How can I change deal stages with the Workflows tool?

[#1]

I've seen in the workflow that I can create a Deal and assign it to a pipeline and a stage. Is there a way for me to add a step where the Deal Stage changes depending on where we are at in the workflow? 

For example - first email gets sent (client gets added to Deal Stage called First Email) - if they open and click, they will get moved automatically to the next deal stage trough the workflow. Is that possible? 

[#2]

Hi @RealtyButler, thanks for reaching out.

At this time, it is not possible to edit Deals via Workflows; they can only be created. 

This is because Workflows are inherently contacts-based. They enroll contacts, and perform actions on said contacts and their associated objects.

A deal can be created through a Workflow because it will be created in association with the contact who went through the Workflow. Deals cannot subsequently be edited, however; this is because one contact can have multiple deals associated to it, and vice versa. Therefore, there would be no way for the workflow to know which deal you want to apply your action to. 

There is a faily popular idea on our ideas forum requesting this feature, however: http://ideas.hubspot.com/forums/76407-general-hubspot-ideas/suggestions/7870932-use-deal-properties-.... I would definitely encourage you to upvote/comment on it with your use case, in order to encourage the Product team to explore potential alternatives in order to accomplish this goal.

Let me know if you have any questions on the above!

May

[#3]

@moonwebstrategy

Is it possible to have this feature available in the Test Hub as well?

'Today in beta is the ability to customize the information your team collects when deals move from stage to stage. As an added bonus, you can require certain properties to be completed in order for a deal to move to a specific stage.'

I created a new test hub to try out how we can use the CRM side better for our sales team. 

Found out earlier that there's no real sandbox yet, which is fine but I'd like to test how to use the new beta feature before doing any changes in the prod environment. 

[#4]

I have recently been using Active Campaign which provides full interaction between customer records deals in their automation product. Seems to work fine and have no issues with multiple deals/contacts. 

[#5]

Hmm. But you can use forms to automatically update contact records and one of those fields is the deal stage. So can't you have a hidden field DEAL stage prepopulated with the corresponding next stage (or previous stage if they're regressing), which will then overwrite the previous stage since it will have updated the client's contact details / deal stage?

So, for instance have a form at each stage ideally or as many as possible -- one that the client or salesperson fills out. If a stage is "signed non-disclosure agreement (NDA)" then the form redirects to the NDA or vice versa (hellosign, docusign, etc.)

Same with meetings. There should be a way built in to update contacts who make a meeting. A meeting should basically be a type of form. With a form you can automatically update contact details.

I'm about 20 hours into my research and was already able to automatically update contacts via a form. For me it will be a crucial part of how I utilize Hubspot. Be it the client, salesperson, or manager, simply submit client email to form and instantly update the deal stage.

Am I wrong here? Is that all you need to do is update the deal stage in the contact record and it will reflect in the pipeline? And if not, please make it so! :-) I've been essentially using my contacts as the pipeline so far. Like I said, brand new here.

[#6]

Hmm. But you can use forms to automatically update contact records and one of those fields is the deal stage. So can't you have a hidden field DEAL stage prepopulated with the corresponding stage, which will then overwrite the previous stage since it will have updated the client's contact details / deal stage?

So, for instance have a form at each stage ideally or as many as possible -- one that the client or salesperson fills out. If a stage is "signed non-disclosure agreement (NDA)" then the form redirects to the NDA or vice versa (hellosign, docusign, etc.)

Same with meetings. There should be a way built in to update contacts who make a meeting. A meeting should basically be a type of form. With a form you can automatically update contact details.

I'm about 20 hours into my research and was already able to automatically update contacts via a form. For me it will be a crucial part of how I utilize Hubspot. Be it the client, salesperson, or manager, simply submit client email to form and instantly update the deal stage.

Am I wrong here? Is that all you need to do is update the deal stage in the contact record and it will reflect in the pipeline? And if not, please make it so! :-) I've been essentially using my contacts as the pipeline so far. Like I said, brand new here.

[#7]

Is there any update on this? It is an extremly important function that we are after. Thanks RealtyButler for bringing it up. 

