Workflow Detail
Everything a workflow does to a lead is set up on this page: status and pipeline, types, users, automatic emails and drip campaigns, tasks and fields. This guide covers each panel and the message editor, with pictures of every window.
On this page
This is the page where you decide what a workflow does. Each panel is one thing that happens to a lead when the workflow is applied: its status and pipeline stage, the types and users it gets, the emails it is sent, the tasks that are created and the fields that go with it.
This guide walks through every panel in the order it appears on the page, then through the message editor, where you write the emails a workflow sends.
Where to find it: open Settings, choose Workflows and click the name of a workflow. To make a new one, click Add Workflow on the Workflows page and it opens here.
The page at a glance
The top of a workflow. The numbers match the list below.
| What it is | What it does | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Workflows | Goes back to the list of all your workflows. |
| 2 | Delete Workflow | Opens a confirmation page where you can delete this workflow. |
| 3 | Pencil beside the name | Renames the workflow. It opens the same window as the Details panel. |
| 4 | Details | The workflow’s name and who is emailed each time it is applied. |
| 5 | Status and pipeline | The status, opportunity, stage and value the workflow sets on the lead. |
| 6 | Types | The types the workflow adds to the lead or takes off it. |
| 7 | Users | The users the workflow assigns to the lead or takes off it. |
| 8 | Help | Starts a short tour of this page, or opens this guide. |
Below these four panels come Messages (Autoresponders), Tasks and Fields, each across the full width of the page.
How saving works
- Each panel has its own Edit or Add button. It opens a small window with its own Save button.
- Saving one panel does not touch the others, so you can set up a workflow a piece at a time.
- A panel that says Don’t apply or None leaves that part of the lead exactly as it is.
- Changes are used the next time the workflow is applied to a lead.
Details
Click Edit on the Details panel, or the pencil beside the workflow’s name.
Details holds the name and the email notice.
- Workflow name – what the workflow is called everywhere you choose it: on a lead, on the Leads page and on forms. Pick a name that says when to use it.
- Email notice – the email addresses that get a notice each time this workflow is applied to a lead. Separate several addresses with a comma. Leave it empty to email no one.
Status and pipeline
Click Edit on the Status and pipeline panel. One window sets all four.
Status, opportunity, stage and value are set together.
- Status – the status the lead is given. If the status you choose has criteria, they appear underneath so you can tick the ones this workflow should set.
- Opportunity – the opportunity (pipeline) the lead is placed in.
- Opportunity stage – appears once you choose an opportunity. Pick the stage the lead should start at.
- Set a value on the lead – switch it on to give the lead a dollar value, and choose whether it is One time or Recurring.
Leave any of them on Don’t apply and the workflow will not change that part of the lead.
Types
Click Edit on the Types panel. Every type in your account is listed with three choices.
Each type is set to Leave, Assign or Remove.
| Choice | What happens when the workflow is applied |
|---|---|
| Leave | Nothing. If the lead has the type it keeps it, and if it does not, it is not added. |
| Assign | The type is added to the lead. |
| Remove | The type is taken off the lead. |
- Use the Search box at the top to find a type in a long list.
- Use Add a type at the bottom to create a new type without leaving the page. Give it a name, pick its colour and click Add.
The panel then shows what will be assigned and what will be removed. If your account uses its own word for types, you will see that word here.
Users
Click Edit on the Users panel. It works the same way as Types, with two more settings underneath.
Users are assigned or removed the same way as types.
- Leave / Assign / Remove – for each user, leave the lead as it is, assign the user to it, or take the user off it.
- When more than one user is set to Assign – choose Assign all selected users to put every one of them on the lead, or Assign one user by rotation to hand leads out one at a time in turn.
- Email the assigned users when it is applied – tick it to let the users know they have a new lead.
With rotation on, the panel marks the user who gets the next lead with the word next.
Messages (Autoresponders)
Messages are the emails a workflow sends to the lead by itself. Each one has its own content, its own From details and its own send time, so one workflow can send a welcome email straight away and follow-ups days later.
The Messages panel. Three messages with different send times are shown as a drip campaign.
| What it is | What it does | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drip campaign bar | Appears when the messages go out at different times. It says how many messages there are and how long the whole sequence takes. |
| 2 | Step number and send time | Messages are numbered in the order they are sent. The line above each one says when: Immediately, after a delay, or on a date. |
| 3 | The wait | How long after this message the next one goes out. |
| 4 | Preview, Edit, Delete | The eye shows the message as the lead will see it. The pencil opens it in the editor. The bin deletes it. |
| 5 | Add the next step | Adds another message at the end of the drip. |
| 6 | Add message | Adds a message. It does the same thing as Add the next step. |
The labels on a message
| Label | What it means |
|---|---|
| From the assigned user | The email is sent with the name and reply address of the user assigned to the lead. |
| Verified domain | The email is sent from an address on one of your own verified domains. |
| Message Builder | The message was designed in the Message Builder. |
| Advanced editor | The message was designed in the older Advanced editor. |
| Empty message | The message has no content yet. Open it and write it before the workflow is used. |
Drip campaigns
A drip campaign is a series of emails sent to a lead over time. You do not switch it on: as soon as a workflow has two or more messages with different send times, the Messages panel shows them as numbered steps with the wait between each one.
