If your sales team is still pinging each other in three different chat apps and chasing down lost files every week, you’re wasting time—and probably losing deals. This guide is for sales leads, ops folks, and anyone on a sales team who’s tired of chaos and wants something that just works. We’ll walk through how to set up practical collaboration workflows in Reachout, cut through the noise, and flag what’s actually useful (and what isn’t).
1. Decide What Really Needs a Workflow (and What Doesn’t)
Before you even open Reachout, figure out what’s worth formalizing. Not every process needs a buttoned-up workflow. Here’s what tends to make sense for sales teams:
- Deal tracking: Moving opportunities from lead to close, with clear handoffs.
- Follow-up tasks: Assigning reminders so prospects don’t fall through the cracks.
- Document sharing: Making sure everyone’s using the latest proposal or contract template.
- Approvals: Getting sign-off on pricing or custom deals.
- Team communication: Updates, questions, and sharing wins (but not endless chatter).
You can skip trying to automate every little thing. “Workflow” doesn’t mean “micromanage every step.”
2. Set Up Your Sales Team in Reachout
First things first—get the right people into the platform.
- Invite the core team: Start with the sellers, sales ops, and managers. Don’t invite the whole company yet.
- Set up roles: Use Reachout’s team roles to control who can create, assign, or complete tasks. Keep it simple: sellers, managers, maybe an admin.
- Group by function, not org chart: Create channels or groups around deals, regions, or product lines—not just “West Coast Team” or “Executives.” Work should map to how sales actually happens.
Pro tip: Don’t overdo permissions. Too many restrictions create bottlenecks. If you trust your team on email, trust them here.
3. Build Your First Simple Workflow: Deal Tracking
This is where most teams get the biggest win, so don’t skip it.
Step-by-step:
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Create a “Deals” board or workspace.
Use Reachout’s boards or pipeline view. Each deal gets its own card or entry. -
Define the stages.
Keep it to 4–6 stages max (e.g., Lead → Qualified → Proposal Sent → Verbal Commit → Closed Won/Lost). Too many stages? People stop updating. -
Assign owners.
Every deal needs a clear owner—no “team deals.” Use Reachout’s assignment feature. -
Add key info fields.
Include basics: company, contact, deal size, close date. Optional: notes, objections, next steps. -
Set up automations—but go easy.
Automate the boring stuff: - When a deal moves to “Proposal Sent,” auto-assign a follow-up task for 3 days later.
- When a deal’s stuck in a stage for 10+ days, flag it for review.
What to ignore: Don’t try to automate “gut feel” actions or complex negotiations. Human judgment still wins deals.
4. Share and Manage Documents the Smart Way
Sales teams burn hours hunting for the “latest pricing sheet” or “approved proposal.” Reachout can help, but only if you keep it clean.
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Create a central folder for sales docs.
Use Reachout’s file management (or link to your existing drive). One folder, clear naming, version numbers. -
Pin key docs in relevant channels or deal cards.
Avoid sending files by chat—pin them so everyone sees the official version. -
Set permissions for sensitive docs.
Proposals and contracts should be view-only for most, editable only by a few. -
Archive old docs regularly.
Don’t let “Q2 2020 Final_FINAL_v3.docx” float around.
Pitfall alert: Don’t turn Reachout into a dumping ground for every PDF ever. Keep it focused on what people actually use.
5. Assign and Track Follow-Ups Without Nagging
Forget sticky notes and “Did you follow up?” emails. Reachout lets you assign tasks and see what’s slipping.
- Assign tasks from deal cards or messages.
Good: “Call back Acme Corp by Friday—assigned to Mike.” - Set deadlines and reminders.
Reachout can nudge people when something’s overdue, so you don’t have to. - Keep task lists short.
If someone has 50 open tasks, they’ll ignore all of them. Focus on what truly matters.
What works: Real deadlines, visible to the team.
What doesn’t: Assigning vague tasks (“Follow up soon”) or giving everyone homework on every deal.
6. Use Approvals and Comments (But Don’t Overdo It)
You need approvals for special pricing or terms, but not for every move.
- Set up approval workflows for exceptions.
E.g., “Manager approval required on discounts over 20%.” - Keep comment threads focused.
Use comments on deal cards for clarifications, not for endless debates. - Limit who can trigger approvals.
Otherwise, you’ll get approval fatigue and delays.
Skip: Formal approvals for routine deals. Trust your team unless you have a real compliance need.
7. Keep Team Communication Useful, Not Distracting
Collaboration tools can turn into a noisy mess if you let them.
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Use channels for focused topics:
E.g., “Weekly Wins,” “Urgent Blockers,” “Product Updates.” Don’t make a channel for every tiny topic. -
Pin important messages or updates.
So you don’t have to scroll back 200 messages to find last week’s results. -
Mute or archive dead channels.
Clean up regularly—dead channels are just noise. -
Pull in outside tools if needed.
If your team lives in email or Slack, Reachout can integrate, but don’t force it. Use what actually fits your workflow.
Not worth it: Trying to replace all face-to-face or real-time chat. Some conversations are just faster in person or on a call.
8. Review and Adjust—Don’t “Set and Forget”
Workflows are only helpful if they actually get used. Review what’s working and dump what’s not.
- Look at usage, not just setup.
Are deals getting updated? Are tasks getting done? Are approvals holding things up? - Ask the team what’s annoying them.
If people are ignoring parts of the workflow, it’s probably too complicated. - Iterate every quarter.
Tweak stages, task types, or channels as your sales process changes.
Remember: Complexity is the enemy. If you need a training manual for your workflow, it’s too much.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Keep It Useful
You don’t need a perfect, all-singing-all-dancing workflow to get results. Start with the basics: track deals, share docs, assign follow-ups, and keep communication focused. Skip the hype, ignore the fancy features you’ll never use, and review what’s actually moving the needle.
Set up your team’s workflows in Reachout so they help, not hinder. Then keep tuning as you go. Simple, honest, and built for the way your sales team actually works—that’s what gets deals done.