This article covers the following topics:
Overview
Once you have your sales process(es) defined and set up as Pipelines, the next goal is to help your team engage with their prospects as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Pipeliner’s Step Activities help provide your users with the knowledge and tools needed to work faster, to more effectively engage with their contacts, and to make better decisions about the Opportunities they’re working on ⤵
At the most basic level, keeping your reps on track with communications and other sales activities can help cut the time spent on each Opportunity leading to higher revenue velocity.
Particularly important activities can be set as required so that an Opportunity cannot be progressed until they have been actioned.
By adding a Sales Activities Checklist to each step of the Pipeline, you can assist your teams by providing step-by-step guidance using contextualized notifications which give specific suggestions on what actions your users need to take in order to follow your established process/strategy. It’s like having your sales playbook open on the right page to guide their actions every time ⤵
How to set up Sales Activities for an Opportunity Pipeline (or Lead Process)
Enter the Admin Module — from the Pipeliner CRM Application, click on the "App Switcher" in the top left corner and choose "Administration" ⤵
NOTE: Only Administrators will see the Administration menu.
Select the "Processes" Menu. Then click on the Pipelines tab and select the pipeline you wish to work with ⤵
Creating a Sales Activities checklist for a specific step of the Pipeline
Select the step of the Pipeline you wish to create Step Activities for and then click the pencil icon to edit that step. Click on the “Step Activities” tab ⤵
What type of Step Activities can you use?
There are 11 types of "Step Activity" available. Each Step Activity can prompt - or require - users to action the following:
Actions
Create Note — create a new Rich Text Note or attach an existing Note.
Add Activity — create a Task or Appointment or attach an existing Activity.
Attach Document — upload a new file to the record using the Upload Document window or attach an existing file.
Check the checkbox — check a checkbox to indicate that a prompt has been noted/done.
Send Email — send an email (using a template - including default recipients, if desired - or from scratch) or link an existing email.
Use Document Template — use a template to create a new personalised document or pdf attached to the record which can then be sent by email or downloaded.
Fill in the Field — fill in a specified field.
Automation
Enrol to Email Sequence — enrol the record to a relevant Email Sequence.
Run Automatizer — run a relevant manual Automatizer process on the record.
Sales Process
Map Sales Role — assign Sales Role(s) to the Contacts who are linked to the record.
Create Influence Map — build the Buying Center for the Opportunity’s Contacts.
Click on the Step Activity that you want to add to your process. This will open up a dialogue which allows you to select from additional options which will vary depending on which Activity you have selected. The example below uses “Add Activity” ⤵
You will always be able to re-name your Step Activity as well as add a Description to make it really clear to your users what they need to be doing ⤵
You can also choose whether the Step Activity should apply for each Opportunity every time, or only under specific circumstances, by changing Visibility from “Always” to “On Condition”. If you choose “On Condition” you’ll then need to set up the filter criteria that identify when the Activity should display.
In this example, we’re specifying that a “Proposal Presentation Meeting” should only be booked when the value of the Opportunity is $10,000 or more so first we select “On Condition” ⤵
and then click on "Filter" to add our criteria ⤵
Next you can select if the Step Activity must be actioned in order to move an Opportunity into another step. The standard options are “Yes” or “No” but for Tasks/Appointments, you can also choose whether the “Activity must be linked to the Opportunity” or “Activity must be Linked and Completed”.
For our example, “Activity must be Linked and Completed” would mean that the Opportunity could not be moved to another sales step in the process until the “Proposal Presentation Meeting” had taken place ⤵
NOTE: If you set a Step Activity to be required, you also need to be careful when choosing your Visibility option. If you choose an “On Condition” criteria and the Opportunity does not meet the criteria, the Step Activity will not be Required even if you have chosen “Yes”. This makes sense as your users can’t do something they can’t see!
You can choose the order in which Step Activities appear to your users by dragging and dropping them within the list ⤵
Step Activities in Detail
Create Note
Click on “Create Note” to add a Step Activity to prompt your users to add a Rich Text Note to the Opportunity.
