Using CRM Workflows & Task Management

IN THIS ARTICLE 

1. Overview
2. Navigating Workflow Settings
3. Building a Workflow from Scratch.
4. Working Daily Tasks

Overview

CRM Workflows provide an advanced way to automate business processes and prevent leads from falling through the cracks.

Lead Types—How did this lead get to your dealership?

• Walk-in
• Phone
• Internet
• SMS
• Service
• Chat

Lead Source—Where did the lead specifically come from?

EX: The lead type is the internet, the source is Autotrader.

You can set up a series of emails, test messages, schedule phone call tasks, and follow ups based on the type of lead, source, and inquiry type.  As the lead moves through the sales process, the events will vary. For example, a lead that was contacted will trigger different workflow items than a lead that is lost and has not been reached after several days of communication.

Why should you use Workflows?

• No missed follow-ups: Automated workflows guarantee every lead gets the same consistent customer experience every time, from every rep.
• Faster first contact: Automated emails and texts speed up your response times, increasing engagement and boosting your chance of converting leads.
• Built-In Accountability: Clear task ownership and due dates ensures reps know exactly what’s expected and when.
• Better tracking: You can easily monitor what tasks are completed and what’s still outstanding, providing actionable insights for coaching and performance improvement.

Navigating Workflow Settings

1. Go to Settings.

2. Click on the Customer tab and then select the Workflow tab.

Your account will come with default workflows which can be activated, copied, and edited. To make the workflow template active/deactivate, select the box under the ‘Active’ column. To edit, click the pencil icon.

To make a copy of the default workflow template, click the pencil icon which will then open the ‘Edit Workflow’ page. Select ‘Create Copy’. The ‘New Workflow’ page will then open, and the copied workflow will automatically populate.

Building a Workflow from Scratch

Things to consider:

• What should happen when a lead first enters the system? (aka ‘NEW’ status)
• What is the sequence of emails, texts, phone calls, and follow-ups you want to automate as the lead moves to other statuses?

NOTICE: THE SYSTEM DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY SAVE PROGRESS ON NEW WORKFLOWS. IF YOU NEED TO SAVE YOUR PROGRESS, CLICK THE SAVE BUTTON. IF YOU DO NOT CLICK SAVE YOUR PROGRESS WILL BE LOST.

Step 1 – Start a new Workflow

1. To start, select the ‘New Work Flow Setup’ button on the right side of the page.

2. The ‘New Work Flow Page’ will open. From here, enter a name for the workflow into the Name field.

3. (Optional) Add a description in the Description box to explain what the workflow does.

Step 2 – Set Workflow Conditions (Applies To)

4. Next, specify the ‘Lead Type’ by clicking the ‘Add” button.  

5. The ‘Add Lead Type’ box will open. You may select the following Lead Types:

Internet, Phone, Walk-In, SMS, Service, or Chat

6. Once selected, click the blue ‘Add’ button on the ‘Add Lead Type” box. *You may also choose to select more than one lead type by repeating the same steps. Click ‘Add” button > Select Lead Type > Click ‘Add’.

Please note that when the option “ALL” is selected, the “ADD” button is automatically grey out. To proceed with modifications, users will need to remove or deselect the “ALL” option. Once this is done, the “Add” button will become clickable again, allowing them to proceed with selecting the desired options.

7. Next, specify the ‘Lead Source’ by clicking the ‘Add’ button.

8. The ‘Add Lead Source’ box will open. The box contains a dropdown filter and a text box.

With the dropdown filter, you can choose how you want to filter the leads:

• All: No filter – includes all leads regardless of the source.
• Contains: Includes only leads who lead source contain the text you type.
• Does not contain: Excludes leads whose lead source contains the text you type.
• Starts with: Includes leads whose lead source starts with the text you type.
• Ends with: Includes leads who lead source ends with the text you type.
• Equals: Includes only leads whose lead source exactly matches the text.
• Does not equal: Excludes leads who lead source exactly matches the text.

Examples:

• Contains + Facebook → Any lead with “Facebook” in its source.
• Does not contain + Walk-In → Excludes walk-ins.
• Equals + CarGurus → Only exact match “CarGurus.”

