Salesforce is a powerful cloud-based platform that offers a wide range of tools and features to help businesses streamline their sales and marketing processes. One of the newest and most exciting features of Salesforce is the Scheduled Flow, which allows users to automate business processes by scheduling a flow to run at a specified time or on a regular schedule. In this blog, we will explain what a Scheduled Flow is, how to set it up, three scenarios where Scheduled Flow can be useful, and how to implement them using Scheduled Flow.
What is Scheduled Flow?
Scheduled Flow is a feature in Salesforce that allows users to automate business processes by scheduling a flow to run at a specific time or on a regular schedule. A flow is a series of steps that automate a business process, such as creating a record or updating a field. Scheduled flows can be used to automate repetitive tasks, such as sending reminder emails or updating records on a regular basis.
How to set up a Scheduled Flow?
To set up a Scheduled Flow in Salesforce, follow these steps:
- Create a flow in Salesforce that performs the desired actions.
- In the Flow Builder, add a "Schedule" element to the flow and specify the desired schedule.
- Save the flow and activate it.
Once the Scheduled Flow is set up, it will run at the specified time or on a regular schedule, automatically performing the specified actions.
Sample scenarios of Scheduled flow
- Lead Follow-Up: In a sales organization, following up with leads is critical to closing deals. With Scheduled Flow, a flow can be created that sends follow-up emails to leads at regular intervals, reminding them of the products or services offered by the organization.
- Renewal Reminders: In a subscription-based business, keeping track of when subscriptions expire can be time-consuming. With Scheduled Flow, a flow can be created that sends renewal reminders to customers a few weeks before their subscription expires, reducing the likelihood of losing customers due to expired subscriptions.
- Territory Management: In a large sales organization with multiple territories, managing territories and ensuring that each sales rep has an equal workload can be challenging. With Scheduled Flow, a flow can be created that automatically reassigns accounts to sales reps on a regular basis, ensuring that each sales rep has an equal workload.
Implementing Scenarios using Scheduled Flow
1. Lead Follow-Up: To implement lead follow-up using Scheduled Flow, create a flow that sends a follow-up email to leads. Add a "Schedule" element to the flow, specifying the frequency of the email (e.g., every two weeks). Once the flow is activated, it will automatically send follow-up emails to leads at the specified intervals.
To create a flow for lead follow-up using Scheduled Flow, you can follow these steps:
- Navigate to the Flow Builder in Salesforce and create a new flow.
- Add a "Get Records" element to retrieve the Lead records that need to be followed up with.
- Add a "Filter" element to the flow, and filter the Lead based on the condition you have decided.
- Add a “Loop” Element to iterate over each records which have fulfilled the above condition
- Add a “Decision” Element to check when you want to send email to follow-up Lead.
- Add an Action to Send Email to Lead For Follow-up
- Check whether the Lead has responded to the previous follow-up email. If yes, then the flow can be stopped. If not, then another follow-up email can be sent.
- Save and activate the flow.
Once the Scheduled Flow is activated, it will automatically send follow-up emails to the leads at the specified intervals. Here's a screenshot of a sample flow
2. Renewal Reminders: To implement renewal reminders using Scheduled Flow, create a flow that sends renewal reminders to customers. Add a "Schedule" element to the flow, specifying the interval at which the reminders should be sent (e.g., two weeks before the subscription expires). Once the flow is activated, it will automatically send renewal reminders to customers at the specified intervals.
Here's a general outline of how you can create a Scheduled Flow in Salesforce to send renewal reminders to customers before their subscription expires:
- Navigate to the Flow Builder in Salesforce and create a new flow
- Add a "Get Records" element to retrieve the Lead records that need to be sent a renewal reminder.
- Add a "Filter" element to the flow, and filter the Lead based on the condition you have decided
- Add a “Loop” Element to iterate over each records who have fulfilled the above condition
- Add a “Decision” Element to check when you want to send Reminder email..
- Add an Action to Send Email to Lead For Renewal Reminder
- Check whether the Lead has responded to the previous renewal reminder email. If yes, then the flow can be stopped. If not, then another renewal reminder email can be sent.
- Save and activate the flow.
Once the Scheduled Flow is activated and the scheduled job is set up, it will automatically send renewal reminders to customers at the specified intervals, reducing the likelihood of losing customers due to expired subscriptions.
Here's a screenshot of a sample flow that you can use as a reference for creating your own Renewal Reminder flow in Salesforce:
3. Territory Management: To implement territory management using Scheduled Flow, create a flow that reassigns accounts to sales reps. Add a "Schedule" element to the flow, specifying the frequency at which the accounts should be reassigned (e.g., every month). Once the flow is activated, it will automatically reassign accounts to sales reps on a regular basis, ensuring that each sales rep has an equal workload.
- Navigate to the Flow Builder in Salesforce and create a new flow.
- Add a "Get Records" element to the flow, and select the accounts object.
- Add a "Filter" element to the flow, and filter the accounts based on the territory they belong to.
- Add a “Decision” Element to decide when you want to assigned the Account records to Sales reps
- Add a "Update Records" element , which will update a sales rep to be assigned to the account.
- Save and activate the flow.
- Set up a schedule for the flow to run at regular intervals, such as once a week.
This Scheduled Flow will automatically reassign accounts to sales reps on a regular basis, ensuring that each sales rep has an equal workload. By using this flow, you can reduce the time and effort required for territory management and ensure that your sales team is working efficiently.
Here is a screenshot for the same:
Conclusion
In conclusion, Scheduled Flow in Salesforce is a powerful tool that allows you to automate business processes and streamline repetitive tasks. By creating flows that are scheduled to run at specific intervals, you can ensure that important actions are taken on time, such as sending renewal reminders, following up with leads, and updating records.
With Scheduled Flow, you can save time and improve the efficiency of your business operations, freeing up your team to focus on higher-level tasks that require human expertise. Whether you're a Salesforce administrator or a business user, Scheduled Flow can help you automate your workflows and stay on top of important tasks.
By setting up Scheduled Flow in Salesforce, you can ensure that your business processes run smoothly and that you're able to deliver the best possible experience to your customers. So don't hesitate to try out this powerful tool and see how it can help you take your business to the next level.