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Summary workflows: Always stay in the loop
Summary workflows: Always stay in the loop

Learn how to use Summary workflows to track changes in multiple records within Salesforce

Sangita Abraham avatar
Written by Sangita Abraham
Updated over a week ago

Summary workflows group records with a common change in Salesforce and send them in one Slack alert for easier handling.
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The image below depicts an alert set up to track any changes in Stage, across accounts.

Use cases:

Staying in the loop on frequently changing fields. For example, configure the alert to fire:

  • In preparation for the weekly forecast call, Sales leaders receive a concise list of Opportunities where specific values have changed. This enables them to save time during the call, shifting the focus from 'what' changes occurred to a more insightful exploration of the 'why' behind these alterations in the past week.

  • With all Opportunities from last week where the status was marked as Closed Won/Closed Lost.

  • Any change in Amount, Close Date, Next Steps, and Forecast Category across all Opportunities.

Pre-requisites:

You'll need an active Rattle account on any payment plan, and integrations set up for:

  1. A CRM tool (currently exclusive to Salesforce)

  2. A Messaging platform (currently exclusive to Slack)

Setting up a Summary workflow:

1. Create a new General workflow

Navigate to Workflows>General and click Create Workflow on your Rattle app. Then:

  • Give your workflow a name that explains its purpose (eg: Track change in stage for Net ARR >10k).

  • Then select the principal object to which you will link to your conditions.

  • You'll find the Summary workflow listed under Type of alert.
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2. Conditions - Filter records

In this step, set conditions to specify which records you want to track. The example below will select Deals with a Net New ARR value of over 50,000 USD.

3. Conditions - Track changes

Now, onto the crucial part: After narrowing down the list of records, set conditions to specify the types of changes you want to receive notifications for.

There are four types of searches (lookups) you can use here:

  • Changed to

  • Changed from

  • Changed

  • Not changed

Note: Think of this as a Venn diagram, Rattle will identify records that meet the filter AND the tracking conditions. Therefore, you cannot use the same fields in both configurations.

In the example below, we've configured conditions to alert us specifically when a Deal is marked as Closed-Won or when the Next Steps for a Deal are modified. Alerts are triggered only for Deals with a Net New ARR exceeding 50,000 USD.

History tracking will be enabled for fields specified in these conditions.
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Just so you know, Salesforce's API permits history tracking for a maximum of 20 fields per object.

You will be prompted to confirm enabling history tracking for your selected fields (unless already activated) when you save the workflow. The alert will not fire without history tracking enabled.

4. Change duration

Set the duration for which you'd like to receive updates.

  • Weekly: This will track changes from the last 7 days. If you configure the alert to be sent every Wednesday, you'll receive an update with changes made from last Wednesday to the following Wednesday.

  • Monthly: This tracks changes over the past 30 days. For instance, if you choose the 25th of the month, it captures changes from the 25th of the previous month to the 25th of the current month.

Since history tracking is enabled for these fields, configuring the alert to trigger for just the next date will still capture previous values, providing an accurate change log.

5. Message fields

Next, set an Opening message for the alert, and upto four Message Fields to be listed along with your change log. In the case of an Opportunity object, the Opportunity Name appears on the alert by default, so you don't have to select it here again.

Pro Tip: If you choose Message fields identical to your filter conditions, your Rattle Alert will show both the previous and newly modified values.

6. Message Recipients

Lastly, set up when and to whom you want the alert sent. In the example below, we've chosen a weekly update to be delivered at 3 pm every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Delivery options:

  • DM or Channel - Sends an alert to the individuals listed or a single alert to a Slack channel

  • Group DM - Creates a group from the selection and sends an alert

Pro tip:

Send Sample - Test the alert configuration by sending a sample to yourself. It will show your chosen fields from the last ten recently edited Opportunity objects, excluding previous data.

That's it! You're ready to create Summary workflows and stay on top of all activity within your Salesforce.


See also:

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