How to Setup Blueprints on Zoho CRM?

How to Setup Blueprints on Zoho CRM?

Each business has a well-defined way of doing things. Some workflows serve as a pathway to complete different tasks and projects. The way workflows transpire contributes as a significant factor in deciding the software requirements as the software must be robust to offer a vast amount of capabilities that handle unique business processes.  

Now, Zoho understands these different requirements down to the core and does everything possible to implement them properly. The Zoho CRM Blueprint is, in fact, a method in which the sales process can be broken down into individual stages. As we transition between every step, it becomes possible to prompt users and the staff to enter relevant information so that nothing goes unnoticed.

Below, we will first understand what Blueprint is in detail to get a clear context on how we can set it up on Zoho CRM and what it can do.

Zoho CRM Blueprint

From the time a lead gets captured in the CRM system until it is followed and beyond, there are many sales processes that an organization carries out in function. For example, there is a company called Explore Electronics Pvt. Ltd. that offers technical gadgets to customers.

Now, other than the online orders that this company might get, they can also have a dedicated sales team that is supposed to follow up on the leads that get generated via demonstrations, offline sources, and events. The sales representatives at Zoho CRM Blueprint can start by calling a set of leads and scheduling product demos with these potential customers.

By the end of this demo, when the prospects get interested in purchasing the projects, a quote gets generated, which can further get converted to an order once it is approved. The products can then get shipped and delivered to the customers.

Sales Problems in Explore Electronic Pvt. Ltd.

Now this process that we just spoke about may sound very simple to you when you read it. However, when it actually comes to the execution of this process, one can face many problems because of certain roadblocks and loopholes. Let us look at them in complete detail.

Oftentimes, the sales managers can spend most of their time training new sales reps, which means that they do not get enough time to focus on their work.

The product and all that it can offer are not always clear in the minds of all the sales representatives. Many times, sales representatives may not be aware of important product details requested by prospects over a call which may also disappoint the lead and result in loss of sale.

At other times, important customer information may be missing. It is only during the process of an order when the delivery team may realize that the customer information or address is wrong, and this can clearly delay the order delivery.

They may be times when the discount policies are not followed. Explore Entertainment may have a policy that discounts cannot be more than 20%, but in some cases, quotes with higher discounts may get processed, which may escape the attention of Sales Managers.

The instances mentioned above are some of the most classic ways in which problems can be encountered when you have a large team for executing a process, but a well-defined system is missing for executing it efficiently. In this case, the main problem always revolves around the absence of clear guidance and validation of CRM.

Solutions Offered by Zoho CRM Blueprint

The Zoho CRM Blueprint can enable an organization to design and execute a process in an organized manner while being completely free from loopholes. With the Zoho Blueprint setup, almost every detail can be captured from the offline process within CRM, and hence the process of streamlining becomes very easy.
It is possible to define each stage in one process and link people with each stage. You can guide your teams along with the execution of a process, validate important information contextually, and also automate routine actions.
Lead Qualification

To make sure that the lead qualification objective is met, Zoho CRM Blueprint helps in making the calling agent’s script pretty linear. The software guides the sales representatives at each step of scheduling a product demo. The Blueprint acts as a call agent script and helps the sales representatives with product descriptions while they are on the phone with a prospective customer. This can solve the problem of any inconsistency in the message being communicated to the sales representatives.

Following-Up

With the Zoho Blueprint setup, almost every step can be regulated in the follow-up process, which consists of sending and reviewing a quote. In this, the discount offered to the customers can be validated by the CRM while ensuring that the sales team is adhering to the policies of the company. The email notifications are automated to the sales managers whenever anyone accepts the quote so that nothing skips their attention.
Order Management

For guiding the sales representatives at each step of the order management process, the Zoho CRM Blueprint plays an important role. It takes care of inventory check, shipping, and even delivery. Here, the sales representatives are also prompted to enter the CRM information such as customer address. This makes sure that there are no delays in product delivery.

