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

      • Recent Topics

      • Alert: Audio Call Support to be discontinued for Old Live Chat Widget from December 31, 2025

        Action Required: Upgrade to the New SalesIQ Live Chat Widget We're reaching out with an important update regarding the SalesIQ Live Chat Widget that requires your immediate attention. Effective December 31, 2025, audio call functionality will no longer

      • multiple contacts for one account

        We currently use Zoho CRM where each Account represents a club or organization, and each Contact represents a manager or owner. However, some of our managers own or manage multiple clubs, and Zoho only allows a contact to be linked to one account at a

      • Rich text Merge field - Not using font specified in HTML

        I have a rich text merge field in a writer template which is creating a table. I have chosen to use this method instead of a repeat region because I need to specify specific cell background colours which change every time the document is created. The

      • ヒートマップ詳細設定について

        はじめまして マーケティング担当の浅田です。 PageSenceのヒートマップ設定について質問です。 単一ページ毎の設定は上手くできるのですが 詳細設定にて、トップページのURLを含ませ全体のヒートマップを計測できないか試したところ お知らせ：データを受信していません。と表示されてしまいます。 トップページURLで始まるページの条件も試しております。 全頁を反映させたいと思い、詳細設定を上手く設定できたらと考えております。 どなたか詳しい方がいらっしゃいましたら、教えて頂けませんでしょうか 宜

      • Automatic category assignment

        Hi, I’d like to ask if there is a way to automatically assign an expense category based on the recognized Merchant. What would be the simplest way to set up automatic category assignment? Alternatively, is there an option to first choose the category

      • Experience with Zoho Vertical Studio

        I'm considering Zoho Vertical and would love to hear from some devs who've been using it. The Zoho ecosystem is pretty solid, so I assume the experience has been pretty good, but sometimes Zoho has its quirks. Overall, has your experience been positive?

      • LinkedIn Chrome Extension

        Hello - I believe it is a known issue that the LinkedIn extension Resume Extractor has stopped working and they are working on potential fixes. Wondering how others users are finding this issue and if there are any better workarounds for this issue? It

      • Advance PDF creation from CRM data

        I'm trying to create a PDF export of data in the CRM. My problem is I want a pretty complicated format for the data. I'm trying to export multiple modules worth of data, with nested one-to-many relationships between the modules. Along with that, I want

      • Sub-Form Padding in CSV Export

        Hi, When you use the Sub-Form, and for example you have a Date Field on the Main Page, then Option 1 and Option 2 fields on the Subform, when you export this to CSV the Date column will only have the Date in 1 row, the first row, it would be nice to pad

      • More Formula Functions

        Hi, I would like for example to be able to have a Date Field and Formula Fields, and then in the Formula Fields I would like to grab just the Month of the above Date Field or the Week Number of the above Date Field. So more "Functions" than the current

      • File upload size limits

        I am designing a contact form in Zoho Creator with File upload facility. I am not sure where and how to set the following properties for the same: Allowed File Types Maximum Size of the Attachment Number of Attachments

      • Composite Services and Account Tracking

        I am looking to garner support/request the ability to make composite services. A quick search in the forums brings up multiple requests for this feature. I fail to see why an item is mandatory while services are optional. I also would like to see the

      • All operation codes getting Not applied in WO-TT22J1025WOR0471, SR-TT22J1025PRE0423,FOR VIN-W1K6G2AB2SL005130.

        Dear Support Team, Please refer attached screenshot. All operation codes getting not applied in work order. Request you to please check and update ASAP.

      • Exclude Segment from Campaign Recipients

        I've created two Segments in order to separate Non-Marketing Contacts from Marketing Contacts. I'd like to send an Eblast to all Marketing contacts in my lists, but when I go to select Recipients, I have two options: 1. To Choose Lists to Send to; 2.

      • Reschedule Multiple/Mass Calls at Once

        When we go into a Call record, we have the option to "Reschedule Call." How can we select multiple Calls at once from the Activities tab and Reschedule them? The big use case for us: We have many leads that our reps are supposed to call on a daily basis.

      • Option to Empty Entire Mailbox or Folder in Zoho Mail

        Hello Zoho Mail Team, How are you? We would like to request an enhancement to Zoho Mail that would allow administrators and users to quickly clear out entire folders or mailboxes, including shared mailboxes. Current Limitation: At present, Zoho Mail only

      • I want to Make the due date of the project appears automatically

        hello everyone I want to know if the zoho projects app can add automatically the END DATE of the project I added the duration, start after dates of each tasks in the project template & the starting date of the project itself and the end date of it doesn't

      • Drag 'n' Drop Fields to a Sub-Form and "Move Field To" Option

        Hi, I would like to be able to move fields from the Main Page to a Sub-Form or from a Sub-Form to either the Main Page or another Sub-Form. Today if you change the design you have to delete and recreate every field, not just move them. Would be nice to

      • Deluge Tips & Tricks: Mastering dates and times

        Hello everyone! We're bringing back our Deluge Tips & Tricks series, where we show you how to make the most of Deluge for achieving a wide range of use cases. Working with dates and times is a fundamental part of almost any business application. Whether

      • Adding a Button in a Form in Zoho Creator App

        Hi I want to know how can I add a Button in Zoho Creator form. I have options that I select from a multiselect options and I want the button to add those selected options in a Subform. I do not want to add on a Page Builder I want it inside a specific

      • Internal Exception for Creator function

        I have been running a script successfully for several days using the scheduler in my application. Now today it suddenly creates and Internal Exception error. Nothing has changed about the script. The data is still retrievable from the web service it is using. Why would this suddenly be happening for no apparent reason? Also noticed that my usage logs are not up to date. Is something changing behind the scenes?

