Open Leads is more than just an inbox or database or contact list. Elements such as Workflow, which is configured by your Account Administrator, can automate much of the sales process. User features, such as Filters and Views, when configured properly can allow you to search, find, and segment any leads assigned to you your account.
Workflow
Workflows in Open Leads function simply as way to group the application of actions to a lead, then have them automatically applied. This includes assignment of Users, and Types, for example, Sales Pipeline/Status Updates, and/or also the assignment of tasks and the scheduling of emails. Administrators and users with permissions to create and manage Workflows have the ability to create as many as needed for their purposes, each of which can be applied manually by users, or automatically via the submission of a form or completion of a task.
This last option involves some thought on the part of the person doing the account setup. This advanced use of Workflows allows a Workflow to be applied to a lead upon completion of a Task. For example, you could have a “Sales Process” Workflow and a “Completed Sale” Workflow. The Sales Process carries the lead from prospect to closed sale. The last Task on scheduled by the Sales Process Workflow is “Get Signed Contract” – Using this function, you could then trigger the “Completed Sale” Workflow with the completion of the that task. The Completed Sale Workflow could change the Type from “Prospect” to “Customer” for example, it could also assign an additional user – such as your Accounts Receivable Clerk – or update the Sales Pipeline Status to “Closed Won.” Ultimately, there are as many combinations as you care to envision with this. It just takes some strategic planning to properly execute.
Filters/Views
Views are saved sets of filters on the Lead List screen. Users can create as many Views as needed to display specific data within their account. Each view is unique to its creating user, however Administrators have the ability to create views in their account and then copy them to their users.
To create a View, the first step is to add one or more filters or filter groups. Click the “Add Filter” link on the Lead List, then from the dropdowns provided, choose one or more fields to filter and the parameters associated with how you want to filter it. For example, from the first dropdown, choose “Date Added” and then from the second dropdown, choose “is in this month” to see all Leads added this month.
Once you have applied filters which displays the data you wish to see, you can elect to save this combination as a View. Any saved Views will appear in your Current View Dropdown menu and can be quickly accessed. To save your View, just click the “Save this View” link to the right of your Current View dropdown, then give the View a Name. Any subsequent changes to this View (such as changing your customizable columns will be automatically saved.
Mass Email
Administrators and Users with Mass email permission may send email messages to your entire Lead database or segments thereof.
The first step is to use a saved View, or create your Mailing List using filters. This allows you to select the Leads which will receive your mailing based on any criteria you wish.
Once your list is selected, go to the “Apply to” dropdown menu (just above the Types column on your Lead List) and choose “Send Mass Email.” Your email composition screen will then appear, giving you the option of composing a new message, or loading one form your Message library. Mass emails, like single emails, can use Tokens in the body of the message to merge lead data. This is useful for personalizing the greeting of your message.
User Permissions
Account Administrators have the ability to provide any level of access to any of their users, from Basic Access – or what we call “Salesperson Access” to full Administrative privileges. When new users are added, they default permission is “Salesperson Access” which basically means they can only view and edit Leads which are assigned to them, and can only see their tasks. They may not delete, archive, export leads, or in any way adjust the account settings.
Account Administrators can add or remove permissions as needed by clicking on the user name from the User List on the Settings Tab, and checking or unchecking any of the available permissions.
Archive
The Archive is accessible only by account administrators, and is where archived and deleted Leads are stored. Archived Leads are stored indefinitely, and deleted leads are stored here for 30 days prior to being purged permanently from your database. Administrators can restore any Lead, whether archived or deleted to active status at any time, either individually or as a batch.
Filters work the same in the Archive as they do in the Lead List, so applying filters can easily find a batch of inactive Leads that have been archived, so that they could be restored, en masse, in order to be worked again. An example would be archiving your “No Sales” then the following year, reactivating them for a mass email campaign.