Method and system for managing business deals

• US 10,423,909 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2017
• Issued: 09/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Inventors: Winters, Jason
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, Alan S
• Application Number:
  US15/457,612
• Publication Number:
  US 20180005165A1
• Time in Patent Office: 925 Days
• Field of Search: 705 711- 742
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063114 Status monitoring or status determination for a person or group

Abstract

In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms and methods for managing business deals. The mechanisms and methods for managing business deals may enable embodiments to provide a dynamic and interactive user-interface including any combination of contacts, accounts, opportunities, allowing users to create tasks, events, leads (e.g., from Data.com), reports, dashboards, instant messenger, external deal spaces, email service (e.g., Outlook), a cloud-based productivity suite for businesses that allows work on any device (e.g., Google apps), mobile access, private messaging, lead management, mass email templates, social media monitoring (e.g., from Radian6), role-based sharing and security, and/or additional storage, for example. In an embodiment, the number of contacts may be unlimited.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a database system implemented using a server system comprising one or more hardware processors, the database system configurable to cause;

maintaining information identifying a plurality of past events and a plurality of future events, the past events and the future events being associated with one or more of a plurality of enterprise work records stored in a database;

providing feed data to a user device, the feed data capable of being processed by the user device, using one or more applications, to cause display or cause updating of display in a user interface of a chronological list of a plurality of feed items associated with the one or more enterprise work records, the feed items comprising a subset of past feed items representing the past events and a subset of future feed items representing the future events;

identifying a first one of the plurality of feed items, the first feed item being of a first one of a plurality of event types and having a first event date, the first event type capable of being indicated by display of a first visual indicator in the user interface, the first event date capable of being indicated by display of a second visual indicator offset from the first visual indicator in the user interface, the displayed chronological list of feed items capable of being updated in association with alignment of the second visual indicator with the first visual indicator;

processing notification data regarding a first future event associated with the one or more enterprise work records, the notification data identifying a future event date, a location and a user; and

providing the notification data to the user device, the notification data capable of being processed by the user device to cause updating of the displayed chronological list of feed items to represent the first future event as a designated future feed item according to the future event date, the designated future feed item configured to indicate the future event date, the location, and/or the user.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the user interface is capable of displaying a plurality of unique graphical indications, each graphical indication representing a different event.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the user interface is interactive to allow a user to view, add or change events.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein a feed item identifies one or more of:

a task, file or a deal.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the notification data is associated with a request to join a secure portal automatically created when a user shares a file with a customer.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein a feed item identifies one or more of:

a contact, an account, an opportunity, a lead, a report, a dashboard, an instant messenger, an email service, workability on a device, mobile access, private messaging, lead management, a mass email template, social media monitoring, role-based sharing, role-based security or storage.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein a feed item identifies one or more apps providing support operations for business management and providing a link to a video.

8. A computer program product comprising computer-readable program code capable of being executed by one or more processors when retrieved from a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the program code comprising instructions configurable to cause:

maintaining information identifying a plurality of past events and a plurality of future events, the past events and the future events being associated with one or more of a plurality of enterprise work records stored in a database;

providing feed data to a user device, the feed data capable of being processed by the user device, using one or more applications, to cause display or cause updating of display in a user interface of a chronological list of a plurality of feed items associated with the one or more enterprise work records, the feed items comprising a subset of past feed items representing the past events and a subset of future feed items representing the future events;

identifying a first one of the plurality of feed items, the first feed item being of a first one of a plurality of event types and having a first event date, the first event type capable of being indicated by display of a first visual indicator in the user interface, the first event date capable of being indicated by display of a second visual indicator offset from the first visual indicator in the user interface, the displayed chronological list of feed items capable of being updated in association with alignment of the second visual indicator with the first visual indicator;

processing notification data regarding a first future event associated with the one or more enterprise work records, the notification data identifying a future event date, a location and a user; and

providing the notification data to the user device, the notification data capable of being processed by the user device to cause updating of the displayed chronological list of feed items to represent the first future event as a designated future feed item according to the future event date, the designated future feed item configured to indicate the future event date, the location, and/or the user.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the user interface is capable of displaying a plurality of unique graphical indications, each graphical indication representing a different event.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the user interface is interactive to allow a user to view, add or change events.

11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein a feed item identifies one or more of:

a task, file or a deal.

12. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the notification data is associated with a request to join a secure portal automatically created when a user shares a file with a customer.

13. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein a feed item identifies one or more of:

a contact, an account, an opportunity, a lead, a report, a dashboard, an instant messenger, an email service, workability on a device, mobile access, private messaging, lead management, a mass email template, social media monitoring, role-based sharing, role-based security or storage.

14. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein a feed item identifies one or more apps providing support operations for business management and providing a link to a video.

15. A method comprising:

maintaining information identifying a plurality of past events and a plurality of future events, the past events and the future events being associated with one or more of a plurality of enterprise work records stored in a database;

providing feed data to a user device, the feed data capable of being processed by the user device, using one or more applications, to cause display or cause updating of display in a user interface of a chronological list of a plurality of feed items associated with the one or more enterprise work records, the feed items comprising a subset of past feed items representing the past events and a subset of future feed items representing the future events;

identifying a first one of the plurality of feed items, the first feed item being of a first one of a plurality of event types and having a first event date, the first event type capable of being indicated by display of a first visual indicator in the user interface, the first event date capable of being indicated by display of a second visual indicator offset from the first visual indicator in the user interface, the displayed chronological list of feed items capable of being updated in association with alignment of the second visual indicator with the first visual indicator;

processing notification data regarding a first future event associated with the one or more enterprise work records, the notification data identifying a future event date, a location and a user; and

providing the notification data to the user device, the notification data capable of being processed by the user device to cause updating of the displayed chronological list of feed items to represent the first future event as a designated future feed item according to the future event date, the designated future feed item configured to indicate the future event date, the location, and/or the user.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the user interface is capable of displaying a plurality of unique graphical indications, each graphical indication representing a different event.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the user interface is interactive to allow a user to view, add or change events.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein a feed item identifies one or more of:

a task, file or a deal.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the notification data is associated with a request to join a secure portal automatically created when a user shares a file with a customer.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein a feed item identifies one or more of:

a contact, an account, an opportunity, a lead, a report, a dashboard, an instant messenger, an email service, workability on a device, mobile access, private messaging, lead management, a mass email template, social media monitoring, role-based sharing, role-based security or storage.