      • How to Set Up a Custom Domain and Customize Homepage

        Hello, I am experimenting with Zoho Creator to build applications for my own use case and have encountered a couple of issues: 1. Custom Domain Access: Is it possible to access my Zoho Creator application through a domain that I own? If so, how does the

      • Announcing new features in Trident for Mac (1.26.0)

        Hello everyone! Trident for macOS (v1.26.0) is here with new updates to securely manage your passwords, locally save your emails, and protect against emails with suspicious URLs. Let's take a quick look at them. Manage passwords with Zoho Vault eWidget.

      • Default Value on a Number

        Hi, I would be nice to also be able to set the Default Value for a Number Field, not just the Initial Value shown, so if not on the screen so not enetred it can have a value of 0 for example. Thanks Dan

      • Having trouble fetching contents of Zoho Connect Feeds using the API, requesting alternative API documentation.

        I'm trying to retrieve feed/post data from Zoho Connect using the API but facing challenges with the current documentation. What I've tried: OAuth authentication is working correctly (getting 200 OK responses) Tested multiple endpoints: /pulse/nativeapi/v2/feeds,

      • Tip#45: Custom Tags and Cluster Tags

        Tagging your work items helps categorize and label work items within your Zoho Sprints workspace. Now, this feature is expanded across multiple modules, along with the introduction of cluster tags that offer an advanced tagging mechanism. Manage Tags

      • Extensions 101 webinar series: Build, integrate, and monetize with extensions

        Attention developers! Are you ready to take your extension development skills to the next level? We're excited to bring back the Extensions 101 webinar series with an expanded lineup of Zoho products and an introduction to more platform features. Last

      • [Free Webinar] User Management in Zoho Creator - Creator Tech Connect

        Hello Everyone! We welcome you all to the upcoming free webinar on the Creator Tech Connect Series. The Creator Tech Connect series is a free monthly webinar that runs for around 45 minutes. It comprises technical sessions in which we delve deep into

      • A couple of minor enhancements to Workflows

        Last updated on September 17, 2024: These enhancements were initially available for early access, and we've now enabled them for all users. We are elated to announce a couple of enhancements to custom functions in our Workflows! Say hello to: "Source"

      • Business Continuity - Disaster Recovery

        I know about the Zoho CRM backup .zip files, however, this doesn't include any of the infrastructure with like custom fields or custom modules. I am curious on what everyone has in place for a true backup or what your plan is if your Zoho instance were

      • Narrative 11: Are your customers happy?

        Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system: BTS Series Narrative 11: Are your customers happy? Happiness isn't just something you experience; it's something you remember. Hear your customers' voices by enabling customer happiness ratings in Zoho

      • Don't understand INVALID_REQUEST_METHOD when I try to post up an attachment

        When I make the POST request (using python requests.post() for files): https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v8/Calls/***************01/Attachments I get this response: r:{ "code": "INVALID_REQUEST_METHOD", "details": {}, "message": "The http request method type

      • Signature field is showing black

        Hello, When customer signed the service form, it is showing as below picture Phone model: iPhone 16 Pro We tried delete and install application, but it not solved. This has on phone of a few person. There is any advice to solve this?

      • Zoho CRM Android app updates: record sharing, user image upload, Zoho Survey integration, and more

        Hello everyone, We've made some important improvements to Zoho CRM's Android app, and we'd like to walk you through the latest updates. Here's what's new: Record sharing with org users User image upload Zoho Survey integration support Venue preference

      • How to Delete/hide Google adwords section from Layout?

        Hi people, maybe someone can tell me how to remove or hide the Google adwords section from my layout? Im not using it and it takes too much space.

      • WIDGET in related record list ZOHO CRM; how to get and put data to subform custom fields?

        he need: Read and write two custom subform line-item fields on Quotes: Segment_wyceny (picklist/text) and W_pakiecie (number). Write works; read does not return these fields via SDK. Environment Zoho CRM Widget Zoho Embedded App SDK v1.2 Module: Quotes

      • Introducing Assemblies and Kits in Zoho Inventory

        Hello customers, We’re excited to share a major revamp to Zoho Inventory that brings both clarity and flexibility to your inventory management experience! Presenting Assemblies and Kits We’re thrilled to introduce Assemblies and Kits, which replaces the

      • Way to update CRM records in quik view

        I have custom module in zoho crm and that module have 500 records. I want a quick way or UI so that user can easily update the record information in quick view without going to record detail view or edit view. I tried zoho sheet option but in zoho sheet

      • Writer sing up problom

        Zoho writer sing up prolom face

      • Where to integrate Price Book and Product List Price

        Hello, We sync zoho crm all modules with all data to zoho analytics. In zoho crm, we have "Price Books" and "Products" modules, where each product is assigned to a few price books with different list prices. From zoho crm, I am able to export a dataset

      • Next Page