If we teleport back to the 2000s, automating a workflow was a technical task. But as those days are behind us, now anyone can use no-code tools to automate workflows.
A seamless workflow is essential for any business, and it can’t be achieved without automation. No-code automation tools make it easier for non-technical business people to automate their workflow. You no longer need to put in a request with a developer or engineering team.
Many folks hesitate to automate their business. But one can’t run or at least expand a full-fledged business without automating the routine tasks. No-code automation improves the workflow and makes everyday tasks faster and efficient.
Why Should I Automate My Workflow?
From Customer Relationship Management systems to Gmail and Callingly, a typical sales professional or business uses multiple tools. And it’s pretty confusing and time-consuming to pass information and connect every tool manually.
That’s where automation comes in. The automation process does everything for you once you have set the actions and triggers. For dummies, it means that automatically your leads will be sent to your CRM, and from there it will be passed over to Callingly, or any other sales tool.
You don’t have to keep checking the status of your leads or connect your sales team with the leads manually. Automation will take care of all the routine tasks and help you to focus on what’s more important.
Are you thinking of hopping on the automation bandwagon? Well, our recommendation is to use Zapier to help connect your disparate tools together.
Zapier – An Automation Solution
Zapier moves information between your apps automatically. Like a glue, Zapier connects thousands of apps together. It helps your apps to communicate with each other and collectively pull out a task.
Zapier lets you integrate, automate and innovate. With a few clicks, you can link your apps so they can share their data. After that, you can pass information between them and set triggers or actions based on your custom rules.
For instance, you captured a lead from your Facebook Ad Forms. Now you want to feed the information in close.io and start setting up calls and emails. With Zapier, you can connect your Facebook Ad Forms and trigger an action of feeding and calling the leads whenever you capture a lead.
CRM to email platforms and apps like Slack, Zapier supports over 2,000 applications. Connect, set triggers/actions and automate your daily tasks in a snap with Zapier.
Wondering how you can automate stuff with Zapier from scratch? The next section is all about how a newbie can use Zapier to connect apps and automate tasks.
How Zapier Works
Although Zapier gets up and running in no time, you first need to understand the language of this tool.
Understanding The Language of Zapier
All tools have their own terminology and language. And it’s essential to learn it before you start using them.
Here are some basic building blocks of the Zapier dashboard and setup wizard you need to absorb:
Zap:
A Zap in Zapier is referred to as the steps of automation you have to set-up.
Trigger:
An event that kick starts your Zap like getting a new email or capturing a new lead.
Action:
It takes place after your Zap has been triggered. For instance, your new lead is transferred to your CRM.
Multi-step Zap:
A Zap with one trigger but multiple actions. For example, uploading an image, updating CRM, etc. on receiving a new lead.
App:
A software or application that connects or integrates with Zapier like Gmail, Dropbox, Close.io, Callingly, etc.
Using Zapier to Automate Tasks
Here’s how you can use Zapier to automate your tasks:
Create a Zapier Account:
Firstly, kick start by logging or signing up to your Zapier account. When you’re creating a new account, Zapier will ask you to select all the web apps that you are looking forward to connecting and integrating.
Check out the plans and pricing of Zapier and see which one suits your biz.
Set-Up Your Own Zap:
Once you’re logged into your Zapier account, click on the “Make a Zap!” button. It will take you to the page where you have to set-up your Zap.
Create a Trigger:
Now you need to choose an application from which you would like to initiate the trigger. If you are looking forward to automating your CRM and leads, select an app from where you are capturing the leads. For example, you can pick Facebook Lead Ads.
After that, you’ll be asked to select a trigger. If you want to trigger the Zap based on a new lead, select the available option according to it. Then, click on the “Save + Continue” button. Now you’ll be asked to enter more details. For us, it was about entering the account details of our Facebook Leads Ads.
Next up, you’ll be prompted to edit more related options to the app you have chosen. Lastly, you can test your Zap and see if your trigger is working correctly or not.
Configure Action:
Now you must define the action that happens after your Zap has lighted up the trigger. Choose the application you want to set-up or configure for the action.
After that, you’ll be asked to choose the action and edit/set-up the template. Furthermore, according to the application you have picked for the action, you might see more options to configure.
After successfully completing the sub-steps of the action, you can test the action in the end.
Test Your Zap:
It’s time to test your Zap! Turn on your Zap and test it to see if you are getting the desired results.
Saved Zaps will be available in your Zapier dashboard. You can turn off/on your Zaps or edit them according to your needs.
Now Over To You
Zapier is an all-in-one automation solution. It supports all popular and useful sales tools to assist non-technical people in automating their sales department.
Be it Callingly, PipeDrive, SalesForce, etc. Zapier lets you integrate, automate and innovate with absolutely any tool.
Zapier passed the 1 million users mark back in 2016, and that shows us how quickly people are opting it to automate their business. Start using Zapier today to save yourself from manually completing everyday tasks.