9. Click the blue ‘Add’ button to save the filter.

10. Next, specify the Inquiry Type by clicking the ‘Add’ button.

11. The ‘Add Inquiry Type’ box will open. Select the inquiry type from the drop-down then click the blue ‘Add’ button.

Step 3 – Select Customer Status

12. Use the ‘Select Customer Status’ to specify which customer status this workflow should apply to. You can choose: New, Contact Attempt, Contacted, Appointment Scheduled, Working Deal, Missed Appointment Follow-Ups, Dealer Visit Follow up, Sold, Lost, Duplicate, Miscellaneous Action.

Tip: When a lead first enters the system or a customer is added manually, the lead will always start in the ‘New’ status. For the purpose of building workflows, it is always best to start with ‘New’.

Step 4 – Add Workflow Tasks

13. Lastly, use the ‘Add’ dropdown to select the workflow task type:

Email, Phone, SMS, Follow-Up, Reassign Leads.

14. When a workflow task is selected, a new page will automatically open. These pages will vary by the task.

Below are the details for each task type:

FOR EMAIL:

When you select Email as the task, the ‘Create Email Task’ page will open.

• Give the task a clear name (EX: Welcome Email - New Leads).
• Choose who the email is sent from. By default, Assigned Sales Rep will be selected but you may select a specific person.
• Choose who the email is sent to – By default it will be set to Customer.
• Enter your email message by using a saved template.  The message editor includes two tabs:
  • Regular Hours Template: Used during normal business hours.
  • After Hours Template: Used if the workflow triggers outside your set business hours.
• Set the timing: Immediately (sent as soon as the lead enters) or Custom time (e.g., send after 1 hour).
• (Optional) In the ‘Process this only when’ section, there is a toggle for “Customer has interested vehicle”. When enabled, you’ll see the ‘Add’ button appear for the ‘Interested vehicle is in the following status’. You can then select a status.  This workflow task will only run if the customer has an interested vehicle on file AND that vehicle’s status is one of the following selected. If the customer doesn’t have an interested vehicle or the vehicle status does not match, the task will not run.
• When you are done click Save.

FOR PHONE:

When you select Phone as the task, the ‘Create Phone Task’ page will open.

• Give the task a clear name (EX: Call New Lead - 15 min).
• Choose who the task is assigned to. By default, Assigned Sales Rep will be selected but you may select a specific person.
• Add a call script or instructions if helpful.
• Set the timing: Immediately or Custom time.
• (Optional) In the ‘Process this only when’ section, there is a toggle for “Customer has interested vehicle”. When enabled, you’ll see the ‘Add’ button appear for the ‘Interested vehicle is in the following status’. You can then select a status.  This workflow task will only run if the customer has an interested vehicle on file AND that vehicle’s status is one of the following selected. If the customer doesn’t have an interested vehicle or the vehicle status does not match, the task will not run.
• When you are done click Save.

FOR SMS:

When you select SMS as the task, the ‘Create SMS Task’ page will open.

• Give the task a clear name.
• Choose who the SMS is sent from. By default, Assigned Sales Rep will be selected but you may select a specific person.
• Choose who the SMS is sent to – By default it will be set to Customer.
• Enter your text message by using a saved template. 
• Set the timing: Immediately (sent as soon as the lead enters) or Custom time (e.g., send after 1 hour).
• (Optional) In the ‘Process this only when’ section, there is a toggle for “Customer has interested vehicle”. When enabled, you’ll see the ‘Add’ button appear for the ‘Interested vehicle is in the following status’. You can then select a status.  This workflow task will only run if the customer has an interested vehicle on file AND that vehicle’s status is one of the following selected. If the customer doesn’t have an interested vehicle or the vehicle status does not match, the task will not run.
• When you are done click Save.

TO ENSURE YOUR BUSINESS IS COMPLIANT WITH REGULATIONS, DEALERCENTER WILL SEND AN OPT-IN TEXT MESSAGE BEFORE ANY OFTHER AUTOMATED TEXTS. IF THE CUSTOMER RESPONDS ‘YES’, THE STATUS WILL REMAIN AS IS.