Fundamental Blocks of Zoho CRM Blueprint

Blueprint in Zoho CRM is basically designed to execute a business process in a systematic and well-defined manner. With this Blueprint, one can define each stage in a process and associate the right people with every stage. It can also help in guiding the teams all through the execution of a process. In addition, it also helps in mandating and validating important information contextually while automating routine actions.

A Blueprint gets designed by creating a sequential order of the stages counted in a process. In the CRM language, the primary building blocks of a Blueprint are States and Transitions.
State

In a Blueprint setup, a “State” is the condition that something is in at a specific time. For instance, any deal in a CRM goes through different stages until the follow-up happens, which includes qualification, negotiation, and discount approval. All these stages are called a State. The states must be dragged and dropped in the Blueprint Editor to design the process flow.

Transition

A Transition is nothing but a link between two States that come in a process. It prescribes the conditions needed for a record to move from one kind of State to another. For example, the conditions and actions required for a record to move from Qualification to Negotiation are usually prescribed in the Transition block.
Designing a Blueprint


The process of setup or building a process is actually a three-step procedure. It includes:

Entering Basic Information

Here, you can specify the module, layout, and field for which the process needs to be created.
You can go to the “Setup”, then “Automation”, and then “Blueprint.”
You can then click on creating a Blueprint.
In this Create Blueprint popup, you can choose the module, layout, and the field for which the process is supposed to be created.
Let us say that the process is that of Following up with leads. In this case, you can choose the Deals module with a Standard layout and Stage field.
For more clarity, you can also specify criteria because if you do not do that, then all records created in the layout will enter the process.
Finally, click on Next.

Defining Process Flow

In the Blueprint Editor, you can define the process flow right from the beginning of the default state to the exit state.
In the Blueprint Editor, you can drag and drop all the States that form a part of the process.
You can also establish the process flow between States by connecting different nodes in the State buttons.
You must note that the Start state is equivalent to none value of the chosen picklist field.
You can create Transitions by clicking on the + button between two States. For deleting a transition, all you have to do is right-click on the transition line and click Remove Transition.

Configure Transition Settings

You can configure the Before, During, and After Transition settings between different states in the process just as required. For example, we can look at the Transition between the States.
We can name this “Closing”. In the example of Explore Electronics mentioned above, the following can be some of the guidelines that should be observed at the time of configuration.
For completing the Negotiation Transition, a sales representative in Explore Electronics can enter the Discount percentage and the closing date.
Based on the company’s policy, the discount for a product cannot be more than 20%.
Right when the Closing Transition is executed, an email notification can be automated to the sales representative’s manager while informing them about the deal submission.
Hence, one can easily say that Blueprint enables you to create a replica of offline business processes in your CRM. Right from lead generation to deal closure, an organization follows many business processes. The Blueprints can be used to give Zoho CRM users a detailed guide on how to carry out all steps in a business process.
For example, one needs to collect some documents before sending a quotation to a customer. One can set up a stage within a blueprint that mandates the document upload and enable the record to move to the next stage right after the documents have been uploaded.
 
Conclusion

When the process that you follow offline is not captured accurately in the software application, there is never any assurance that it will be followed in the right manner. There might be some inconsistencies and possible gaps in the process, and this is the problem that Blueprint solves.


Abhi
(Seasoned Zoho Authorized and Certified Partner)

Feel free to contact me if you have any queries
Email: abhishek(@)encaptechno(dot)com
Call: +1-416-405-8185

    Access your files securely from anywhere







                            Zoho Developer Community





                                                  Use cases

                                                  Make the most of Zoho Desk with the use cases.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  eBooks

                                                  Download free eBooks and access a range of topics to get deeper insight on successfully using Zoho Desk.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  Videos

                                                  Watch comprehensive videos on features and other important topics that will help you master Zoho Desk.