Complete the Activity Name and add a Description to help your users understand what they should do. Decide on Visibility and also if adding the Note should be required for all Opportunities (this is unlikely as Notes are used only for general background information) ⤵
Your users will see this prompt when they’re working on an Opportunity at this particular step. Clicking on the "i" icon will show them the Description you entered when you set it up ⤵
In order to complete the Step Activity, users will click and then either “Create New Note” or "Add Existing Note". This second option will allow them to choose from any Notes that have already been added to the Opportunity ⤵
Once a Note has been created or added, the Step Activity will display with a green check to indicate that it has been completed ⤵
Add Activity
Click on “Add Activity” to add a Step Activity to prompt your users to add a Task or an Appointment to the Opportunity.
Complete the Activity Name and then choose which type of Activity they need to create or link to the Opportunity. Add a Description to help your users understand what they should do. Decide on Visibility and also if the Activity must be Linked to the Opportunity or Linked and Completed in order to move the Opportunity onwards in your process. ⤵
NOTE: Remember you can reorder the items in your Step Activity list by dragging and dropping.
Your users will see this prompt when they’re working on an Opportunity at this particular step. Clicking on the "i" icon will show them the Description you entered when you set it up ⤵
In order to complete the Step Activity, users will click and then either “Create New” or “Add Existing” Activity. “Create New” will open up a new Activity of the Type you selected (Call, in our example) which will be linked to the Opportunity ⤵
The “Add Existing” option will allow them to choose from an Activity that has already been added to the Opportunity (you’ll see these under the Activities tab) ⤵
Once an Activity has been created or linked to the Opportunity, the Step Activity will display as underlined to show it has an Activity linked to it ⤵
Depending on the option you chose in “Required”, if a user tries to move the Opportunity, they may be prompted to complete the Activity before they are able to move the Opportunity to another step ⤵
Once the Activity is marked as “Completed” the user will then be able to move the Opportunity ⤵
Attach Document
Click on “Attach Document” to add a Step Activity to prompt your users to attach a file to the Opportunity.
Complete the Activity Name and add a Description to help your users understand what they should do. Decide on Visibility and whether it should be Required to link the file ⤵
Your users will see this prompt when they’re working on an Opportunity at this particular step. Clicking on the i icon will show them the Description you entered when you set it up ⤵
Clicking on “Attach New Document” will prompt the user to “Upload a document” whereas “Add Existing Document” will display files that are already linked to the Opportunity ⤵
Once a file has been attached, the Step Activity will show as underlined and with a green tick to show it has been actioned ⤵
Check the Checkbox
Click on “Check the Checkbox” to add a Step Activity to prompt your users to tick a box to confirm they have read or actioned a prompt to help them work on their Opportunity.
Complete the Activity Name and add a Description to help your users understand what they should do. Decide on Visibility and whether it should be Required to check the box in order to move the Opportunity ⤵
Your users will see this prompt when they’re working on an Opportunity at this particular step. Clicking on the i icon will show them the Description you entered when you set it up ⤵
Checking the checkbox will complete the action, turning the tick to green. If you set the Step Activity as “Required”, checking the checkbox will also allow the Opportunity to be moved ⤵
Send Email
Click on “Send Email” to add a Step Activity to prompt your users to send an email.
Complete the Activity Name and then select a recipient that the email should be sent to (or confirm no recipient so the user will choose) ⤵
NOTE: You’ll most likely select to send the email address to the Primary Email address for the Primary Contact for the Opportunity.
Next, choose which Email Template should be used for the email, add a Description and decide on Visibility and whether it should be Required to send the email in order to move the Opportunity ⤵
NOTE: Make sure you have set the “Sharing” for your Email Templates to “public” so you’re able to select them from the list and all users are able to use them.
Your users will see this prompt when they’re working on an Opportunity at this particular step. Clicking on the "i" icon will show them the Description you entered when you set it up ⤵
Clicking on “Create Email” will create a standard email based on your selected template and will pre-populate the recipient (if you selected that option). The user can add to or edit the email as well as log it as a completed Email Task prior to sending ⤵
Choosing “Add Existing Email” will instead allow the user to select an email and link it to the Opportunity.
Once the email has been sent (or linked) the action will be completed turning the tick to green. If you set the Step Activity as “Required”, this will also allow the Opportunity to be moved ⤵
Use Document Template
Click on “Use Document Template” to add a Step Activity to prompt your users to use a template (set up in O365 or Google) to generate a file.
Complete the Activity Name and then select the Document Template and Document Format to use ⤵
Add a Description and decide on Visibility and whether it should be Required to use the template in order to move the Opportunity.
