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What are tasks in Salesforce—and how do you use them?

By Will Harris · October 21, 2022

Comparing Salesforce to a to-do list is like comparing a new Tesla to the tricycle I bought for my kid at a garage sale. But Salesforce does have a tasks feature for sales teams that want to tighten up their lead follow-up and close deals faster. Here's how it works.

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What are tasks in Salesforce?

Salesforce tasks are essentially just a to-do list inside of Salesforce. Sales teams use them as reminders to follow up with leads, send over proposals, or do anything else related to closing deals.

The most helpful part about a task in Salesforce, though, is that it's related to a particular record. Instead of flipping between a to-do list app and hub-of-all-things Salesforce, everything is right there in one place, and it's clear which leads, customers, or accounts each task is meant for.

Salesforce also keeps a timeline of all of the tasks associated with each record, so you can see everything at a glance.

A screenshot of a timeline of tasks and activities in Salesforce.

How to create a task in Salesforce

There are a lot of ways to create tasks in Salesforce, and the good news is that none of them are wrong. That said, I'll walk you through how to create a new task from the Tasks tab.

  1. In the left sidebar, click the arrow button in the top-right corner, and select New Task.

    A screenshot of a cursor clicking the "New Task" button in Salesforce.

  2. Next, enter the details of your new task. 

Tasks have three required fields:

  • Status: the stage of completion is the task at

  • Subject: typically a description of what the task is

  • Priority: how important or urgent the task is

You'll also have the option to fill out optional fields:

  • Assigned to: the team member the task is assigned to

  • Name: the name of the lead or contact the task is associated with

  • Due date: the date that the task is due

  • Related to: the account that the task is associated with, if any

Screenshot of fields to be added to a new task in Salesforce.

Never miss a follow-up opportunity 

Tasks in Salesforce, while a simple concept, are hands down one of the best ways to make sure your team is following up with leads and closing new deals. 

Related reading:

  • 3 ways to automate your sales

  • Salesforce automation ideas to keep your business on track

  • Lead lifecycle stages: How to develop your lead management process

  • Connect Facebook Lead Ads to Salesforce and automatically save leads in your CRM

  • S&OP: Sales and operations planning 101

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