                                                   
                                                    

                                                  Webinar

                                                  Sign up for our webinars and learn the Zoho Desk basics, from customization to automation and more

                                                   
                                                    
                                                  • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                  • Meetups


                                                  • Ask the Experts


                                                  • Kbase


                                                  • Resources


                                                  • Glossary


                                                  • Desk Marketplace


                                                  • MVP Corner






                                                            Manage your brands on social media



                                                                  Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                      Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                        Zoho Books Resources


                                                                          Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                            Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                              Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                Qntrl Resources


                                                                                  Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                      Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                      • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                        CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                      • Kaizen

                                                                                        Kaizen

                                                                                      • Functions

                                                                                        Functions

                                                                                      • Meetups

                                                                                        Meetups

                                                                                      • Kbase

                                                                                        Kbase

                                                                                      • Resources

                                                                                        Resources

                                                                                      • Digest

                                                                                        Digest

                                                                                      • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      • MVP Corner

                                                                                        MVP Corner






                                                                                          Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                          Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                          Get Started Now


                                                                                            Zoho Show Resources


                                                                                              Zoho Writer Writer

                                                                                              Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                              Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                Zoho CRM コンテンツ








                                                                                                  Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                      ご検討中の方




                                                                                                            • Recent Topics

                                                                                                            • Need option to see Mass Emails & Cadences in Gmail Outbox OR a dedicated Zoho Outbox

                                                                                                              Hi everyone, Right now, when we send 1:1 emails from gmail (with gmail API connected to Zoho CRM), those emails appear both in gmail's sent folder and in Zoho CRM. That works well. But when we send Mass Emails or Cadence emails form Zoho CRM, they are
                                                                                                            • I can't found API for Sales Receipts

                                                                                                              Hello May you please help me to find an API document for Sales Receipts to get data and retrive a custom fields like Invoice and credit notes Regards
                                                                                                            • Kaizen #205 - Answering Your Questions | Managing Picklists and Enabling History Tracking via Zoho CRM APIs

                                                                                                              Hello everyone! Welcome back to another post in our Kaizen series. In this post, we will look at how you can manage picklist fields in Zoho CRM using APIs. This topic was raised as feedback to Kaizen #200, so we are taking it up here with more details.
                                                                                                            • Multiple Vendor SKUs

                                                                                                              One of the big concerns we have with ZOHO Inventory is lack of Vendor Skus like many other inventory software packages offer. Being able to have multiple vendor skus for the same product would be HUGE! It would populate the appropriate vendor Sku for
                                                                                                            • Internally created tickets

                                                                                                              Hi there When tickets are created internally on-behalf of customers - there is nothing to show that the ticket was created by an internal agent. This means, that it's easy for our agents to confuse tickets which were created by internal team members and
                                                                                                            • Automatically change website passwords

                                                                                                              Hi everyone, We just switched to a Professional package to also use the "Automatically change website passwords" function. But I cannot find anything about it, how to use it, anywhere. Does anyone know how I can use this function? Best, Caspar
                                                                                                            • Change Invoice Prices for an Effective Date

                                                                                                              Hi, It would be a really good feature to be able to change the prices on invoices/recurring invoices from an effective date in the event of price increases. For instance, I am in the process of increasing prices that will be effective from a specific
                                                                                                            • "Other Current Asset" accounts as "Paid Through" accounts in Expense

                                                                                                              It would be incredibly useful to be able to assign accounts of type Other Current Asset as Paid Through accounts in Expense. Currently, Other Current Liability are permitted as Paid Through Accounts. This makes sense, as Credit Cards are current liabilities.
                                                                                                            • Multi column open text questions that allows respondents to add rows for additional information

                                                                                                              I need to create a question that has 2 columns with open text, but I also need to allow respondents to click a "+" button, or something similar, so that they can add additional information if they choose to. I've tried using the Multiple Textboxes type
                                                                                                            • Bot Filtering & Apple Mail Privacy Protection Compliance in Zoho Campaigns