- To build one, add a message for each email and give each a later send time, for example Immediately, then after 3 days, then after 7 days.
- The steps are always shown in the order they go out, whatever order you created them in.
- Every delay is counted from the moment the workflow is applied to the lead, not from the previous message. A message set to 7 days goes out 7 days after the workflow is applied.
- If all the messages have the same send time, they are shown as a plain list instead.
Add a message
- Click Add message or Add the next step.
- Type a name for the message. Only you see it; it is how the message is listed on the workflow.
- Click Create and open. The message opens in the editor.
A new message is named first.
A new message always starts on Immediately. Set its send time in the editor.
Delete a message
Click the bin on the message and confirm. It will no longer be sent when the workflow is applied. This cannot be undone.
The message editor
Click a message’s name or its pencil to open it. The editor takes over the page, and nothing is changed until you click Save message.
The top of the message editor.
| What it is | What it does | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Back to workflow | Returns to the workflow. If you have unsaved changes it asks first. |
| 2 | Preview | Shows the message the way the lead will see it. |
| 3 | Test Inbox Deliverability | Scores the message against the rules mailbox providers use, and sends you a test. |
| 4 | Who it is from | The From name, Reply-To and From address. |
| 5 | Subject | The subject line the lead sees. |
| 6 | When it is sent | Immediately, after a delay, or on a date. |
| 7 | Tokens | Placeholders that are replaced with each lead’s own details. |
Who it is from
- Send it from the user assigned to the lead – when this is on, the From name and Reply-To are the assigned user’s own name and email, so replies go straight to them. The two boxes underneath are filled in for you and cannot be typed in.
- From name and Reply-To – when the switch is off, type the name the lead should see and the address replies should go to.
- From address – the default is the OpenLeads sending address. If your account has a verified domain, choose it here and type the part before the @ in Address on that domain to send from your own address.
The line under these boxes spells out exactly what the lead will see and where a reply will go, so you can check it at a glance.
Subject
The subject sits at the bottom of the Who it is from panel. Tokens work in it, so Welcome, [First]! becomes “Welcome, Maria!”.
When it is sent
| Choice | When the email goes out |
|---|---|
| Immediately | As soon as the workflow is applied to the lead. |
| After a delay | A number of days and hours after the workflow is applied. Fill in days, hours or both. |
| On a date | On one date and time that you choose. Every lead gets it on that same day. |
Give the messages on a workflow different send times and they become a drip campaign.
Writing the message
When it is sent, and the Message panel with the regular editor.
| What it is | What it does | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Load from Library | Copies a message from your Message Library into this one. |
| 2 | Load Template | Starts the message from a ready-made design. |
| 3 | Switch to Message Builder | Moves the message into the drag-and-drop builder. |
| 4 | Save As Template | Saves what you have written as a template you can load into other messages. |
| 5 | Clear Message | Empties the editor so you can start again. |
| 6 | Token row | Insert token, Token with fallback, Insert signature and Insert unsubscribe link. |
Type in the editor as you would in any word processor. The toolbar has the usual formatting, lists, images, links and a source-code button for editing the HTML directly.
Load from Library
Choose a library message and click Load message.
Loading a library message replaces this message’s name, subject, From name, Reply-To, content and attachments straight away. The send time and the “from the assigned user” switch stay as you set them.
Good to know: the message on the workflow is its own copy. Changing the library message later does not change the copy here, and changing the copy here does not change the library.
Load Template
The template gallery, with categories across the top.
Pick a category or search, click Preview to look at a design, and click Use to load it. Loading a template replaces the whole message, so do it before you write. Then replace the sample text, links, photo and address with your own. My templates holds the ones you saved with Save As Template.
The Message Builder
Click Switch to Message Builder to design the email with rows, images and buttons instead of typing it. The builder opens in its own window, and this page updates when you save there.
A Message Builder message shows a picture of the design and an Edit in Message Builder button.
- A message designed in the builder is shown here as a picture of the design. Click Edit in Message Builder to change it.
- Load Template, Save As Template and Clear Message are for the regular editor, so they are not shown on a builder message.
- You can switch a message back to the regular editor from inside the builder at any time.
The builder has its own guide: Message Builder help.
Tokens
Tokens are placeholders in square brackets, such as [First], that are replaced with each lead’s own details when the email is sent. The Tokens panel on the right lists every one you can use, grouped by kind: signatures, lead name, company and contact, address, links, your custom fields and your update forms.
- Click where you want the token in the message, then click the token in the panel. It is inserted at the cursor.
- Add a fallback for leads who have nothing in that field by putting the fallback after the name:
[First there]gives “Hi Maria” when the first name is known and “Hi there” when it is not. The Token with fallback button does this for you. - Insert signature adds the sender’s signature, and Insert unsubscribe link adds the link a marketing email should always have.
