Workflow Triggered by Date that has Passed?

[amandabrunish]

Hi All - 

I was wondering if it is possible to trigger a workflow based on a date that has passed?  My specific example is with deals.  We would like to send out emails after a projected close date has passed.  Maybe it's right in front of my face, but I am not seeing this option.

Thank you! 

[Tnichs]

Hi,  yes, that's possible, 

In workflows, you could do the enrollment trigger to be the contact date is after X date

[MFrankJohnson · Accepted solution]

Q: Workflow Triggered by [Deal Close] Date that has Passed? 

Short A: Yes, but ...

Longer A:

Thought we were looking for open Deals with a close date in the PAST (see image)

Think you may also need the 'Closed won reason' is unknown AND the 'Closed lost reason' is unknown criteria. That way, we don't pick up deals that are already closed.

[amandabrunish]

Thank you, both.  I believe you both answered my question is different ways.  I was HOPING for a workflow that would run automatically.  I.E.  as soon as the date passes, the workflow kicks on to distribute the email.

So, close date is 4/23, that date passes, the email goes out.  Close date 5/23 passes, the email goes out.

It looks like I would have to do the workflow more manually... i.e.:  5/1, I create the workflow to pick up close dates that past in April, etc.

[MFrankJohnson · Accepted solution]

Q: "It looks like I would have to do the workflow more manually..."

Short A: Sorta @amandabrunish 

I worked on this partially automated solution (for geeks like us) the other day, but thought it may have been more than you were looking for. Seems now like it may be just the ticket.

Longer A: 

Since HubSpot is a 'contact-centric' CRM, this solution is based on the CONTACT associated with a deal and not the deal itself. (no way around that)

Scenario:
We want to email the HubSpot Owner of the CONTACT assocated with a deal if the Deal Close Date passes and the Deal is still open -- i.e., 'Closed won reason' = unknown AND 'Closed lost reason' = unknown.

In order for this to work in HubSpot there needs to be a marriage between your business process workflow and your HubSpot workflow -- i.e., ALL DEALS MUST HAVE >=1 CONTACT ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEAL. (see image)

- Next -

We'll use the following smart list criteria to identify CONTACTS of deals that qualify. (see image)
Note: And you'll need to update the smart list date manually and as frequently as is appropriate for your use case -- maybe once a week or so.

- Next -
We'll use the following workflow criteria to trigger email sends to the HubSpot Owners of the CONTACTS (again, not the deal owners). (see image)

- Next -
We'll use an intentionally generic pre-made internal email saying something like,

"Your contact {{contact.firstname}} {{contact.lastname}} is associated with a deal whose close date has recently passed."

This will properly incentivise the recipient to dig deeper, but still give them the contact info needed to follow-up quickly.

- Lastly - (and this is the clunky part)
We'll need to manually change the date in our original smart list as time passes.

Example:
Today is 19-Apr and we want to notify every HubSpot Owner about all contacts associated with deals still open but with Close Dates BEFORE today. Problem is, HubSpot doesn't allow you to say "today's date" in a smart list, so ... we have to hard-code the date there for each timeframe we wish to trigger behavior. (no way around it)

Might be a good idea to do this every Monday morning, so our sales guys have a head's up on deals missed from last week.

Notable Issues:
If not set by at deal creation time, HubSpot auto-sets the Deal Close Date to the last date in the current calendar month. While this isn't much of an issue once you know about it, it can certainly fowl up the works if you don't ... particularly at month-end!
[fyi - We use Zapier to auto-push Deal Close Dates into the future.]

Really hope that helps. I've also asked a couple guys  ( @Tnichs and @Phil_Vallender ) to take a look at this solution since the more eyes sometimes the better. Please allow time for their feedback before implementing. 😉

I'm monitoring this thread for feedback.

Thanks all ... 

-ps

Forgot to thank @gvellucci from HubSpot who helped with the sanity check on this. We crossed paths a couple time this week on different issues and I almost forgot to say, "Thanks Vellucci". Thanks Vellucci! 🙂

[amandabrunish]

Thank you for this amazing response and explanation!  I am going to work on this today and tomorrow and let you know how it goes!  Thanks again! 🙂

[MFrankJohnson]

UPDATED SMART LIST CRITERIA

@amandabrunish, while working on another deals issue we were reminded that not all clients enforce 'Closed lost reason' and 'Closed won reason' in their deals (a best practice). As such, we could (and should) use tighter criteria in our smart list so we catch open deals based on criteria with a higher probability of enforcement ...

i.e., Deal stage <> "Closed Won" AND Deal stage <> "Closed Lost"

We've updated the smart list criteria in the image, but also left the original image there for all to see the evolution of this solution.

[amandabrunish]

Good Morning -

I wanted to touch base as I have been working on this the past two days.  I wanted to say thank as this has been really helpful.

However, one issue that I am having, is that it seems that any Contact that has more than one Deal attached to it is NOT showing up on the list.   And it does not matter if those other Opportunites are Closed.    I've tried filtering by Stage and/or by Reason for Lost/Won....nothing seems to get around this.

Any thoughts on a way around this?  Or perhaps this is just how the system is and I am doomed? 🙂

Thanks again!

[MFrankJohnson]

Hey Amanda, happy to jump on a quick call to take a look. Please email me at (removed) and I'll zoom you a meeting invitation.

[amandabrunish]

Frank - thank you, that is so kind!  It seems like we are going to go down a different path at this point.  However, if that changes, I would love the chance to give you a ring.  I appreciate all of your help on this! 

[aalzamora]

I've found a simpler workaround for the exact same problem

Use last modified date to represent the concept of "today". For most deals there are updates constantly. 

Then select if close date is before last modified date, then then close date has ellapsed (i.e. the close date 8th july is before today's date 10th july).

But yes, it is strange there isn't a concept of "today" in Hubspots CRM. Close date reminders seem like a very useful thing.

[JonathanElkin]

Hubspot, do you plan to develop a date parameter of TODAY please?  This request has been active for at least 3 years, and the above suggestions do not provide us with an automated solution.  Thanks

[PamCotton]

Hello @JonathanElkin 

I was able to find this post in the HubSpot Community Ideas forum. Upvoting here will alert our Product Team to the popularity of this request. Doing so will also auto-notify you if/when this functionality becomes available within HubSpot. You may read more about how that review process works here. 

Kindly,

Pam