Status Triggers

Overview

CRM Status Triggers allow you to automatically initiate selected CRM actions when a lead's status changes or when a lead remains in a specific status for a defined period of time.

Status triggers can help automate repetitive lead-management activities and create a more consistent workflow for your team. For example, you can automatically:

• Notify a user when a lead's status changes.
• Send an email to a lead or merchant.
• Change the lead's status.
• Assign or unassign users.

Before configuring status triggers, we recommend using this worksheet to plan the activities you want to automate.

For convenience, the worksheet includes examples of both status change and status age triggers.

Prerequisites

Before configuring CRM Status Triggers, make sure you have access to the lead status configuration in Merchant Central.

Depending on the actions you plan to use, you may also need the following:

• Existing email or SMS templates.
• Lead email or phone fields.
• Custom Properties if you want to use secondary email templates based on a Custom Property value.
• Date & Time lead fields if you want to record when a lead's status changes.
• A lead sharing profile if you want to send lead data to another Merchant Central site.
• Access to the applicable TSYS FSP configuration if you plan to use automatic boarding.

Navigating to CRM Status Triggers

1. Navigate to Manage → Leads → Status States & Triggers.
2. Expand the relevant status category.
3. Locate the status state you want to configure and click its status trigger configuration icon.

The Manage Status Triggers page opens. From here, you can configure triggers using the Trigger on Status Age or Trigger on Status Change tab.

How do CRM Status Triggers work?

CRM Status Triggers can activate actions in two ways:

• Status Age: An action is initiated after the lead has remained in a selected status for a configured number of days, hours, or minutes.
• Status Change: An action is initiated when the lead moves into the selected status.

Once activated, a trigger can perform one or more configured actions, such as sending notifications, communicating with the lead, changing the lead's status, assigning users, creating a helpdesk ticket, or sending data to another CRM.

Related products or features

CRM Status Triggers can work with several other Merchant Central features, including:

• Email templates, which can be used for user and lead notifications.
• Custom Properties, which can determine when secondary email templates are used.
• Custom Properties—Email Triggers & Email Branding for additional information about email trigger configuration.
• Date & Time fields, which can record when a status change occurred.
• Lead sharing profiles, which are used when sending lead data to another Merchant Central site.

How to add a Status Age Trigger

To create a trigger based on how long a lead remains in a status:

1. Navigate to Manage → Leads → Status States & Triggers, expand the relevant status category, and click the status trigger configuration icon for the desired status state.
2. On the Manage Status Triggers page, select the Trigger on Status Age tab.
3. Click Add New Trigger.
4. Select the actions that you want the trigger to perform.
5. Configure the Age Threshold to determine when the actions should be initiated. The threshold can be set in days, hours, or minutes. Note: Select the "Count Business Days Only" checkbox if you want to avoid triggering the configured actions on weekends.
6. Click Add to save the trigger.

Saved triggers appear in the lower section of the page.

How to edit a saved Status Age Trigger

To edit an existing trigger, click the pencil icon for the trigger you want to modify.

The trigger's settings open in a pop-up window. Update the settings as needed.

How to add a Status Change Trigger

To configure a Status Change trigger, follow the same general process used for a Status Age trigger, but begin from the Trigger on Status Change tab.

1. Navigate to Manage → Leads → Status States & Triggers.
2. Expand the appropriate status category and open the trigger configuration for the desired status state.
3. Select the Trigger on Status Change tab.
4. Click Add New Trigger.
5. Select and configure the actions that should occur when the lead enters the status.

The Trigger on Status Change tab includes several additional actions that are not available from the Trigger on Status Age tab, including:

• Auto Board to TSYS FSP TurboApp
• Set Date & Time in Lead Field
• Send to External CRM

Status Trigger Actions

The following sections describe the actions that can be configured for status triggers. Click an action to expand its details.

This action sends a notification email to selected users or user classes assigned to the lead when the trigger is activated.

To configure the action, select an email template and the users or user classes that should receive the email.

This action automatically sends an email to the email address or addresses stored in the selected lead email fields when the trigger is activated.

To configure the action, select the lead email field or fields and the email template to send.

If needed, you can also specify secondary email templates. These templates are used instead of the primary email template when a specific Custom Property value has been selected on the lead.

For more information, see Custom Properties—Email Triggers & Email Branding.

This action determines which email address is used to send notifications when the trigger is activated.

You can select one of four options:

1. Group Settings: Notification emails are sent using the email settings configured for the lead's group.
2. Acting User: The notification is sent from the user who most recently changed the lead's status. If the status was not changed by a user, the notification is sent using the group's default sender.

3. Select User: Select an existing CRM user to use as the sender for notifications.

   

4. Custom Sender: Use a custom email address that is not registered to a CRM user.

   

Note: If the "Sent Sender From Email" option is left unchecked, the Site Notification Email and the name from the lead's group are used to send email notifications.

This action sends an SMS message to the selected lead phone number or numbers when the trigger is activated.

