Specify Step Due Dates and Grace Periods

To specify a due date for a task you want salespeople to complete, you enter the number of days past the time the previous guidance step was completed. In addition, you can provide a grace period of up to 23 hours for the salesperson to complete the task. Salespeople can manually enter a new due date for task, if need be.

Here's what happens when salespeople don't complete the task by the due date plus any grace period, and they don't manually postpone the due date:

• The guidance step is marked as skipped
• The Guidance panel displays the message "You're all caught up for now."
• The task status is changed to Canceled.
• If the task step is mapped to an objective, that objective is marked with an X, as not complete.

• If you provide a failure step, then the guidance moves to that failure step. For example, you can have the guidance automatically notify the manager when the task isn't completed or send a reminder to the sales team. If you provide failure steps, then you must run the Process Guidance Overdue Events process regularly.

• If you don't provide a failure path, then the guidance waits.

• Salespeople can open the Objectives panel on the record summary page to view the skipped step and click Complete to indicate the task has been completed and move guidance to the next step.

Appointments are created and scheduled automatically behind the scenes at the time you provide in the Start in Hours field. The assumption is that the salesperson reschedules the appointment to a time when the participants are available. If the appointment isn't updated by the appointment time plus any grace period you enter, the behavior is similar to tasks. The only difference is that appointments don't have any associated status.