ActiveDEMAND's Task System

May 04, 2022 18:22

The ActiveDEMAND Task System

The ActiveDEMAND Task system allows users to create, manage, assign, and execute tasks to help them better manage their engagement.

Task Administration

The ActiveDEMAND administrator can set up the Task system that is appropriate for your sales processes. The Tasks in ActiveDEMAND have three main components:

Task Status
Task Type
Task Outcome

All three of these components can be customized in the Administration->Account Settings [Tasks Tab]

One of the benefits of using ActiveDEMAND Tasks is that the Task object gives you everything you need to complete the task. All Tasks have the following attributes

Assigned users
Name
Associated campaign
Details
Task type
Task status
Due date
Subtasks
Collaboration discussion (comments)
Associated prospect
Associated company
Task files
Task status audit log

Task Types

There are 4 default task types

You can edit the default task types but you cannot remove the default task types. The Task types can be re-ordered by dragging the rows. You add as many custom Task Types as you wish.

A Task Type has the following Attributes

Task Type Name
Task Type Icon
Does this task type, when completed, require an outcome to be set (Outcomes are described below)

An Email Task has an extra field: Subject.

An Appointment Task type also has an extra field: Location

Task Status

A Task starts off in an 'Open' Status, then progresses to a 'Done/Completed' status once the task is completed. The status of the Task allows you to define a workflow for Task management. You can have as many Task 'Open' statuses as you wish. There can only be one 'Done/Completed' status. There must be at least one 'Open' status and one 'Done/Complete' status. You can re-order the task statuses using drag and drop. The 'done/complete' status will always be the last status on the list.

Task Outcome

When a Task is completed, you can have the option of assigning an outcome for a task. You can have as many Task Outcomes as you wish, or none at all. All Tasks Types that have been configured to have an Outcome, share the set of defined Outcomes. If a Task Type is configured to have an Outcome, the user must assign an Outcome when completing any Tasks of that type.

Viewing/Creating/Editing Tasks

The primary interface for task management is through a Task Kanban board. There are several paces that the Task boards show up:

Dashboard widget
Sidebar
Contact edit screen
Deal edit screen (full edit and quick edit via the Deal Kanban)
Organization kanban card
Campaign tasks tab

The Dashboard Task Kanban

Task type filters
hide/show completed tasks
Filter tasks based on segment
Card view/List view toggle
Card properties
Due date filter
Create task
Task type icon
Task Contact/Organization
Task Organization
Due date
Outcome

Tasks can be moved between Status Lists by dragging and dropping the Task Card

For all Tasks that have an Open Status, the Tasks are ordered by the due date. The Tasks that have the oldest due date are at the top, the task's latest due date below, and finally, those tasks with no due date are at the bottom. Task cards are colored by the due date:

Completed/Closed Tasks

All Tasks that are in the 'Done/Completed' Status are listed in the rightmost list. The completed Tasks are ordered by completed date (most recent on the top)

Task Editing

Task owner(s)
Task type
Task status
Due date
Task name
Sub task list
Task discussion
Task files
Task status change history
Associated prospect contact
Associated prospect company
Associated campaign
Associated deal
Task details

The message/details field can use Dynamic Fields (merge fields). Thus when you are automating Tasks, you can abstract the dynamic elements out of the Task.

Using Automation to create tasks

The real power of the ActiveDEMAND task system is in automation capabilities. There are two systems for task automation within the platform.

Task automation with workflows
Task automation within calendar campaigns

Calendar Campaigns

You can schedule tasks automatically within calendar campaigns. This is very useful for keeping a list of items that need to be done for any specific campaign type. Drag the task object onto the calendar, assign the task, and on the date specified on the calendar, the task will be created and assigned.

Workflow Action

This is used to create/update tasks based on a sales cadence. Some use cases are

Schedule a follow-up email to be customized by the sales rep at a specific time
Schedule a call with a prospect 3 weeks after they purchased
Schedule a LinkedIn outreach, then schedule a call

Completing Tasks

You can complete a task in several ways

On the task dashboard widget, you can drag a task to the completed column
On the task hover menu, click the checkbox icon
While editing a task, you can set the task status to completed
Using the task workflow action, you can complete a task
Making a call will always complete a task. If the call is being made from within a call task, it completes that task. If you call anywhere else, a completed task will be created, associated with the prospect being called.

Interacting with Tasks

You can create/update tasks in several ways:

Using workflow automation
Direct engagement in ActiveDEMAND
- On the Task dashboard kanban widgets
- On the task sidebar
- Scheduled Tab on an individual contact screen
- Organization kanban card
- Deal kanban card
- Deal full edit page
- Campaign Tasks tab

Using Workflow automation to create/update tasks

The aforementioned workflow action

can be used to create/update tasks

Task Kanban Dashboard widget

Tasks Listed: Filters are applied to the widget

You can add the tasks kanban to any tab on your dashboard. The tasks viewed here are filtered by contact segment etc.

Tasks on the Side Bar:

Task listed: The logged-in user's Tasks

Contact Edit Page

Tasks listed: All tasks associated with the contact

Deal Edit Tasks

Tasks listed: All open Tasks associated with contacts connected to the deal

Organization Kanban Quick Edit

Tasks listed: All open Tasks associated with the Organization