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      How should I use Expected Launch Date, Close Lost, Budget, and Forecasting in Strategy Builder?

      The Expected Launch Date, or Start Date within Strategy Builder allows users to choose when each strategy should launch.

      Where is Expected Launch Date Located?

      Once you click Review & Launch in Strategy Builder, Expected Launch Date will appear at the bottom of the page. This field will edit the Launch Date for all strategies. This field should be set to the date you expect a dealer's strategies to begin running.

      You can also make edits before. you get to the Review & Launch page. In the Edit Strategies step of Strategy Builder, the Expected Launch Date will appear on the left side bar, and can be edited for each strategy individually. There is another Expected Launch Date field at the bottom of the left side bar. This field will edit Expected date for all strategies, overriding any date selected for an individual strategy.

      What does Expected Launch Date impact?

      Previously, strategies in the Strategy Pipeline of the Execution Hub did not impact the Current Month Forecast or Next Month Forecast. Now, when the Expected Launch Date is set and saved, forecasts will be affected. For example, if it is currently June 1, and you save a $10,000 strategy to the pipeline with an Expected Launch Date of July 1, June's forecast won't be affected, but July's forecast (Next Month Forecast) will appear as $10,000 higher. Additionally, when a strategy is saved with an Expected Launch Date, the Strategy State in the Execution Hub will now show as Expected rather than Draft.

      When can Expected Launch Date be edited?

      When the Strategy State is listed as In Fulfillment, the Expected Launch Date can no longer be edited. During this time, you can still forecast or cancel the strategy, but you can not adjust the date until fulfillment is complete. Once fulfillment is done and the Strategy State is set to Active, you can edit or forecast as normal.

      What is Close Lost and how do I Close Lost a strategy?

      Close Lost appears in the Strategy Pipeline table and in My Strategies and is visible once a strategy is between the Expected and In Fulfillment stages. This will remove a strategy from your pipeline and give you an opportunity to provide context on why the deal did not close.

      Reminders about Execution Hub and the Strategy Pipeline/Active Strategies tables

      What Does Each Strategy State Mean?

      Draft - A new Strategy has been started with the Strategy Builder and is past the initial "Strategy Selection" step. This is the only state that will not impact forecasting

      Expected - A new Strategy has been started with the Strategy Builder, and Expected Launch Date has been selected and saved

      Deal Created - A contract effective date has been set, and an existing or new deal has been created by clicking the "Create Deal" or "Link Deal" button

      Contract Created - A contract has been created and is at the stage where it can be downloaded, and/or sent, and the contract recipient can be changed

      Contract Sent - The contract has been sent

      Waiting on Fulfillment - The client has signed, but the fulfillment form hasn't been submitted by the DSM

      In-Fulfillment - Fulfillment form has been submitted and is in fulfillment with Ops, but no products are live. Expected Launch Date can no longer be edited at this point in the process

      Active - Strategy has live products

      Budget vs. forecasts

      • Current Month Budget - The active budget for the dealership representing any finalized and applied changes from the operations team, effectively representing the bill your dealer should expect to see at the end of the month
        • Current month budget will show $0 until a product's fulfillment is changed to "complete" in the related ops request
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      • Current Month Forecast - Active/In Fulfillment Strategies
        • This defaults to the Current Month Budget
      • Current Month Forecast - Non-draft strategies in all other stages of the pipeline
        • Includes strategies with a saved Expected Launch Date within the current month
      • Next Month Forecast - Active/In Fulfillment Strategies
        • This defaults to Current Month Budget
      • Next Month Forecast - Non-draft strategies in all other stages of the pipeline
        • Includes strategies with a saved Expected Launch Date within the next month

      Forecasting vs. editing a strategy

      Editing will actually apply a change to a client's strategy while forecasting will show what the budget would look like without actually changing it.

      Editing a strategy

      When a budget change has already been approved by the client, use the Edit option in the Actions dropdown. Adjust the budget as needed, input the start date, and click Send Request to finalize the change.

      Forecasting a strategy

      When you are expecting a future budget change or want to show a client what a budget change would look like, use the Forecast option in the Actions dropdown. Adjust the budget, input the start date, and select Save Forecast to update the Active Strategies table with your forecast. If you want to actually apply the budget change rather than just forecast it, use the Apply Forecast button.