Opportunity

Initial Configuration for Opportunity

EDA doesn't provide any settings specific for Opportunities.

Keep in mind that Opportunity is a sales-focused standard object, which means that your institution is unlikely to use all of the available fields. To help make the object more relevant to educational institutions, EDA includes a few custom fields on the object and a page layout. Make sure to assign this page layout to people that you want to work with Opportunity records.

The Stage field can help you track how close the prospect is to enrolling at your institution. Consider updating the default picklist values for this field as they're very sales-focused. For example, you can add custom Stage values that represent your recruiting cycle: Application Started, Application Submitted, Admitted, Rejected, Enrolled. Remember to map each value to an open or closed Status. Next, you can create a Sales Process, which contains the Stages of an Opportunity, and then update the Opportunity path. For more information, see Add or Edit Picklist Values, Create Multiple Business Processes, and Create a Path in Salesforce Help.

Your institution can also use Opportunity Contact Roles to identify other people related to the Opportunity. For example, you can track a parent or guardian's contact information in addition to the applicant. For more information, see Opportunity Contact Roles in the Salesforce Help.

To learn about the standard Opportunity settings that Salesforce provides and how to customize them for your institution, read Set Up Opportunities and Opportunity Products and Administer Opportunity Teams in Salesforce Help.

Keep Up with Opportunity Updates

As with all objects, verify and customize the security settings, navigation, and layouts for Opportunity, as needed.

Follow the general instructions in Display a New Custom Object After a Product Release, keeping in mind that you're editing settings for a standard object rather than a custom object.

Create an Opportunity with Automation

If your institution uses automation to create Opportunity records, make sure to link the Account Name field to the prospect’s Account record. Make sure to use a naming convention on the Opportunity Name field as EDA provides no automation to maintain this field. Also consider automating the Close Date and Stage fields as they’re required.

Create an Opportunity During Lead Conversion

When you convert a Lead to a Contact, the name that you specify for the Opportunity record becomes the Opportunity Name. By default, the Opportunity record uses the Lead's Company field followed by a hyphen. When converting Leads, specify a name for the Opportunity that makes sense for your institution.

For more information about converting a Lead, see Convert Lead Records to Contact Records.

Create an Opportunity Manually

Manually capture opportunities for prospects to enroll at your institution, such as to track information that’s not covered by automation or conversion.

1. Click the Opportunity tab and click New. If you don't see the tab, find it from the App Launcher.

2. Enter relevant details for these required fields.

   • Opportunity Name

     Enter a name that matches the naming conventions defined by your institution. For example, Last_Name - Application_Type Term or Lombard - Undergrad Fall 22' for a prospect named Louis Lombard.

   • Close Date

     Enter the date you plan to close the opportunity. Sometimes this date is the start of a Term.

   • Stage

     Select the current stage the Opportunity is in, such as Prospecting or a custom value.

3. Specify EDA-specific details and other fields, such as Account Name, Desired Campus, Desired Start Term, Desired Degree Level and Completed FAFSA.

4. Save your changes.