The automated Sequences you’ve composed in smackdab CRM are powerful tools for efficiency, but like any well-tuned instrument, they may occasionally need adjustments or even retirement. As your strategies evolve, smackdab ensures you have the complete flexibility to modify your Sequences, ensuring they always perform optimally within your broader automations, or to gracefully remove them when they've served their purpose.
This guide will walk you through the process of editing your existing Sequences to keep them perfectly in sync with your business needs, and how to delete them safely when required.
Editing Your Sequences: Keeping Processes in Tune
Whether you need to update an email in a nurturing series, change a delay, add a new step, or simply rename a Sequence for clarity, smackdab makes the editing process intuitive.
1. Locating Your Sequence for an Update
First, let's find the Sequence you want to refine:
Navigate to Sequences: From Smackdab's main menu, go to the Automation module and then select Sequence.
View Sequence Listing: A list of all the Sequences you’ve created will be displayed.
Quick Search: Utilize the search bar at the top of the list to swiftly find a specific Sequence by its name.
2. Accessing the Edit Mode
Once you've found your target:
Simply click the Sequence name of the Sequence you wish to edit.
You’ll be redirected to the Edit Sequence screen, where you can make your desired changes using the familiar Workflow Designer.
3. Modifying Core Sequence Details
On the Edit Sequence screen, you can easily update fundamental information:
Sequence Name: You can update the name of your Sequence at any time. Choose a name that clearly reflects its purpose or any recent changes to its content, ensuring it's easily identifiable when used in Automations.
4. Sculpting the Flow in the Workflow Designer
The Workflow Designer remains your visual canvas for modifying the steps within your Sequence. This powerful tool allows you to:
Adjust delays: Lengthen or shorten pauses between actions.
Update existing actions: Change the configuration of current steps.
Add or remove steps: Introduce new actions or delete those no longer needed to align with your updated strategy.
Navigate your Sequence layout effectively using Zoom In/Out controls.
Get a complete overview of the entire Sequence using the Fit to Screen option.
5. Fine-Tuning Sequence Actions
Actions are the heart of your Sequence, defining the tasks executed. When editing, you can modify these actions to ensure your Sequence remains effective:
Key Principles for Editing Actions:
You can edit the configuration of an existing action (e.g., update the message content in a Broadcast action or change the details of an email).
However, you cannot change an action’s fundamental type once it has been added. For instance, a "Celebration" action cannot be converted into an "HTTP Request" action or any other type. If a different type of action is needed, you would delete the existing one and add a new one.
You can remove existing actions from the Sequence at any time.
You can add new actions of any available type to extend or modify the Sequence logic as your business needs evolve.
Editable Action Types and Their Options:
Platform Entities: Update configurations for creating CRM entities (Companies, Contacts, Deals, Custom Entities). You can modify the default values for required fields that will be used when the Sequence creates new entities and adjust any dynamic field mappings.
Emails: Edit email content, subject lines, recipients (if dynamically set), and any dynamic placeholders used.
Sales: Update actions related to invoices, such as modifying invoice details, products listed, discounts, recipients, or linked data.
Celebration: Change the type of visual celebration displayed on the user interface.
Entity Record Filter: Update the filtering criteria for entity records and modify the loop actions that are applied to these filtered records.
Broadcast: Edit the content of inline or pop-up messages and update the targeted user groups for displaying the broadcast.
Make HTTP Request: Adjust HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD), update endpoint URLs, headers, or payload configurations.
Marketing List: Modify settings to create or update lists, and change the criteria for adding entities to the list.
Double Opt-In: Update the confirmation email sent to contacts or companies for marketing campaign consent, if this action is part of your sequence.
Delay: Edit the pause duration before the next action executes or adjust timing configurations, such as setting a specific time versus a relative delay.
Remember, these actions will continue to execute sequentially in the order you've defined within the Workflow Designer.
6. Leveraging Management Features During Editing
While editing a Sequence, you still have access to crucial management and monitoring tools:
Enable / Disable Sequence: You can toggle the Sequence's active status as needed. Disabled Sequences will not be executed within any Automations until they are re-enabled.
Execution History: Review detailed logs of all runs for this Sequence. This includes timestamps, step-by-step progress, completion status (success/failure), and any failure reasons, which is invaluable for troubleshooting and optimizing your workflow.
Revision Logs: Track all updates and changes made to the Sequence over time. Each modification is recorded with a timestamp, supporting clear audit trails and version control.
7. Adjusting Sequence Settings
Within the Settings section of a Sequence (accessible during editing), you can modify its operational behavior:
Limit Setting: Adjust execution limits to control how often the Sequence can run. You can set or modify these limits by day, week, or month (e.g., "Limit this sequence to run no more than 10 times per day for a specific record").
Deleting a Sequence: Retiring Unneeded Rhythms
There comes a time when a Sequence may no longer be necessary. Deleting a Sequence is a straightforward process, but it's important to remember that this action is permanent.
Steps to Permanently Delete a Sequence:
Navigate to Sequences: From the main menu, go to the Automation module and select Sequence.
View Sequence Listing: All your created Sequences will be displayed.
Find Your Sequence: Use the search bar if necessary to quickly locate the Sequence you intend to delete.
Initiate Deletion:
Locate the Sequence in the list.
Click the “⋮” (More Options) icon found under the "Actions" column next to that Sequence.
Select the Delete option from the dropdown menu.
Confirm Deletion:
A confirmation pop-up will appear. This vital step is to ensure you do not accidentally delete an important Sequence that might still be in use or valuable.
Carefully review the confirmation message before proceeding.
Permanent Removal: After you confirm, the Sequence will be permanently deleted from the system. This action cannot be undone, and the Sequence cannot be recovered. Ensure any Automations using this Sequence are updated or no longer require it before deletion.
By regularly reviewing, editing, and (when necessary) deleting your Sequences, you ensure that your automated processes in smackdab CRM remain lean, effective, and perfectly aligned with your evolving business objectives.