To configure the action, select the phone number field or fields, the SMS template, the SMS sender such as the acting user, selected user, or first assigned user, and the sender's number.

You can also automatically send one or more follow-up SMS messages.

Select the Enable Follow-Up checkbox, then configure the delay relative to the first SMS and select the SMS template.

Repeat this process to add additional follow-up SMS messages as needed.

This action sends a pre-filled web form to the lead when the trigger is activated.

This action changes the lead's current status to a new status when the trigger is activated.

The action is triggered either when the lead is manually moved into the designated status or when the lead is initially created with that status.

This action assigns selected users to the lead that activated the trigger.

You can assign users to every lead that activates the trigger, use the round-robin method, or use both methods. Round-robin assignment distributes leads proportionately among a configured pool of users.

Users who were unassigned from a lead by a specific status trigger will not be reassigned to the same lead, even if the lead returns to that status multiple times or a status age trigger is used to assign a new user.

This helps prevent users from being repeatedly removed and reassigned when a status trigger cycles through the same list of users.

This action unassigns users in the selected user classes from the lead when the trigger is activated.

This action disables the user that corresponds to the lead when the trigger is activated.

This action creates a new helpdesk ticket using the selected ticket type, subject, and description.

TSYS FSP ISOs have the option to automatically board a lead to the TSYS FSB TurboApp when the lead moves to a selected status state.

If automatic boarding fails, the lead can be moved to a separate status state, such as TSYS FSP Auto Board Fail, so that an agent can review the lead and board it manually.

The Set Date & Time in Lead Field action records the time when the lead's status changes and saves that time in the fields selected in the Date & Time Fields box.

The selected fields must use the Date & Time field type.

You can also use the Set User to Fields box to save the name of the user who changed the lead's status in selected lead text fields.

If the status change occurred because of a system action, the user name is recorded as System.

This action automatically sends lead data to another Merchant Central site using a lead sharing profile.

To configure the action, select the lead sharing profile that should be used to send the data for the lead that activated the trigger.

Status Trigger Email Template Placeholders

Email templates used with status triggers can include placeholders for lead information, including custom lead fields.

The available placeholders include:

• Current status name: {%new_status_name%}
• Full status name: {%lead_statusandgroup_name%}
• Time in status: {%status_age%}
• Campaign: {%lead_campaign_name%}
• Source: {%lead_source_name%}
• List of Assigned Users: {%lead_assigned_users%}
• Latest note: {%lead_notes_1%}
• Upcoming Task: {%upcoming_lead_task%}
• Upcoming Appt: {%upcoming_lead_appointment%}
• Group Internal Name: {%group_internal_name%}
• Group Display Name: {%group_display_name%}
• Group Tech Supp #: {%group_tech_support_phone%}
• Cust Serv #: {%group_customer_service_phone%}
• Group URL: {%group_site_url%}
• Group Logo: {%group_logo%}
• Group Email: {%group_contact_email%}
• Group Fax: {%group_contact_fax%}
• Latest note: {%lead_notes_1%}
• Upcoming Task: {%upcoming_lead_task%}
• Upcoming Appt: {%upcoming_lead_appointment%}

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the difference between a Status Age trigger and a Status Change trigger? A Status Age trigger activates after a lead has remained in a selected status for a configured amount of time. A Status Change trigger activates when a lead moves into the selected status.
• Can I prevent a Status Age trigger from running on weekends? Yes. Select the Count Business Days Only checkbox when configuring the trigger.
• Can a status trigger send emails directly to a lead? Yes. Use the Send Email to Lead action and select the appropriate lead email fields and email template.
• Can I use a different email template based on a Custom Property? Yes. The Send Email to Lead action supports secondary email templates that can be used when a specific Custom Property value is selected on the lead.
• Can a status trigger send follow-up SMS messages? Yes. When configuring the Send SMS to Lead action, select Enable Follow-Up, then specify the delay and SMS template. You can repeat the process to add additional follow-up messages.
• Can a status trigger automatically change a lead to another status? Yes. Use the Change Status action to select the status that should be applied when the trigger activates.
• Can status triggers use round-robin lead assignment? Yes. The Assign Users action supports round-robin assignment, direct assignment to every applicable lead, or both.
• Will a user who was previously unassigned by a trigger be reassigned to the same lead? No. A user who was unassigned from a lead by a specific status trigger will not be reassigned to that same lead by the trigger, even if the lead returns to the status multiple times or a Status Age trigger later assigns another user.
• Which actions are available specifically from the Trigger on Status Change tab? The source identifies additional Status Change actions including Auto Board to TSYS FSP TurboApp, Set Date & Time in Lead Field, and Send to External CRM.
• What happens if a status change is performed by the system instead of a user? When using the Set Date & Time in Lead Field action with user tracking, the user name is recorded as System.
• Is the Send E-Sign Document status trigger still supported? The source states that this feature is deprecated and will be removed from the UI in the near future.