Workflows are a great way for sales and marketing people to automate simple, repetitive tasks. Microsoft Power Automate flows (workflows) connect separate apps and data sets, so something you do in one application triggers a desirable action in a different application. Creating workflows can be tricky for beginners or non-technical folks. The good news is Power Automate is now infused with AI, making creating new workflows easier than ever.
For another example of using a Power Automate flow to achieve a marketing objective, read “Power Automate – Not Just for Nerds.”
Keep calm and leverage AI
Power Automate flows are now even easier to create for people like me — sales and marketing pros that aren’t super technical. By now, everyone’s heard about generative AI and ChatGPT. Well, there’s a new flow creator (currently in preview) called “Describe it to design it.” Essentially, you describe what you want in plain language, and Artificial Intelligence built into Power Automate gives you a headstart creating the flow.
Use the "describe it" creator and let AI help you create your flow
1. Send me an email when a new lead is created in Dynamics 365
I don’t want new leads in my CRM to be ignored. I want to receive an email alert whenever a new lead is created, so I’m reminded to follow up. I type the following sentence into the flow creator, “Send me an email when a new lead is created in Dynamics 365“, and voilà, Power Automate’s AI suggests a flow including the trigger and action. If the suggested flow doesn’t look right, try describing it a little differently. In this case, the suggestion was spot on.
Select the trigger. In this case, the trigger is: adding a new row to the Microsoft Dataverse Lead table. FYI: Microsoft Dataverse is where the Dynamics 365 CRM data lives. I select “Leads” from a drop-down menu.
Next, the action. I create an email template including the subject and body. I’ll insert dynamic content from the lead using another drop-down menu. This way, I have enough information in the email to start qualifying immediately.
There’s a new lead, Sally Simmons, in Dynamics 365 for Sales.
Here’s my email alert.
Let the selling begin!
2. When a new Lead is created in Dynamics 365, add to an Excel spreadsheet in OneDrive
Let’s say your marketing process exists outside of Dynamics 365. You’re manually exporting Dynamics 365 Leads to Excel, then sharing the spreadsheet with a marketing agency, importing it into a marketing solution, whatever. Wouldn’t it be nice to automatically populate the Excel file with new leads and eliminate that busy work? Let’s describe what we want to Power Automate and let AI get us started.
Again, I describe what I want to Power Automate “When a new Lead is created in Dynamics 365, add to Excel spreadsheet in OneDrive.” Here’s what AI generates.
Makes sense. The next steps are similar–use drop-down menus to select the trigger and action. In this case, new Leads are added to a table in Excel. The Excel file is sitting in OneDrive. Select which fields from the Lead record should flow to the Excel file.
Here’s the Lead, Sally Simmons, added to the spreadsheet.
Don't Get Frustrated
This isn’t rocket science, but I suggest you practice patience. Even with the plain language designer, expect some trial and error, especially if you’re a beginner. If you get frustrated or your sales and marketing flows require additional skills, feel free to contact us. That’s our mission–helping you achieve your sales, marketing and service objectives.