FOR FOLLOW-UP:

When you select Followup as the task, the ‘Create Followup Task’ page will open.

• Give the task a clear name.
• Choose who the task is assigned to. By default, Assigned Sales Rep will be selected but you may select a specific person. You may check the box to Notify user.
• Add notes or instructions if helpful.
• Set the timing: Immediately or Custom time. In this section, there is optional toggle labeled ‘Recreate the task if the prospect goes into New more than once’. If enabled, the prospect’ status moves back into New. This useful if the lead goes cold and later re-enters as a new lead. You won’t miss a follow-up just because they triggered it once before.
• (Optional) In the ‘Process this only when’ section, there is a toggle for “Customer has interested vehicle”. When enabled, you’ll see the ‘Add’ button appear for the ‘Interested vehicle is in the following status’. You can then select a status.  This workflow task will only run if the customer has an interested vehicle on file AND that vehicle’s status is one of the following selected. If the customer doesn’t have an interested vehicle or the vehicle status does not match, the task will not run.
• When you are done click Save.

FOR REASSIGN LEADS:

When you select Re-assign Leads as the task, the ‘Create Reassignment Task’ page will open.

• Give the task a clear name.
• Decide how the lead will be reassigned. By default, ‘Round robin among available sales/BDC reps’ will be selected or you may select a specific person.
• Add notes or instructions if helpful.
• Set the timing: Immediately or Custom time. In this section, there is optional toggle labeled ‘Recreate the task if the prospect goes into New more than once’. If enabled, the prospect’ status moves back into New. This useful if the lead goes cold and later re-enters as a new lead. You won’t miss a follow-up just because they triggered it once before.
• (Optional) In the ‘Process this only when’ section, there is a toggle for “Customer has interested vehicle”. When enabled, you’ll see the ‘Add’ button appear for the ‘Interested vehicle is in the following status’. You can then select a status.  This workflow task will only run if the customer has an interested vehicle on file AND that vehicle’s status is one of the following selected. If the customer doesn’t have an interested vehicle or the vehicle status does not match, the task will not run.
• When you are done click Save.

Step 5 – Repeat for Each Customer Status

15. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 for other statuses that apply to your workflow. Select the status and add the tasks you want triggered at that stage. Mix and match tasks to automate your full lead journey from start to finish.

Tip: You can view some of DealerCenter’s default or pre-set workflows for ideas – they’re a good starting point if you’re not sure which tasks make sense for each status.

Step 6 – Save

16. When you are done building your workflow, be sure to click the Save button or all progress will be lost.

Working Daily Tasks

Once you build and activate a workflow, sales reps can view and complete these tasks through several parts of the platform. This makes it easier to stay organized and efficient throughout the sales process.

On the CRM (Sales) Dashboard:

• Tasks created by workflows feed directly into the CRM Dashboard.
• You will see an overview of all open tasks, appointments, messages, and follow-ups.
• There’s a dedicated To-Do tile on the Customer Dashboard that shows each sales rep exactly what automated tasks still need to be completed.
• This helps reps see immediately what’s due today, what’s coming up, and what’s overdue — all in one place.
• To access the full CRM Dashboard, reps can click the ‘Dashboard” link on the customer tile on the homepage.

In the Customer Activity Record:

• All tasks created by a workflow including emails, phone calls, SMS messages, and follow-ups — appear in the customer’s lead activity feed.
• These tasks show up alongside any manually sent emails, texts, notes, or dispositions, so your team has a full timeline of every interaction.
• You can view this by going to the Customer’s record.

DealerCenter Mobile App:

• Tasks appear on the To-Do tile on the Customer Dashboard on the app’s homepage.
• Tapping this tile shows a full list of tasks that need to be completed — keeping reps organized, even away from their desk.
• Automated notifications will also appear through the bell icon in the top corner, so reps never miss a follow-up or reminder.

NOTE: Make sure reps mark the tasks as Complete. If a task is not completed, the customer status will not update, and the workflow will not move to the next task.