Relationship activities

Relationship activities are tasks and touchpoints tied to an opportunity. An activity has a subject, type, status, optional owner and due date, and optional completion date and outcome. Sales can record a call, meeting, email or task. A manager can then look at a deal’s current next step beside the work already logged against it. The activity history gives context for a decision even when a customer changes contacts or the expected close date moves.

The qualification workflow logs a qualification activity. Proposal submission logs email activity. Those workflow entries should remain recognizable among manually entered calls and tasks, because they explain why the opportunity moved to Qualified or Proposal. An activity marked Completed shows that a touchpoint was recorded; the outcome text explains what came of it. Cancelled is useful when a planned task no longer applies and should not appear as completed work.

• One parent deal. Every activity points to an opportunity, so the team can read the conversation in the same context as its expected value and stage.
• Due work. Owner and due date let representatives sort work that needs attention before the next customer conversation.
• Recorded result. Completion date, status and outcome distinguish a finished conversation from a task that was merely scheduled.

Decide when a touchpoint should be an activity and how specific the subject should be. Assign owners to activities that need a particular person to act. Agree when to mark a task Completed and what an outcome must say for another teammate to understand the result. During import, keep the parent opportunity link; an unattached note cannot carry the same sales context. Review overdue work with the owner, and let the owner correct dates and outcomes when a customer reschedules.

A buyer asks for a revised assortment discussion next week. The Sales Representative records a meeting with a due date and links it to the active opportunity. After the conversation, the representative records what the buyer requested, marks the activity Completed and updates the opportunity’s next step. If the proposal is then submitted, the workflow adds its own email activity and receipt. The manager can separate the meeting from the proposal action and see the order in which they happened.

Rehearse a cancelled meeting as well. The representative marks the activity Cancelled, enters the reason in the outcome if useful, and creates a new activity for the replacement date. The overdue list should direct attention to genuinely open work. A completed activity should not be mistaken for a won deal; the opportunity outcome has its own close action and receipt.

• Due Relationship Activities — Owners see dated touchpoints that need attention.
• Open Relationship Activities — The manager reviews work still open against the associated opportunities.

The qualification process and proposal process show the activities written by stage actions.