Manage Workflows
Workflows apply a whole set of actions to a lead in one step: status, pipeline stage, types, users, automatic emails and tasks. This guide shows how to find, add, organize, copy and delete workflows on the Workflows page, and how to apply them to your leads.
On this page
A workflow is a saved set of actions that you apply to a lead in one step. Instead of changing the status, assigning the lead, sending the first email and creating follow-up tasks by hand, you apply one workflow and it does all of that for you, the same way every time.
This guide covers the Workflows page: how to find a workflow, add one, keep them organized in categories, copy and delete them, and apply them to your leads.
Where to find it: open Settings and choose Workflows. If your account uses its own word for workflows, you will see that word on the buttons and headings instead.
What a workflow can do
Each workflow is made of sections. You fill in only the ones you need, and everything you set happens when the workflow is applied to a lead.
| Section | What it does when the workflow is applied |
|---|---|
| Detail and Email Notice | The workflow’s name, and the email addresses that get a notice each time it is applied. |
| Status / Pipeline | Sets the lead’s status, and can place the lead in an opportunity and stage and give it a value. |
| Types | Assigns types to the lead, removes types from it, or both. |
| Users | Assigns users to the lead, either all of them or one at a time by rotation, and can remove users. |
| Messages (Autoresponders) | Emails sent to the lead automatically: straight away, after a number of days and hours, or on a set date. Several messages with different send times make a drip campaign. |
| Tasks | Tasks that are created on the lead, so the follow-up is on someone’s list. |
| Fields | The custom fields that belong to the workflow. |
To open a workflow and change any of these, click its name on the Workflows page.
The Workflows page at a glance
Every workflow in your account is listed here, grouped into categories. The numbers in the picture match the list below it.
The Workflows page. Each white panel is a category, and each row in it is a workflow.
| What it is | What it does | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Add Workflow | Creates a new workflow and opens it so you can set it up. |
| 2 | New Category | Creates an empty category to sort workflows into. |
| 3 | Search | Shows only the workflows whose name contains what you type. The line beside it counts your workflows and categories. |
| 4 | Collapse all / Expand all | Folds every category down to its title, or opens them all again. |
| 5 | Category | Click the name to fold or open it. The number beside the name is how many workflows are in it. The pencil renames the category and the bin deletes it. |
| 6 | Drag handle | Drag a workflow up or down to reorder it, or into another category. Categories have the same handle. |
| 7 | Actions | Move the workflow to a category, copy it, or delete it. |
| 8 | Help | Starts a short tour of the page, or opens this guide. |
The columns
- Name – click it to open the workflow.
- Created – the date and time the workflow was made.
- Opportunity / Stage – the opportunity and stage the workflow puts a lead in. Don’t apply means the workflow leaves the lead’s pipeline alone.
- Actions – the Move, Copy and Delete buttons for that workflow.
Finding a workflow
Search by name
Type any part of a name in the search box. The list narrows as you type, and each category shows how many of its workflows match, for example 3 of 6. Categories with no match are hidden.
Searching for “request” shows the three workflows with that word in their name.
Click the × beside the search box to clear it and see everything again.
Good to know: dragging is switched off while a search is showing. Clear the search to reorder workflows or move them by dragging. The Move button on each row still works.
Collapse the categories
When you have a lot of workflows, click Collapse all to fold every category down to one line, then click the name of the category you want to open. Expand all opens them all again. You can also click any single category name to fold or open just that one.
With everything collapsed you see one line per category and the number of workflows in each.
Adding a workflow
- Click Add Workflow.
- Type a name. Pick one that tells you when to use it, such as “Open House Follow-Up”.
- Choose the category it belongs in. You can leave it as Uncategorized and move it later.
- Click Create and open. The new workflow opens so you can set up its status, users, messages and tasks.
Adding a workflow takes a name and a category.
A new workflow does nothing until you set it up and apply it to a lead, so it is safe to create one and finish it later.
Organizing with categories
Categories are folders for your workflows. They keep the page tidy, and they also group the list you choose from when you apply a workflow to a lead, so a good set of categories makes the right workflow quicker to find.
Create a category
- Click New Category.
- Type a name and click Create category.
- The category appears on the page, empty and ready to fill.
