached to any number of closed or archived opportunities, but only so long as they are attached to one open opportunity.
- There are certain automation time limits. When the automation is active, the automation engine will wait a period of 15 minutes before evaluating whether the new stage is different from the previously set stage value.