                                                                                                              Dear Campaigns Users, The wait is over! We’re excited to announce that the enhanced bot filtering feature is now live in Zoho Campaigns. This update brings greater accuracy to your email campaign reports by distinguishing real user engagement from automated
                                                                                                            • Découvrons les détails qui simplifient vos journées de travail avec Trident

                                                                                                              Nous nous installons dans des routines efficaces et rodées avec le temps. Chaque matin, nous ouvrons nos e-mails, passons aux messages, consultons notre agenda, puis attaquons nos tâches. Ce processus nous semble maîtrisé, mais est-il réellement optimisé
                                                                                                            • Issue with Purchase Rate Showing as “0” After Importing Items List

                                                                                                              Dear Zoho Books Support Team, Good day. I’m reaching out regarding an issue I’m facing while importing my items list into Zoho Books. Despite mapping all fields correctly and including the purchase price for each product in my Excel file, the Purchase
                                                                                                            • API for Task Entity in Zoho Books

                                                                                                              I’m working on automating task creation in Zoho Books via a custom button in the Bills Module. The goal is to create a task in the Tasks Module and assign it to the Finance Team, so they can track progress efficiently. While reviewing Zoho Books documentation,
                                                                                                            • create invoice in zoho books from the zoho forms

                                                                                                              Is there a native way to have create invoice in zoho books, when zoho form is completed?
                                                                                                            • Email undelivered

                                                                                                              GOod Day I am always receiving an uncategorized-bounce to my email. I am not sure why this is happening.
                                                                                                            • Add inventory_valuation_method to items endpooints

                                                                                                              To ensure consistent item creation it would be helpful to have the inventory_valuation_method (FIFO vs WAC) be able to be set at item creation or as an update (consistent with current behavior where it is not allowed for items with existing transactions)
                                                                                                            • Use Zoho to send sales receipts for Gocardless transactions

                                                                                                              I've been using gocardless for years and have d/d mandates set up on there. Each week we get bulk payments from customer d/d's. However, we need to send sales receipts to these customers. So I know I can sync mandates into Zoho, and then I can set up
                                                                                                            • Zoho - Gocardless sales receipts

                                                                                                              I've been using gocardless for years and have d/d mandates set up on there. Each week we get bulk payments from customer d/d's. However, we need to send sales receipts to these customers. So I know I can sync mandates into Zoho, and then I can set up
                                                                                                            • Introducing Rollup summary in Zoho CRM

                                                                                                              ------------------------------------------Moderated on 5th July'23---------------------------------------------- Rollup summary is now available for all organizations in all the DCs. Hello All, We hope you're well! We're here with an exciting update that
                                                                                                            • Introducing Connected Workflows in Zoho CRM for Everyone : Free Your Teams to Focus on What Matters

                                                                                                              Hello Everyone, We’re thrilled to introduce the next big evolution in Zoho CRM for Everyone -- Connected Workflows. This new feature builds on our commitment to deliver a CRM that’s truly inclusive, adaptable, and designed for consistent collaboration
                                                                                                            • Introducing Connected Records to bring business context to every aspect of your work in Zoho CRM for Everyone

                                                                                                              Hello Everyone, We are excited to unveil phase one of a powerful enhancement to CRM for Everyone - Connected Records, available only in CRM's Nextgen UI. With CRM for Everyone, businesses can onboard all customer-facing teams onto the CRM platform to
                                                                                                            • Cooling-off Period Just Got Better: More Coverage, More Control

                                                                                                              We’ve enhanced the Cooling-off Period feature in Zoho Recruit to give you more control over repeat applications and referrals. This helps you maintain a cleaner, more efficient recruitment pipeline. With this enhancement, you can: Prevent duplicate candidate
                                                                                                            • Cliq iOS can't see shared screen

                                                                                                              Hello, I had this morning a video call with a colleague. She is using Cliq Desktop MacOS and wanted to share her screen with me. I'm on iPad. I noticed, while she shared her screen, I could only see her video, but not the shared screen... Does Cliq iOS is able to display shared screen, or is it somewhere else to be found ? Regards
                                                                                                            • Revenue Management: #7 Revenue Recongition in Construction & Real Estate Industry

