We have a pipeline that uses automation to clone an opportunity into two successor pipelines when the original opportunity is moved to won. We would like to remind the user to Verify/Update key data fields before marking an opportunity as “Won”, so the data automatically flows through and we don’t have to manually update the data on the cloned opps in the two successor pipelines. What is the best way to accomplish this?
Best answer by Michelle from Copper
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+7
Hi
My recommendation has two parts:
For #1, you’ll just need to edit your existing workflow automation to include those key fields. Here’s an example where I’m telling the automation rule: only proceed if both the Final Budget and the Project Address are not blank (i.e. not equals NULL).
By adding this to the Trigger, you’re preventing those clones from getting created if that information is missing. And our sister automation rule will create a Task to remind the Owner to fill everything in.
For #2, here’s an example where, if an Opportunity is Won in the New Sales Pipeline, and either the Final Budget OR the Project Address is blank, a Task is created.
For Action 1, we’re creating a Task called “Fill out key fields for [insert Opp name here].” It will be assigned to whoever owns the Opp, and we’re making it due for today.
Action 2 simply re-opens the Opportunity. This optional based on how your team works, but it might be helpful to prevent them from losing sight of the Opp they marked as Won.
Let me know if that helps!
Thank you. This is helpful, but I need to think about the logic a bit, as there are legitimate cases where some key fields might remain blank. So, the status of the job still moves to “WON” and it would disappear from the pipeline view, but the task would trigger the user to fill in the necessary data? Is there a way to keep the “WON” opportunities that failed the cloning criteria visible in the original pipeline?
+7
This is helpful, but I need to think about the logic a bit, as there are legitimate cases where some key fields might remain blank.
Ah, I see. In that case, you may also want to think about how your team indicates when a field should be blank. For example, if one of those fields is a dropdown, you might consider adding an option for “Not currently applicable.” This would allow you (and the workflow automation) to differentiate between oops I forgot to fill that out versus we don’t need that right now to move forward with this job.
So, the status of the job still moves to “WON” and it would disappear from the pipeline view, but the task would trigger the user to fill in the necessary data? Is there a way to keep the “WON” opportunities that failed the cloning criteria visible in the original pipeline?
It sounds like you’re filtering your Pipeline to show only Open jobs/Opportunities? In that case, you can have the workflow automation flip that “Won” job back to “Open” so that it remains visible in your Pipeline. In the example below, the automation is creating a Task for the user (Action 1) AND changing the job back to the status of “Open” (Action 2).
Alternatively, you can edit the filters on your view to include “Won” jobs. It does sound like it might be easier for your team to keep the job “Open” until all the relevant data is filled out though.
By the way, I’m happy to discuss this live if you join one of my Thursday office hours sessions. We can also continue working through this in the forum, whatever you prefer :)
HI Michelle,
I am working on creating the automations as you suggest, but I am not able to include testing the null value for custom dropdown or multi-select fields. We have several of those that are important but one in particular (cf_services_scope) determines which pipelines we will clone the opportunity to. When I put one of those fields into the trigger conditions, I am only allowed to select Equals or Contains and I am only able to select Standard, not Use Formula. Here is a screenshot.
I’d appreciate your help.
Thanks,
Cathy
+7
Hi
Communication Preference is a dropdown, as is the most important field (not shown) Services Scope. Each currently has 3 possible values. Project Scope is a Multi-Select with many possible values (currently 12). For each field, we only need to know whether any value has been selected yet.
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