Overview of Workflow Automation

What this covers

You already know what should happen when somebody new comes in. A welcome email today, a call to make in three days, a follow-up the week after. A workflow is you writing that down once, so it happens whether or not you remember it.

This guide covers what a workflow is made of, the one setting that decides how it starts, and where the results turn up.

The Workflow List

Workflow Management → Workflow Automation → Workflow List shows every automation you have built. The Show dropdown narrows it to one CRM Type — Clients, Prospects, Leads or Contacts — which is the quickest way to answer “what is running on my Clients right now?”

Some workflows carry a padlock instead of a delete button. Those are built in and cannot be removed, only edited and switched off.

Workflow Type: the setting that matters most

Every workflow is one of two things, and the Workflow Type column tells you which:

• All Database Records — runs on its own, for everybody who matches your filters. You set it up and step away.
• Database Specific — does nothing until you put it on a record yourself, from the Workflow tab. Use this when the sequence should start when you say so, not when somebody happens to match a filter.

Getting this wrong is the usual reason a workflow “does not work”. A Database Specific workflow with nobody attached to it will sit there indefinitely, looking active.

The Activity column is your proof

Activity counts what has actually fired, broken down by action:

(0) - Send Email
(1) - Add Task
(0) - Chg DB Filter
(0) - Make Inactive/Active
(0) - Email User/Other
(0) - SMS Text

A 1 beside Add Task means a task really was created on somebody’s record. All zeros means nothing has run yet — which is normal on the day you build it, and worth investigating a week later.

The six actions

A workflow is a numbered sequence, and every step is one of these:

• Send Email Template — a template from your shared library
• Send SMS/Text Template — a short message to their phone
• Add Task — puts something on your own To Do list
• Change Database Filters — moves them from one Client Type, Rating or Lead Type to another
• Make Active/Inactive — switches the record itself
• Email User/Other — emails you, or any address you name, rather than the client

Only the first two reach the client. The other four are the workflow organising your database, and your day, in the background.

Where it shows up

Open anybody, and the Workflow tab holds their Workflow History: which workflows they are on, and exactly where each one has reached.

A green tick marks what has already happened, with the date and time. Underneath it sits what is still coming, with the wait spelled out — for example “1 Add Task (Pending: 1 Day and 0 Minutes from Workflow Created Date)”.

This is the screen to open when somebody asks what has been sent to a client, or when you want to know why a task appeared.

Tips and best practices

Name it for the situation, not the mechanism. “New Client Welcome Process” tells you what it is a year from now. “Workflow 2” does not.

Build it switched off. Add every step first, check the order, then set it Active. A half-built active workflow starts sending.

Start with tasks, not emails. A workflow that only creates tasks for you cannot embarrass you in front of a client, so it is the safe way to learn the timing.

Check Activity after a week. It is the only honest answer to whether the thing is running.

Your filters are only as good as your coding. A workflow aimed at a Client Type reaches nobody if the records were never given one. See Overview of Database Management.

Video transcript

Show transcript

You already know what should happen when somebody new comes in. A workflow is you writing that down once. This is your Workflow List. Every automation you have built, and whether it is running. Workflow Type is the important one. All Database Records runs on everybody who matches your filters. Database Specific waits until you put it on a record yourself.

Activity is your proof it is working. It counts every action that has actually fired. A one beside Add Task means a Task really was created. Zeros mean nothing has run yet.

Show narrows the list to one CRM type. Clients here, and only the Client workflows are left.

Add New Workflow Automation. Give it a name. A start date. An end date if you want one. Leave it Active. Database Type Filters is where you say who it applies to.

Then the sequence. Every step is one action, and there are six to choose from. Send an email template. Send a text. Add a Task. Change a database filter. Make a record active or inactive. Or email yourself.

And this is where it shows up. Open anybody, go to the Workflow tab, and there is the Workflow History. A green tick for what has already happened. And underneath, what is still coming, with the exact wait.

You build it once. It runs every day after that, whether you are thinking about it or not.

Related guides

• Build Your First Workflow — the form, step by step, and the numbering rule that trips people up
• Workflow Email Templates — why the template dropdown is empty, and how to fill it
• Overview of Tasks and Follow-Ups — where an Add Task action lands
• Email Templates — the shared library a workflow sends from

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