Backstories give you a complete snapshot of everything happening within an Account or Opportunity all on one page. These pages, viewable in Backstory and your CRM, surface Account and Opportunity summaries including key topics discussed, logged next steps, and potential risks.
What This Article Covers
Accessing Backstory pages
Engagement Levels
Account and Deal Summaries
Engagement Metrics
People Metrics
Backstory Assistant
Frequently asked questions
Accessing Backstory Pages
Backstory pages are accessible in Backstory and as an embedded component within your CRM Account and Opportunity records.
Backstory Platform
Log into Backstory.
Use the search bar in the top right corner to find an Account or Opportunity.
Select the Account or Opportunity from the search results.
The Backstory page will load as the default view.
Salesforce
Navigate to an Account or Opportunity record in Salesforce.
Click the Backstory tab.
Note: The tab may appear in Salesforce as “360” (previous name), or it may have another name depending on how your administrator configured it.
Engagement Level
The engagement level is near the top of the page and represented by a green or red wheel with a number in the center. It is a 0 to 100 score based on the volume, type, and recency of matched activities over the last 12 weeks.
Account/Deal Summary
The Account/Deal Summary shows key topics, next steps, and potential risks with color-coded bullets indicating the recency of the information.
Key Topics cover the themes and topics discussed recently. Use it to spot customer priorities and identify conversations you still need to have.
Next Steps show upcoming actions or tasks logged in your CRM. Use it as your action list to keep momentum.
Potential Risks show activity-based warning signs (gaps in communication, missing stakeholders, stalled threads). Use it to resolve risks early.
A label at the top right of the full summary shows when the summary was last generated or the date of the most recent activity included in it.
The color of each bullet indicates the recency of the summary relative to today's date: the last 7 days, last 14 days, last 30 days, and older than 30 days.
Account/Deal Summary Sidebar
Click any bullet to open a sidebar showing the specific activities that contributed to it, ordered by recency.
Engagement Metrics
Engagement Metrics provide a detailed look into activity across the opportunity or account, including number of meetings, executives engaged, and emails sent and received. You can adjust the time period of these metrics using the dropdown.
People
People Metrics show activity and engagement for each person associated with the account or opportunity.
Use the external vs. internal dropdown to view external contacts (prospects and customers), or internal contributors (colleagues engaged in the deal). Sort contacts by engagement, seniority, time spent, or recently engaged. Filter by seniority and department.
Click on each contact to view:
Contact information
Engagement score
Last activity
Next meeting
Activity summary
Buyer benchmarks
Backstory Assistant
The Backstory Assistant is an AI-powered virtual agent available on every Backstory page. Click the chat icon in the top right corner of the page to open it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean if the Account or Deal Summary shows no data?
If the Summary is empty, it typically means there are no matched activities for that Account or Opportunity yet. This can happen with newly created Accounts or Opportunities or when CRM activity syncing is still in progress. Allow 24 to 48 hours for data to populate after initial setup.
Why are some contacts missing from the People section?
Contacts appear in the People section only when they are matched to activities in Backstory. If a contact is missing, their communications may not have been matched due to email domain settings, data sync delays, or privacy configurations. Contact your Backstory administrator or reach out to support for help.
Why does the Engagement Level in Backstory look different from what I see in Salesforce?
Users may not see all activities in Backstory due to privacy settings. The score is calculated using all matched activities, so it may reflect activity that is not visible to every user.
Need Help?
Contact your Customer Success Manager or support@backstory.ai.