Attachments and saving
Attachments, and the bar that stays at the bottom of the editor.
| What it is | What it does | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Name | The message’s name. Only you see it. Change it here at any time. |
| 2 | Save message | Saves and keeps you in the editor. |
| 3 | Save and go back | Saves and returns to the workflow. |
| 4 | Cancel | Leaves without saving. If you have changed anything it asks first. |
| 5 | Attachments | Files sent with this message to every lead. |
- To attach a file, drop it on the dotted box or click browse. Each file can be up to 10 MB.
- Insert link puts a link to the file in the message, which is a lighter way to share a large file than attaching it.
- The bin beside a file removes it from the message.
A new message that is never saved is removed. If you add a message and then click Cancel before saving it, OpenLeads asks whether to discard it and takes it off the workflow.
Preview
Click Preview at the top of the editor, or the eye on a message in the Messages panel.
Preview shows the From details and the message itself.
Switch between Desktop and Mobile at the top to see how the message looks on a phone. If you have unsaved changes, the message is saved first so the preview is up to date.
Test Inbox Deliverability
Click Test Inbox Deliverability at the top of the editor to check the message before any lead receives it.
The test gives a scan score first, then asks you to send a real test.
- Step 1 is an automatic scan. It checks the sender, the unsubscribe link and mailing address, the subject, the content, the links and the technical side of the email, and gives a score out of 100.
- Step 2 sends the message to your own personal inbox, up to three addresses. A free Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook address gives the most useful result. The final score comes from this test.
- Anything marked to review comes with a plain explanation of what to change.
You can send up to five test emails an hour. The score is guidance, not a guarantee: no test can promise the inbox.
Tasks
Tasks are created on the lead when the workflow is applied, so the follow-up lands on someone’s list without anyone having to remember it.
Tasks and Fields are the last two panels on the page.
- Click Add task to create one, the pencil to change one, and the bin to delete one.
- When a workflow has more than one task, drag a task by its handle to change the order.
The task window.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Task Name | What the task is called on the lead and in the Tasks section. It is required. |
| User | Who the task is for. Session User gives it to whoever is signed in and applies the workflow. When no one is signed in, such as when a web form applies it, the task follows the normal rules for assigning a user. |
| Task Type | Call, Email, Meeting or Other. |
| Description | Notes for the person doing the task. |
| Scheduled | When the task is due: on a set date and time, or a number of days and hours after the workflow is applied. |
| Reminder by | Send a reminder by email, by SMS text or both, and choose how long before the task it goes out. |
| Completing this Task will run the following | Choose a workflow to apply when the task is completed. This is how one workflow can lead into the next. |
| Enable Branching | Asks a yes-or-no question when the task is completed, and applies one workflow for Yes and another for No. |
Fields
The Fields panel lists the custom fields that go with this workflow. Beside each one is its kind, such as Text, Date or Select Options, and how many leads have something filled in for it.
Click a field to add it to the workflow.
- Click Add fields, find the field (there is a search box for long lists) and click it. It is added straight away. Click Done when you have finished.
- Click the bin beside a field to take it off this workflow. The field itself, and anything leads have filled in, is not deleted.
Deleting the workflow
Click Delete Workflow at the top of the page. A confirmation page opens; click Delete to remove the workflow or Cancel to keep it. If the workflow is still attached to a form or to a workflow trigger, it is not deleted and OpenLeads tells you why. Deleting a workflow cannot be undone.
Who can change what
- You need the Manage Workflows permission to open and change a workflow.
- You need the Manage Messages permission to add, edit or delete its messages.
- If your organization has locked autoresponders, the messages can be previewed here but not changed, and a notice in the Messages panel says so.
- The Message Builder and Test Inbox Deliverability buttons are shown only to accounts and users that have those features.
Common questions
Do I have to save the whole page?
No. Each panel saves on its own when you click Save in its window. Only the message editor has a Save button of its own, on the bar at the bottom.
How do I turn my messages into a drip campaign?
Give them different send times. As soon as two messages go out at different times, the Messages panel shows them as a drip campaign in the order they are sent.
A message is marked “Empty message”. Will it be sent?
It has no content yet. Open it and write it, load a library message into it, or delete it, before the workflow is used.
I changed the message in my library. Why did the workflow’s message not change?
Load from Library makes a separate copy. To bring the new version in, open the message on the workflow and use Load from Library again.
What does “next” mean beside a user?
The workflow assigns users by rotation, and that user will get the next lead it is applied to.
Will changing a workflow affect leads it was already applied to?
Changes are used from the next time the workflow is applied.
Help on the page
Click Help at the top right for a short guided tour that points at each panel in turn, or to open this guide. The first time you visit, a prompt at the bottom right of the page offers the same tour. When a message is open, the tour walks through the message editor instead.
For the list of all your workflows, including categories, copying a workflow and applying one to your leads, see Manage Workflows.