A new category starts empty.
Rename a category
Click the pencil at the right end of the category’s title bar, change the name and save.
Reorder categories
Drag the handle at the left of a category’s title bar up or down. The order is saved as soon as you drop it. Uncategorized always stays at the bottom.
Delete a category
Click the bin at the right end of the category’s title bar and confirm. Deleting a category never deletes the workflows inside it. They move to Uncategorized, and you can move them anywhere else from there.
The confirmation tells you how many workflows will move to Uncategorized.
Uncategorized
Uncategorized is the home for any workflow that is not in a category. It is always there, it cannot be renamed or deleted, and it sits at the bottom of the page.
Locked categories
A category marked Locked is managed for you. It cannot be renamed or deleted, and the workflows in it cannot be opened, moved, copied or deleted from this page. You cannot move other workflows into it either. You can still see what is in it.
Moving and reordering workflows
Drag and drop
- To change the order inside a category, drag a workflow by the handle at the left of its row and drop it where you want it.
- To move it to another category, drag it onto that category and drop it there. Open categories light up while you drag to show where it can go.
The new position is saved as soon as you drop it.
The Move button
Click the folder button in a workflow’s Actions and choose the category to move it to. This is the easiest way when the category is far down the page or folded away.
The Move button lists every category the workflow can go to.
Choose New category… at the bottom of that menu to create a category and move the workflow into it in one step.
Copying a workflow
Click the copy button in a workflow’s Actions. A copy is made straight away, with (Copy) added to the name, and the page shows you where it is. Open the copy, rename it and change what needs to be different.
Copying is the quickest way to build a workflow that is nearly the same as one you already have, for example the same follow-up for a second office or a second lead source.
Deleting a workflow
- Click the bin in the workflow’s Actions.
- A confirmation page opens. Click Delete to remove the workflow, or Cancel to keep it.
Before you delete: if a form still uses the workflow, OpenLeads tells you and does not delete it straight away, so a form is never left pointing at a workflow that is gone. Deleting a workflow cannot be undone. If you only want it out of the way, move it to a category of its own instead.
Applying a workflow to leads
Building a workflow is half the job. It only does something when it is applied to a lead.
To one lead
- Open the lead.
- Click Apply Workflow.
- Choose the workflow from the list. The list is grouped by your categories.
- Confirm when asked. The workflow is applied to that lead.
On a lead, Apply Workflow opens a list of your workflows.
To many leads at once
- Go to Leads and choose the view that holds the leads you want. The Apply to view menu shows how many leads are in it.
- Open the Apply to view menu and choose Apply Mass Workflow.
- Pick the workflow on the page that opens and follow the steps there.
Check the count first: a mass workflow is applied to every lead in the view, not only the leads on the page you are looking at. Any messages in the workflow will be sent to all of them.
Automatically, from a form
A form can apply a workflow by itself each time someone fills it in, which is how a new website lead can be assigned, emailed and given a task with nobody lifting a finger. That is set on the form, in the Forms section.
Who can change workflows
You need the Manage Workflows permission to add, change, move, copy or delete workflows and categories. Without it you can open this page and look, but the Add Workflow and New Category buttons and the row actions are not shown, and a notice at the top tells you to ask your administrator.
The tour and the Help button
Click Help at the top right of the page for two choices:
- Take the tour – a one-minute walk through the page that points at each control in turn.
- Open the help guide – opens this guide.
The Help button is on every redesigned page.
Common questions
I cannot drag anything.
Check that the search box is empty, because dragging is off while a search is showing. Workflows in a Locked category cannot be dragged either. If neither applies, you may not have the Manage Workflows permission.
I deleted a category by mistake. Are my workflows gone?
No. Deleting a category only removes the category. Its workflows are in Uncategorized at the bottom of the page. Create the category again and move them back.
Does moving or renaming a workflow change what it does?
No. Categories and order only affect how workflows are listed. Leads that already had the workflow applied are not affected, and forms that use the workflow keep using it.
What does “Don’t apply” mean in the Opportunity / Stage column?
That workflow does not put the lead in an opportunity. Everything else it is set to do still happens.
Can I change a workflow after leads have had it applied?
Yes. Open it and change it. The change is used the next time the workflow is applied.