How a rule is built
| Part | Examples |
|---|---|
| Trigger | A lead arrives; an opportunity changes stage; a reply lands; a field changes; a date passes. |
| Condition | Source is X; value over £10,000; owner is unset; no activity for 14 days. |
| Action | Assign an owner; move a stage; add to a sequence; create a task; notify somebody; set a field. |
Automations are deliberately not agents. They do exactly what they say, every time, and every run is logged with what fired and what it did. That makes them debuggable in a way that a model in the loop would not be, and it means an automation is safe to put on a path that matters.
Automations
| Rule | Trigger | Action | Runs (30d) | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route portal signups | Lead created | Assign to Dana, add to onboarding sequence | 42 | On |
| Large deal alert | Opportunity created | Notify Sam if value > £25,000 | 6 | On |
| Stale opportunity | No activity 14 days | Create a follow-up task for the owner | 19 | On |
| Reply stops sequence | Reply received | Remove from all sequences | 23 | On |
| Old routing rule | Lead created | Assign to a former colleague | 0 | Off |
The rules worth writing first
- Assign every new lead to somebody. An unowned lead is an unworked lead. Round-robin or by source, but never nobody.
- Acknowledge inbound within the hour. An automatic first response buys you the day.
- Flag opportunities with no activity for two weeks. The most valuable report in any CRM is the list of deals nobody has touched.
- Notify on a large opportunity. So the person who should be involved is involved on day one.
- Stop sequences on reply. Almost always on by default; check that it is.
A rule assigning leads to somebody who has left keeps firing and keeps assigning. Nothing errors — the assignment is valid, the person just is not there. A dormant rule with a live trigger is how leads disappear for a quarter. Check the list in the monthly access review.
What this does not do
A rule is one trigger, one condition set, one action set. There are no if/else trees.
Automations act inside CRM. They cannot raise an invoice or create a project.
Rules fire on events, not on a cron.
A rule is on or off. Test on a filtered condition first.
Questions
Can an automation send an email?
It can add a contact to a sequence, which sends. It does not compose free-form mail.
What happens if two rules conflict?
Both run. Order is not guaranteed, so avoid two rules setting the same field.
Is there a run log?
Yes, per rule.