How to set up Salesforce email alerts for new opportunities

If you’ve ever missed a hot lead because you didn’t know a new opportunity landed in your pipeline, you’re not alone. Salesforce can handle a lot for you, but it won’t send email alerts for new opportunities unless you set it up. This guide is for admins, sales ops folks, or anyone who wants to stop manually refreshing reports and actually get notified when a new opportunity pops up. No coding required—just a bit of setup.

What You’ll Need (and What You Don’t)

Before you dive in, you’ll need:

  • Salesforce (obviously)—Salesforce
  • Admin rights (or at least permission to create workflows and email alerts)
  • The email addresses you want notifications sent to

You don’t need:

  • Apex code
  • Any paid add-ons or AppExchange packages
  • Hours of free time (should take 20-30 minutes, tops)

If you’re using Salesforce Lightning, you’re in good shape. If you’re still clinging to Classic, the steps are similar, but the interface is different enough that you might get lost. This guide assumes Lightning, because, well, it’s 2024.

Step 1: Figure Out Who Needs the Alert

Don’t skip this step. If you blast email alerts to everyone, people will start ignoring them (or worse, create email filters to never see them again).

Decide: - Who needs to know about every new opportunity? (e.g., sales reps, managers, a shared inbox?) - When do they need to know? Immediately, or is a daily summary enough? (This guide covers instant alerts.)

Keep your list tight. More focused alerts = more attention.

Step 2: Create an Email Template

Salesforce email alerts need a template. Don’t overthink it—start simple.

  1. Go to Setup (gear icon, top right) and search for “Email Templates.”
  2. Click “New Email Template.”

  3. Fill in:

    • Email Template Name: Something clear, like “New Opportunity Alert”
    • Subject: “New Opportunity: {!Opportunity.Name}”

    • Email Body: Mention the key details. Here’s a basic example:

      A new opportunity was just created.

      Name: {!Opportunity.Name} Owner: {!Opportunity.OwnerFullName} Account: {!Opportunity.Account.Name} Amount: {!Opportunity.Amount} Close Date: {!Opportunity.CloseDate} Stage: {!Opportunity.StageName}

      View it: https://yourInstance.salesforce.com/{!Opportunity.Id}

    • Use merge fields (the {!FieldName} parts) to pull in data automatically.

    • Save it.

Pro tip: Don’t cram everything into the email. Just the basics—enough to know what’s up and click through if it matters.

Step 3: Set Up the Email Alert

Now, tell Salesforce what to do with that template.

  1. In Setup, search for “Email Alerts.”
  2. Click “New Email Alert.”
  3. Fill in:
    • Description: “Alert for New Opportunity Created”
    • Email Template: Pick the one you just made
    • Object: Opportunity
    • Recipients: Add the users, roles, or email addresses. Be specific—don’t just blast it to “All Sales Users.”
  4. Save.

Reality check: If you’re tempted to add a generic group like “All Internal Users,” don’t. That’s how people stop paying attention.

Step 4: Build the Workflow Rule or Process Builder

You need to tell Salesforce when to fire off the alert. There are two main ways: Workflow Rules (the old way) or Process Builder (the newer way, but Salesforce is pushing Flow now). Here’s the honest take: Workflow Rules still work and are dead simple for this use case. If you already use Process Builder or Flow, feel free to use them, but don’t feel pressured to “modernize” just for this.

Using a Workflow Rule (Simple & Reliable)

  1. In Setup, search for “Workflow Rules.”
  2. Click “New Rule.”
  3. Select Opportunity as the object.
  4. Rule Name: “New Opportunity Created”
  5. Evaluation Criteria: “created” (Only when a record is created)

  6. Rule Criteria: Set to “criteria are met” and use something broad like:

    • Opportunity: Opportunity Name not equal to BLANK

(This just makes sure it’s a legit new opportunity.)

  1. Click Save & Next.
  2. Add Workflow Action: Select “Add Email Alert” and pick the one you made earlier.
  3. Activate the rule.

Using Process Builder (If You Must)

If your org is moving away from Workflow Rules:

  1. In Setup, search for “Process Builder.”
  2. Click “New.”
  3. Name your process “New Opportunity Alert.”
  4. Set it to start “when a record changes.”
  5. Add the Opportunity object, and trigger on “when a record is created.”
  6. Add criteria: “No criteria—just execute the actions!”
  7. Add action: Email Alerts, and select your alert.
  8. Activate the process.

Note: Salesforce is pushing everyone towards Flows, but for something as basic as “send an email when a record is created,” Workflow Rules are still fine. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for not using the latest tool for a simple job.

Step 5: Test the Alert

Don’t trust that everything works until you see it for yourself.

  1. Create a test Opportunity in Salesforce.
  2. Make sure the alert goes to the right people, with the right info.
  3. Check your spam folder (seriously—Salesforce emails sometimes get flagged).
  4. If nothing shows up, double-check:
    • Did you activate the rule/process?
    • Did you add the correct email addresses?
    • Is email deliverability set up in your org? (Setup > Deliverability)

Pro tip: If you have a sandbox, test there first—especially if you’re worried about spamming real users.

What to Ignore (and What to Watch Out For)

  • Ignore: Fancy formatting, images, or attachments in your first version. Just get the notification working.
  • Watch out for: Email fatigue. If people are getting too many alerts, they’ll start ignoring all of them.
  • Ignore: Complicated conditions for now. Start simple: “new opportunity” only. You can always add more rules later (e.g., only for certain stages, or opportunities above a certain amount).
  • Watch out for: Delays due to Salesforce email limits or deliverability issues. If you’re sending tons of alerts, you might hit limits. If you do, rethink your approach—maybe a daily summary or report is better.

Pro Tips for Smarter Alerts

  • Send to Roles, Not Individuals: If your team changes a lot, assign alerts to a role or public group. That way, you’re not constantly updating lists.
  • Limit Who Gets Notified: One or two key people is usually enough.
  • Pair With Reports: Set up a dashboard or scheduled report for a daily/weekly overview. Don’t try to cram every bit of info into the email alert.
  • Review Regularly: Ask users if the alerts are actually helpful. If not, tweak or kill them. Don’t be precious.

Wrapping Up

Salesforce can be a beast, but setting up basic email alerts for new opportunities isn’t rocket science. Start simple: one alert, one group of people, just the key info. See if it actually helps your team. If it does, great—iterate. If not, kill it and move on. Don’t let “best practices” get in the way of just getting notified when you need to.

Keep it simple. Your inbox (and your sanity) will thank you.