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Leads & sales

Trade sample request tracking and follow-up

Trade sample follow-up turns each request from a shop, café or stockist into a CRM deal and a shipping order. Once the samples have arrived, it prompts the account owner to call while the buyer still has them to hand.

An example of how the studio would build it. No live services are connected.

From a sample request to a call at the right moment.

  1. Step 01

    Request received

    A trade buyer fills in the sample request form with their business, address, products of interest and expected volumes.

  2. Step 02

    Deal created

    Create the account and a sample deal in Zoho CRM, linked to any earlier conversations with that business.

  3. Step 03

    Label prepared

    Create the order in Royal Mail Click & Drop so the packer can print the label and post the samples.

  4. Step 04

    Delivery awaited

    Use the tracking status where available, or a set number of days after posting, to know when the samples have arrived.

  5. Step 05

    Call prompted

    Give the account owner a task to call a few days after delivery, with the products sent and the buyer’s notes.

The result

Buyers hear from you while the samples are still on the counter.

Each request creates one order, matched by business and address, so a resubmitted form doesn’t post a second box. Sample limits per business are checked, and anything over the limit waits for approval.

Before we connect it.

Where this is useful

Useful for food and drink producers, breweries, coffee roasters, cosmetics brands and makers who send samples to trade buyers and lose track of who received what. A sensible first version creates the deal and the shipping order, and sets a reminder to call based on the date the parcel was posted.

What we need to connect

  1. 01A trade sample request form that asks for business name, delivery address, products of interest and how the buyer heard about you.
  2. 02Zoho CRM access to create accounts, contacts, deals and tasks, and Royal Mail Click & Drop access to create orders through its API where your account allows it.
  3. 03Your rules for who qualifies for samples, how many each business can have, and how long to wait after delivery before calling.

What needs careful handling

Some requests come from consumers rather than trade buyers, so the form asks for business details and anything that doesn’t look like a trade account is held for review. Tracking events vary by Royal Mail service, so the follow-up falls back to a set number of days after posting when no delivery scan is available. A business that already has an open deal is linked to it rather than starting a new one, so the account owner sees the whole history.

Questions people ask.

Can this send samples without anyone checking?

It can for businesses that pass your rules, but most producers prefer to approve each request at first. Approval can be a single click in the CRM before the order reaches the packing bench.

What happens if the buyer orders before we call?

If an order from that business is recorded in the CRM, the call task changes to a welcome call instead. The account owner always sees what has happened before they pick up the phone.

Quote sent → Owner notified
Automation 06

Automated quote follow-ups

Loss recorded → Owner reminded
Automation 20

Lost deal re-engagement in Salesforce

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