Learning goals

Run an activity log: type, opportunity, summary, due date, done flag
Pull the company onto each activity through the opportunity register
Read the log as a per-deal history using autofilter

Concepts

Touches, not vibes

Fourteen activities, ACT-501 through ACT-514, spanning Jan 12 to Jun 29, 2026: calls, emails, meetings, demos, site visits, quotes sent. Each row carries five facts - the type, the opportunity it belongs to, a one-line summary, a DUE DATE, and a Y/N done flag. The due date is the whole discipline: an activity without a next step attached is a note, not a commitment. 'Walked the venue kitchen with Chris Tanaka' (ACT-508) promised a follow-up by Jun 5 - Lesson 12 will show what happens when that promise lapses.

The log is deliberately one flat table, not a per-deal tab. Flat tables filter, count, and age; per-deal tabs only look organized.

=VLOOKUP($E5,Opportunities!$B$5:$D$1004,3,FALSE)

You type only the Opp # (E5). This borrows the company name from the register: the third column of the B:D range is Company. Result for ACT-501: Harborview Cafe LLC.

💡 Tips:

In the downloadable workbook the log has an autofilter on row 4 - filter column E to one Opp # and you have that deal's entire history in two clicks. No macro, no report builder.

Type taxonomy and the done flag

Six types cover a small-business sales life: Call, Email, Meeting, Demo, Site Visit, Quote Sent. A fixed list again - the same dropdown logic as lead sources, because you will inevitably ask 'how many demos did we run in June?' and the answer must be countable.

The Done column is strictly Y or N. Not a date, not initials - a boolean you can COUNTIFS on. Nine of the fourteen activities are done, three are scheduled for July, and two are overdue; the status column that classifies them is Lesson 12's formula.

💡 Tips:

Log the activity when you BOOK it, mark it Y when you finish it. Logging after the fact creates a diary; logging ahead creates a pipeline.

Practice

Fixed case (Jan-Jun 2026, aging date Jun 30, 2026). Pale-green cells are formulas; white cells are typed entries. This lesson opens on Activities.

Scan the fourteen touches — Rows 5-18, January to June. F5 is blank - you will type it. Note each row's structure: what, when, for which deal, what was promised, done or not.
Type the company lookup — Click F5 and type =VLOOKUP($E5,Opportunities!$B$5:$D$1004,3,FALSE) then Enter. It returns Harborview Cafe LLC - the account behind OPP-101's intro call.
Take the status census — Column J currently shows 9 Done, 3 Scheduled, 2 Overdue. Find the two red-flag rows - ACT-508 (due Jun 5) and ACT-509 (due Jun 18) - and notice neither is marked Y.
Trace one deal's story — Read column E for OPP-109: ACT-509 (demo, Jun 2, overdue) and ACT-514 (revised quote sent, Jun 29). Two touches, one quiet week - the patio deal's whole recent history.

Online exercise

The spreadsheet below is editable — follow the practice steps right on this page. Steps that need ribbon menus should be done in your own Excel with the downloadable practice file.

表格加载中…

Checklist

Work through each item; when every box passes, this lesson is done:

☐ F5 returned Harborview Cafe LLC via the opportunity register
☐ Confirmed the status census: 9 Done, 3 Scheduled, 2 Overdue across 14 activities
☐ Can explain why the Due Date column - not the Date column - carries the discipline

📈 Lesson 11 · The activity log