[#8]

We subscribed to the beta and they just came up with a function that allows you to control moving from a deal stage to another based on properties. 

'Today in beta is the ability to customize the information your team collects when deals move from stage to stage. As an added bonus, you can require certain properties to be completed in order for a deal to move to a specific stage.'

[#9]

Where did you find this "Beta test hub" idea? I'd love to have acces to it. 

[#10]

I got it through the below link. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, there's a link to 'Hubspot Developer account':

https://knowledge.hubspot.com/articles/kcs_article/integrations/how-do-i-get-my-hubspot-api-key

[#11]

You can apply to join the beta group from this link: https://ux.hubspot.com/beta 

[#12]

We would like the Close Date to be automatically updated when a Deal gets Funded (moves to the "funded" deal stage). However, we can't setup a workflow that will update a deal property. We do not want to update the company property "close date" because we can have mulitple deals going through one company.

This is an issue when the close date does not match the actual date a deal funds, therefore creating issues for monthly reporting.

[#13]

We too would like to move deals through the deal flow using a workflow.  Given this is just changing a database field, and Hubspot is great at doing this with pretty much all other fields, I am guessing there is some specific reason why HubSpot has decided to avoid this within the Product Management folks there? 

Please contact me if you would like to hear our use case.   

This is the only major feature block I have hit in HubSpot, and it is the type I have hit in other CRMs that have been very frustrating.  Very hopeful HubSpot can change this soon, although we need to run a launch without it now and will have to store data that should be in the deal flow in a contact property in a janky way as a result and will be difficult to unwind.  Humans moving deals through stages with mouse clicks should not be a requirement to use the deal flow tool and associated visualizations

[#14]

Hello all,

As I understand, this is still not available in Hubspot.

We have found a workaround using an automation tool that can trigger change of deal stage or even pipeline on a given deal stage.
I've tested it, and it works.

So this is very strange for me. They are using the API, but I don't see why this can't be possible directly inside Hubspot, and more specifically workflows.
I think this should really be added to the roadmap pretty fast.

And on a bigger picture, the possibility of updating / deleting (and not only creating) deals or tasks should be added to the workflows. This is a must have for any sales team.

Regards,

Nicolas

[#15]

Hey Nicolas,

Are you able to share the name of said 'automation tool'?

- Kyle

[#16]

Hi Kyle,

I used Automate.io for some other integrations and discovered that I could change deal stages / pipelines. Actually, you can update a Deal.

It's free for 250 automations / month and it's integrated with Hubspot. Very easy to use, so give it a try, although I see some hickups from time to time on the automation.

The team is also pretty reactive.
Cheers,
Nicolas

Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with Automate.io

[#17]

Because it is in the API, my understanding is that you can use other API tools like Zapier as well.

Perhaps I can just write a "Sales Manager App" in the hubspot developer platform...?

[#18]

This would make our life a **bleep** of a lot easier as well. 

99% of our customers don't pass through a sales rep but 1% come via outbound sales efforts. These are clearly high value targets.

The critical buyer actions are the same in both cases e.g. register for the platform, start KYC etc. Consequently I'd like to be able to update Deal Stages automatically based on Lifecycle Stage updates or other custom properties.

[#19]

And ... there's more ...

- see [Now Live] Deal-based and Ticket-based Workflows

[#20]

The link you provided states, "Similarly, you can build a workflow to advance a deal to the next stage automatically, or create tasks for your reps whenever deals enter certain stages." 

But that is it. Is this a thing?

[#21]

I can't find anything about this "Similarly, you can build a workflow to advance a deal to the next stage automatically" Does anybody have any updates on this?

This would help me a lot.

Thanks.

[#22 · Accepted solution]

You now have deal-based workflows, so you van change the value of the stage automatically given a certain trigger!

[#23 · Accepted solution]

You are right!, This function is under the Action "SET Property Value"--> Business-->"Deal Stage".

I din't find it before because I didn't think of "Deal Stage" as a Property so I wasn't looking for It.

Thanks

[#24]

Nice one, that was the solution.

This function is under the Action "SET Property Value"--> Business-->"Deal Stage"