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Follow-up tasks

Follow-up tasks create accountable reminders for future sales or operational work. A task should identify the action, owner, due date, priority, and current status so that work remains visible even when the original conversation happened elsewhere.

A follow-up is useful only when it is specific enough to complete.

Required information​

A strong follow-up includes:

  • a clear title;
  • a description of the expected action;
  • related lead or buyer;
  • owner;
  • due date and, when important, time;
  • priority;
  • status; and
  • completion or cancellation outcome.

Writing a good task​

Weak:

Follow up with buyer.

Better:

Call Nadia Training by 3:00 p.m. Thursday to confirm whether she accepts Lot T-08 and wants a Saturday site visit. Record her decision and create the visit if confirmed.

The better task explains what success looks like.

Task statuses​

Use the live statuses truthfully. General meanings may include:

  • Open — work has not started.
  • In progress — active work is underway.
  • Completed — the requested action and outcome were recorded.
  • Cancelled — the action is no longer needed and a reason is preserved.

Do not mark Completed simply because the due date passed or the buyer did not answer.

Completing a follow-up​

  1. Open the related lead.
  2. Read the latest activity and task purpose.
  3. Complete the action.
  4. Record the outcome as an activity.
  5. Mark the task complete.
  6. Create the next task if more work is required.
  7. Update the lead stage or next action only when the outcome supports it.

Rescheduling​

Reschedule when the action is still needed but cannot reasonably be completed on the original date.

Record:

  • attempt or reason;
  • new date;
  • owner;
  • any buyer commitment; and
  • escalation when repeated delays occur.

Do not repeatedly move the date forward without an activity.

Overdue tasks​

An overdue task should be reviewed the same day it is identified. Decide whether to:

  • complete it;
  • reschedule with reason;
  • reassign it;
  • cancel it because it is no longer relevant; or
  • escalate it to a manager.

Open and in-progress tasks may appear in Dashboard and reporting queues. Leaving stale tasks open makes those tools less trustworthy.

Example: buyer did not answer​

A task says to call the buyer about a site visit.

  1. Staff call at the agreed time.
  2. No answer.
  3. Staff record the attempt.
  4. The original task is completed because the call was made.
  5. A new WhatsApp follow-up is created for the next approved attempt.
  6. The lead remains in the truthful stage.

Common mistakes​

  • Using vague titles.
  • Creating a task without an owner.
  • Setting every task to high priority.
  • Marking complete without recording the outcome.
  • Reusing one task by continually changing the due date.
  • Leaving tasks open after the lead is inactive or closed.
  • Creating duplicate tasks for the same action.

Suggested training media​

Screenshot space: Add a follow-up queue showing Open, In Progress, Completed, Cancelled, due-today, and overdue examples. Label owner, due date, priority, and related lead.
Screenshot space: Add a task-detail screenshot showing a specific description and the activity recorded before completion.
Diagram space: Add a task outcome flow: Due task → Perform action → Record outcome → Complete original task → Create next task, close, or escalate.
Video space: Record a 5-minute walkthrough showing one successful follow-up, one no-answer outcome, and one overdue task that is reassigned with a reason.