The Early Access Program is now closed for new requests. Thank you for all the valuable feedback and participation. Stay tuned for updates about the next phase. For any questions, feel free to reach out to pilot@zohocrm.com.

What is Connected Records ?

Whether it's linking a deal to a product demo request and then linking the same deal to an onboarding request when the deal is closed won or linking a deal directly to a contract request or to a customer advocacy request if the onboarding is successful, this feature ensures all teams have the right context at the right time to execute their work. (See image below)

Connected record creation

1. Manual creation : Create connected records manually from within an organization module linking it to a record in the team module or from within a team module linking it to another team module.
   
   
   
   For instance, we can create a product demo record in the pre-sale team module directlyfrom a new deal in the deals module or create a customer advocacy record in the advocacy team modules directly from an onboarding record in the onboarding team module.
   
   
2. Auto-connect records from Workflow rules : Setup a connection between an organization module and a team module using workflow rules when you have predefined stages in your sales process.
   
   
   
   For instance, we can automatically create an onboarding record in the onboarding team module when the deal stage is marked as closed won or create a win/loss analysis record in the marketing team module when the deal stage is marked as closed lost. This will help maintain continuity between the two steps and also provide the teams working on these records at both steps with clear customer context.

What else can connected records achieve?

• With connected records, requesters can raise requests from any module instead of navigating to the My Requests tab every time.
• When records are linked between two modules, users can use public fields to display record details to team members who are not part of the module, so essential information is available for those members to complete their process efficiently.

Why should you use connected records?

1. No need to use emails or chats : There's no longer a need for email or chat communications, as all coordination can be completed within the product, eliminating the back-and-forth between teams.a
   
2. Easy data access: Instantly view all relevant information for any record without jumping between modules.
   
3. Improved coordination: Teams can share a unified view of data, reducing silos and enhancing coordination.
   
4. Contextual understanding: Provide context for interactions, helping teams deliver personalized service or informed responses.
   
5. Data consistency: Maintain consistency by ensuring updates to one record propagate to its connections where applicable.
   

When can you use connected records? 

How can you add connected records from org modules? 

1. Navigate to the org module from where you need to create connected records.
   
2. Select the record from the module for which you want to create connected records.
   
3. Scroll down to the connected records section and click Add New.
   
4. Select the team module and create a request.
   
5. This record created in the team module will automatically be connected to the record in the org module.
   
   

How can you add connected records from other team modules? 

1. Navigate to the team module from where you need to create connected records.
   
2. Select the record from the team module for which you want to create connected records.
   
3. Scroll down to the connected records section and click Add New.
   
4. Select the team module and create a request.
   
5. This record created in the team module will automatically be connected to the record in the team module.
   
   

Note : The requester can raise a request to any team module using the same steps specified above instead of navigating to their My Request tab every time.

How can you auto-connect records using workflow rules ? 

1. Navigate to the Setup menu and click Workflow Rules from Automation.
   
2. Click Create Rule. Select the module in record type, enter the rule name and description, and click Next.
   
3. Select when the rule should be executed and click Next.
   
4. Enter the condition for the rule to be executed and click Done.
   
5. Select the instant action as Create connected records.
   
6. Select the module to which this record should be connected to, select the layout, the module name, the module owner, and click Save.
   
7. Click Save again to activate this workflow rule.