Your users will see this prompt when they’re working on an Opportunity at this particular step. Clicking on the "i" icon will show them the Description you entered when you set it up ⤵
Clicking on “Create Document” will create a personalised version of the template you chose when setting up the Step Activity and will attach it to the Documents tab of the Opportunity ⤵
Clicking on “Add Existing Document” will display files that are already linked to the Opportunity ⤵
Once the document has been created (or linked) the action will be completed turning the tick to green. If you set the Step Activity as “Required”, this will also allow the Opportunity to be moved ⤵
Fill in the Field
Click on “Fill in the Field” to add a Step Activity to prompt your users to complete a field on the Opportunity Form.
Complete the Activity Name and then select which field you want your users to fill in, add a Description and decide on Visibility and whether it should be Required to fill in the field in order to move the Opportunity ⤵
In this example, we’re using “On Condition” in Visibility and our Filter criteria is that the Opportunity Value is 0. We only want this Step Activity to display when the value is currently 0 so we prompt users to update the value ⤵
When your users are working on Opportunities where the value is currently 0, they will see the Step Activity as shown below ⤵
NOTE: when they’re working on Opportunities where they have already entered a value (that is not 0), the Step Activity will not display.
Enrol to Email Sequence
Click on “Enrol to Email Sequence” to add a Step Activity to prompt your users to enrol recipients to an Opportunity Email Sequence such as the example shown below ⤵
Complete the Activity Name and then select which sequence you want your users to enrol recipients to, add a Description and decide on Visibility and whether it should be Required to fill in the field in order to move the Opportunity ⤵
Your users will see this prompt when they’re working on an Opportunity at this particular step. Clicking will enrol the Opportunity into the selected Email Sequence ⤵
Once the Opportunity has been enrolled, the action will be completed turning the tick to green. If you set the Step Activity as “Required”, this will also allow the Opportunity to be moved.
You’ll also be able to see that the record is enrolled in the Email Sequence from the “Enrolled” tab of the Email Sequences widget ⤵
Run Automatizer
Click on “Run Automatizer” to add a Step Activity to prompt your users to attach a “Manual” Automatizer process to the Opportunity.
Complete the Activity Name and then select which Automatizer process you want your users to run on the Opportunity, add a Description and decide on Visibility and whether it should be Required to fill in the field in order to move the Opportunity. In our example, we only want to attach the “Key Opportunity Management Process” to larger Opportunities so we’re going to use “On Condition” and then set up a Filter ⤵
Our Filter will only display this Step when the Opportunity has a value of $100k or more ⤵
Your users will see this prompt when they’re working on an Opportunity at this particular step. Clicking will enrol the Opportunity into the selected Email Sequence ⤵
Once the Automatizer process has been attached, the action will be completed turning the tick to green. If you set the Step Activity as “Required”, this will also allow the Opportunity to be moved.
You’ll also be able to see that the process is attached from the Automatizer widget ⤵
Map Sales Role
Click on “Map Sales Role” to add a Step Activity to prompt your users to update the Sales Role(s) for their Opportunity Contacts.
Complete the Activity Name and then select which Sales Role you want your users to flag Contact(s) with, add a Description and decide on Visibility and whether it should be Required to assign the Sales Role in order to move the Opportunity ⤵
Your users will see this prompt when they’re working on an Opportunity at this particular step. Clicking on the i icon will show them the Description you entered when you set it up ⤵
Your users should then update Contact(s) specified Sales Role(s) ⤵
Once the Sales Role has been selected, the action will be completed turning the tick to green. If you set the Step Activity as “Required”, this will also allow the Opportunity to be moved ⤵
Create Influence Map
Click on “Create Influence Map” to add a Step Activity to prompt your users to update the Sales Role(s) for their Opportunity Contacts.
Complete the Activity Name and then select which Sales Role you want your users to flag Contact(s) with, add a Description and decide on Visibility and whether it should be Required to assign the Sales Role in order to move the Opportunity ⤵
Your users will see this prompt when they’re working on an Opportunity at this particular step. Clicking on the i icon will show them the Description you entered when you set it up ⤵
Clicking on the Activity will open up the “Create Influence Map” dialog so your users can update additional Sales Roles, Relationship Strengths and Lines of Influence between Contacts ⤵
Once the Influence Map has been created, the action will be completed turning the tick to green. If you set the Step Activity as “Required”, this will also allow the Opportunity to be moved ⤵
Users will also be able to see and modify the Influence Map by clicking on the Buying Center tab in the Opportunity ⤵
