While list views and reports are useful for tracking large sets of records, notifications are a helpful way to stay on top of time-sensitive changes to your Salesforce data.  In this article, we'll talk through common uses cases and instructions for setting up both email and Slack notifications:

Email Alerts

We see Swantide customers using email alerts in a variety of ways, including when:

• A new MQL is created and assigned to a sales rep
• A Customer Success Manager is transferred ownership of a renewal Opportunity, and subsequently notified when the renewal is 90 days out 
• A discount is given on an Opportunity Product requiring approval from a Sales Manager

You can follow our step-by-step guide below to build custom email alerts:

Step 1:  Create the Email Template 

From the Setup menu in Salesforce, navigate to Email Templates.  This is the text of the email that will be sent once the automation is triggered.  Write the body and subject to the email and select a template name.  

We suggest using Merge fields to enter dynamic values in your email template when applicable.  We use this most frequently to reference the person’s name receiving the email, as well as a link to the record that triggered the email notification.

Step 2:  Build the Email Alert

Navigate to Email Alerts and click ‘New Email Alert’.  Select the recently created Email Template and enter the alert’s name, description, and associated objects.

Finally, select the email Recipients.  You can either select from a static list of users if the same user should always receive the notification or a dynamic recipient (e.g. Account or Opportunity Team).  Once this is finished, we'll still need to specify the conditions for the email alert to be triggered.

Step 3:  Specify Trigger Conditions in a Flow

Navigate to an existing flow or create a new flow.  Define the entry conditions for the Flow, as well as any other actions that the flow should execute prior to sending the email alert.

Once finished, add one final element to the Flow called ‘Send Email Alert’.  Select the recently created Email Alert from Step 2.  From there, you’ll just need to test the newly created flow, activate it, and then you’re finished!

Slack Notifications 

You can also configure Salesforce to send notifications to Slack instead of your inbox.  Some common use cases we see for Slack notifications are:

• Create a new Slack channel with the Opportunity Team members for each Opportunity that meets certain criteria (e.g. ARR > $25K and Stage is past Qualification)
• Send a message with the associated record ID to a Slack channel whenever an Opportunity is Closed Won or Closed Lost

If you’re setting up the Slack <> Salesforce integration for the first time, there are 3 components you’ll need to install:

• In Salesforce: Install the Slack Managed Package, which will provide you with access to several pre-built Flows in Salesforce
• In Slack: Install the Salesforce for Slack App - This will authenticate and join your Slack User ID to Salesforce and establish a connection between the two applications 
• In Slack: Install the Sales Cloud for Slack App- This is the newest version of the integration and allows for more dynamic messaging, such as tagging specific users in Slack messages

You can also add custom Slack notifications to Flows by creating a New Action in the Flow and selecting Send Slack Message.  You’ll also need to specify a few elements in the Flow as part of the Slack Message:

• Slack Conversation ID: This indicates which channel the notification will be sent to.  The conversation ID is defined in each Slack channel
• Slack Message: This is the message that is sent to the previously defined Slack channel.  You can use the Text Template variable in the Flow to write your message.
• [Optional] Salesforce Record ID:  It can be helpful to link the associated record that triggered the flow as part of the Slack message (e.g. $Record > Opportunity ID)

Once the flow is activated, you’ll begin to receive Slack notifications as soon as the flow is triggered. 

Notifications are a really valuable tool for getting notified when important and time-sensitive changes happen in your Salesforce environment.  If you don't want to build Salesforce notifications from scratch, Swantide's got you covered. Our workflow templates allow you to build these notifications with a few simple clicks. If you're interested in learning more about Swantide workflows, please to reach out to us at hello@swantide.com.