Automated Distributions

Manually sending emails to contacts asking for feedback is a time-consuming process that can be simplified by setting up automations. The Automated Distributions feature in Clozd Platform enables you to collect win-loss feedback through interviews and surveys with very little to no ongoing effort. 

This article contains the following sections: 

• Introduction to Automated Distributions
• Setup Process
• Frequently Asked Questions

Introduction to Automated Distributions

Once the Salesforce or other CRM integration is completed, the Clozd Platform will automatically receive data from closed opportunities including the corresponding contacts. The next step to collecting win-loss feedback is to determine which contacts to reach out to and send them an email inviting them to schedule an interview or fill out a survey. Ideally, this process is automated since it can be very tedious and time-consuming if done manually. 

The process of establishing automated feedback requests in Clozd Platform is completely customizable to meet your needs. You can automate outreach for each feedback channel and set unique rules for each one to determine which deals to request feedback on. For example, you can automate Sales Rep Surveys so that every single time a deal closes, the associated sales rep is sent a survey to complete. You can choose to automatically send Buyer Surveys to all deals under $30,000 in EMEA but send Buyer Interview invitations to all lost deals over $75,000 against a specific competitor. The possibilities are really endless!

If you're worried about losing visibility into the participants being contacted, you can also turn on the Distribution List Preview. This feature alerts you 48 hours before an Automated Distribution is sent, allowing you to see a list of all the people that are about to be emailed so you can look it over and remove any contacts as needed before the first email is sent. 

Setup Process

1. Navigate to the Configuration tab and select Automations.

2. Click + Add Feedback Channel and select which feedback source you would like to create an automation for. For this example, we'll use Buyer Interviews but you can also automate Buyer Surveys, Sales Rep Interviews, and Sales Rep Surveys.

3. Name the automation and hit Next.

4. On the modal that appears, begin to filter to the specific criteria for which you want to collect feedback on by clicking + Add Rule. You can set criteria around any field in Clozd Platform, including custom fields. In the example below, we set criteria to only reach out to contacts from deals that were won with an amount over $50,000. 

When you are satisfied with your criteria, click Next.

5. Select the sequence, interval, and quota.

Sequence:

Select which email sequence you would like to send to these contacts. As a reminder, a sequence determines how many emails will be sent out to the contact, the content of each email, and when the emails are sent out (for more information, refer to Sequences).

You may also choose to initiate a follow-up sequence 

• Interval: Once a contact/deal is imported and matches the criteria for an automated distribution, the email won't go out instantly. Instead, these deals are batched and then sent out all at once as part of a Distribution. You can choose to either send those out daily, weekly, or bi-wekekly at a specified time. For example, if a weekly cadence is selected for Monday at 9am America/Denver time, a new distribution will start at 9am every Monday and include deals that were imported within the last week that meet the specified criteria. 

• Quota: Setting a quota will automatically disable the automated distribution when a certain number of interviews is published or a specified date is reached. 
  • Monthly Limit
    If you choose to add a quota, you can also set a monthly scheduling limit. This can help throttle the feedback you receive so it's more spread out over time. 

Once an automated distribution is created, you can go back to edit it by navigating to the Automations tab, locating the specific automation, and hitting the View/Edit button. 

Frequently Asked Questions

After the automated distribution is set up, can I still review the list of contacts the system will reach out to and remove contacts?

Yes. To activate this setting, go to the Configurations tab and select Automations. Find the automation you want to enable this setting for and click View/Edit. Under the Distribution List Editor section, check off the box next to "Enable distribution list preview".

All admins will be notified by email 48 hours before we reach out to the identified contacts. This will give you time to review and remove any contacts from the distribution before it sends.

For research best practices and to reduce cognitive bias, we recommend manually curating lists as little as possible.

Are there instances where a participant would not be enrolled in an automated distribution despite meeting the automation criteria?

Yes, a participant will not be included in a distribution if:

• The participant has opted out or has been opted out in a previous distribution
• The participant is missing required information such as first name, email, or any other required metadata fields that have been included in the sequence used for the distribution
• The participant has already provided feedback for the deal selected
• The participant has been included in a previous distribution in the last 30 days regardless of feedback channel

Questions?

For questions about the fit of Automated Distributions for your Clozd Win-Loss Program, please contact your Clozd Consultant.

For questions about the Automated Distributions functionality or troubleshooting, please contact support@clozd.com.