Email Association With Deal - Online Help - Zoho CRM

Email Association With Deals

Alert
Viewing contact roles' emails within a deal's record and linking them with deals is available for all users in all DCs, for organizations whose users have have all switched to the latest email configuration.
Email conversations play a vital role in the process of closing deals across different business contexts. Their cost-effectiveness is attractive to small businesses. The ability to maintain conversations with multiple stakeholders across different departments is used by mid-market firms. Enterprises use it as a formal and auditable means of communication during high-stakes negotiations.

In Zoho CRM, a deal can be linked to the following stakeholders:
  1. A primary contact who is the main person you're dealing with in order to close that deal. For example, this could be the sales champion in some contexts, the decision maker in some other contexts, and so on. There can only be one primary contact for a deal.
  2. Contact roles are other stakeholders who are involved in that deal. For example, technical experts, members of the legal, finance, or purchasing team, and so on are usually marked as contact roles. For large deals, it is the norm that multiple stakeholders in a company are involved in the process of finalizing a deal.
So, it is possible to link a single deal with multiple contacts. It is also true that a single contact can have multiple deals associated with them (either as the primary contact or as a contact role).

Emails are linked to contacts, but in order to follow up or close a particular deal, you would likely find it tiresome to go through all the emails of a contact, filter out the ones related to that deal, and repeat the same for all stakeholders. Instead, you may prefer to see the emails distinctly marked to a deal, rather than having all the emails of a contact listed together.

In Zoho CRM, you can associate each email with a deal to conveniently follow conversations related to that particular deal. This linking can be done either:
  1. Automatically based on a predefined prediction pattern
  2. Manually from within the Deals or Contacts modules.
The following table shows the actions that are supported for primary contacts and contact roles when it comes to associating their emails with a deal.
Action
Primary contact
Contact role
View emails in a related deal's record
Yes
Yes
Automatic linking of an email to a deal
Yes
No
Manual linking of an email to a deal
Yes
Yes
Replacing or changing the linked deal of an email
Yes
Yes
Un-linking a deal from an email
Yes
Yes

NotesNote
Emails from contact roles will be available under "Emails associated with related contacts".

Availability

Permission Required
Users who have configured IMAP integration can access this feature.

Email Views From the Deals Module

The email communication for a deal is listed in the Email Related lists of the deal and the associated contact. In the Deals module, there are two options to view the associated emails:

  • Emails associated with this deal - This is a default option that will display only those emails that are related to the particular deal.
  • Emails associated with the related contact - This option will display all the emails that are related to the associated contact or contact roles.

To select an email view

  1. Go to the Deals module and select a record.
  2. Go to the Emails Related List, then choose one of the following from the drop-down list:
    • Emails associated with this deal.
    • Emails associated with the related contact.

Zoho CRM automatically links a contact's incoming emails to the deals using the Deal Prediction Method. This linking of emails only happens with deals where the contact is the primary contact. Emails will not be linked automatically to deals where the contact is involved in a contact role.

When you receive an email:
  1. If the contact has only one deal in Zoho CRM
    1. If the deal is open/ Closed Won, then the email will be linked to that deal.
    2. If the deal is Closed Lost, the email will not be linked to that deal and will be retained under the contact's emails related list.
  1. If the contact has multiple deals in CRM
    1. If the last modified deal is open/ Closed Won, the email will be linked to that deal.
    2. If the last modified deal is Closed-Lost and there are no open deals, the email will not be linked to any deal and will be retained under the contact's emails related list.
    3. If the last modified deal is Closed-Lost and there are open deals, the email will be linked to the last modified open deal.

Notes
Note
  • During a fresh IMAP configuration, the previous emails will be linked to the deal only if the contact had a single deal associated to it at the time of receipt of the email.
  • If the contact had more than one open deal the email will not be linked and will be listed under the contact's Email related list and the user can manually link it to the deal. In the Deals module. these emails will be displayed under "Emails associated with the Contact".
  • Once an email is linked to a deal, within the Deals and the Contacts modules, these emails will display the "linked" icon. By clicking on the icon you can choose to change or unlink the deal.
Zoho CRM's deal prediction mechanism automatically links the emails to;the respective deals. However, if required, you can choose to replace the deal that the email is already linked to. Also, you can manually link or unlink an email to a deal when required.

Note that once an email is linked to a deal, the association will be retained unless the email is unlinked or the deal is deleted from the CRM account.
  1. Go to the Deals module and select a record.
  2. Go to the Emails Related List, select Emails associated with the Related contact from the drop-down list.
  3. Select the contact or contact role from the dropdown list.

  4. Click the Link icon () beside the email.
  5. In the pop up, choose the deal you want to link the email to.
    Only the deals associated to the contact or contact role will be displayed.
  1. Go to the Deals module and select a record.
  2. Go to the Emails Related List, select Emails associated with the Related contact from the drop-down list.
  3. Select the contact or contact role from the dropdown list.
  4. Click the Linked Deal icon in the email and choose the following:
    • Unlink Deal - Click this to remove the link.
    • Change deal - Choose a new deal to change the currently linked deal.

To unlink or change the deal from Emails associated with this Deal

  1. Go to the Deals module and select a record.
  2. Go to the Emails Related List, select Emails associated with this Deal from the drop-down list.
  3. Click the  More link in the email and choose the following:
    • Unlink deal - Click this to remove the link.
    • Change deal - Choose a new deal to change the currently linked deal.
NotesNote
 You can also choose to link, unlink or change the deal from within an email.
  1. Select an email, from the Deals/Contacts module.
  2. In the email, do the following:
    • Click the down arrow, and choose either Link or Unlink or Change.
    • Click the More link in the Linked Deal information and choose Change or Unlink.
When managing multiple deals with extensive email threads, identifying which conversations need immediate attention can be challenging. Zia's email intelligence analyzes incoming emails for sentiment (positive, negative, neutral) and intent (request, query, complaint) to help you prioritize responses. This is particularly useful for spotting urgent issues in deal-related communications.
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To learn more about enabling and using these features, please refer to Zia for Emails.

Deactivate IMAP Integration

On IMAP deactivation, the emails that are linked to the deals either manually or based on prediction will be unlinked and a fresh prediction will happen on IMAP reconfiguration.


SEE ALSO
Emails: an Overview
Emailing Options
Sending and Receiving Email