                                                                                                              If you are in the construction or real estate business, you are used to long project timelines and progressive invoicing to keep up with your billing. But when does revenue get recognized? Will it happen when the contract gets signed? At different milestones
                                                                                                            • TikTok (and other social platform) Messages and comments of the past

                                                                                                              When I link a social channel, Zoho will show in "Inbox", "Messages" and "Contact" sections the interaction done in the past? (comment, messages...)
                                                                                                            • Email Integration - Zoho CRM - OAuth and IMAP

                                                                                                              Hello, We are attempting to integrate our Microsoft 365 email with Zoho CRM. We are using the documentation at Email Configuration for IMAP and POP3 (zoho.com) We use Microsoft 365 and per their recommendations (and requirements) for secure email we have
                                                                                                            • How do I fix this? Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.

                                                                                                              How do I fix this? Unable to send message; Reason:554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.
                                                                                                            • Restrict Employee mail deletion

                                                                                                              Dear Zoho, Is there a way where i can restrict my employees to delete any mails from their account
                                                                                                            • 554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.

                                                                                                              Hi guys, I just singed up for mateusz.nowicki@zoho.com mail and I can't send any mails.. Why? Everytime I try to send something I got error like the one in the screenshot. Please, help me.
                                                                                                            • Zoho IP blocked by SpamHaus

                                                                                                              ERROR CODE :550 - 5.7.0 Your server IP address is in the SpamHaus SBL-XBL database, bye
                                                                                                            • File Upload in Creator's Subfrom

                                                                                                              Hello Sir/Madam, Here is a Problem......... Scenario: In CRM One Custom Module (Payments) have one File Upload Field now we have to Upload that File into Creator's Custom Form (Documents) have one Subform (Documents) in Document Upload Field using Deluge
                                                                                                            • Error AS101 when adding new email alias

                                                                                                              Hi, I am trying to add apple@(mydomain).com The error AS101 is shown while I try to add the alias.
                                                                                                            • Trigger workflow base on email clic

                                                                                                              Searching the help and forum, I see that there were workflow trigger rules based on email. But now, I can't find this type of trigger when I create a custom workflow. What I'm looking for would be to automate the sending of an email for a new prospect,
                                                                                                            • Bigin Form Acknowledgement

                                                                                                              How to troubleshoot and find out why form acknowledgement is not sending emails after form submission?
                                                                                                            • Option to Customize Career Site URL Without “/jobs/Careers”

                                                                                                              Dear Zoho Recruit Team, I hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement to the Career Site URL structure in Zoho Recruit. In the old version of the career site, our URL was simply: 👉 https://jobs.domain.com However, after moving to
                                                                                                            • Zoho Mail POP & IMAP Server Details

                                                                                                              Hello all! We have been receiving a number of requests regarding the errors while configuring or using Zoho Mail account in POP/ IMAP clients. The server details vary based on your account type and the Datacenter in which your account is setup. Ensure
                                                                                                            • Ever since the new Android App udpates notifications are not working

                                                                                                              notifications are not working for the app is its closed I followed the tutuorial to the notificaction fixed and everythig seems to be right but notifications are not workig
                                                                                                            • Zoho Analytics & Zoho Desk - but not all desks

                                                                                                              I have several desks in our company and one of those is used by our HR department. I want to bring through the data to the shared Zoho Analytics workspace - except for the HR desk. Can this be excluded at data import stage ?
                                                                                                            • Incoming Emails Not Showing Up in Zoho Inbox

                                                                                                              Hi - I have my Zoho email account set up to forward a copy of all incoming emails to a secondary Gmail address, whilst retaining the original email in the Zoho inbox. However, all my incoming emails are currently not showing up in my Zoho inbox, so I'm
                                                                                                            • How to retrieve my following requests on this forum?

                                                                                                              Sorry, but I did not find the proper subforum for this question.
                                                                                                            • Next Page