HubSpot Automation: 10 Workflows Everyone Needs

HubSpot is powerful. But most people only use 20% of its capabilities. In this article, we'll show you 10 workflows you can set up in HubSpot right away - from simple to advanced.

Why HubSpot Workflows?

HubSpot workflows are automated action sequences triggered by specific events. They can:

• Send emails
• Update properties
• Create tasks
• Create/move deals
• Send Slack messages
• Call webhooks
• And much more

Availability:

• HubSpot Free: No workflows
• Starter: Form workflows
• Professional: Full workflows
• Enterprise: Advanced features

The 10 Most Important Workflows

1. Lead Welcome Sequence

Trigger: Contact submits a form What happens:

Immediately:
  → Property "Lifecycle Stage" = Lead
  → Email 1: Welcome + Resource

3 days later:
  → Email 2: Helpful content

7 days later:
  → Email 3: Case study

14 days later:
  → Email 4: Soft CTA (Demo/Call)

Setup in HubSpot:

Marketing → Workflows → Create workflow

Contact-based → From scratch

Trigger: "Form submission" = Your form

Action: "Send email" + "Delay" + "Send email"...

Tips:

• Personalize with {{contact.firstname}}
• Use Branch for different interests
• Stop the sequence when contact converts

2. Lead Scoring

Trigger: Various activities Logic:

Email opened: +5 points
Link clicked: +10 points
Page visited: +3 points
Pricing page visited: +20 points
Form submitted: +25 points
Webinar registered: +30 points
Blog >3 articles read: +15 points

Setup:

Create property "Lead Score" (Number)

Create a separate workflow for each activity:

- Trigger: "Email opened"

- Action: "Increase property value" → Lead Score +5

Or with HubSpot's native scoring (Professional+):

Settings → Properties → Lead Score → Edit criteria

3. Sales Notification for Hot Leads

Trigger: Lead Score > 50 What happens:

Score reaches 50:
  → Slack message to #sales
  → Email to assigned owner
  → Task created: "Contact hot lead"
  → Property "Lead Status" = "Hot"

Setup:

Trigger: Contact property "Lead Score" > 50

Branch: "Has owner?"

- Yes → Notify owner

- No → Assign owner (Round Robin)

Action: Create task, Send Slack, Update property

Slack Integration:

Settings → Integrations → Slack

In workflow: "Send Slack notification"

4. Automatic Deal Creation

Trigger: "Request Demo" form submitted What happens:

Form submitted:
  → Create deal
  → Pipeline: Sales Pipeline
  → Stage: "Demo Requested"
  → Amount: From form (if available)
  → Owner: From Contact or Round Robin
  → Task: "Conduct demo" in 24h

Setup:

Trigger: Form submission = "Demo Request"

Action: "Create deal"

- Deal name: {{contact.company}} - Demo

- Pipeline: Sales Pipeline

- Stage: Demo Requested

- Owner: Contact owner

Action: Create task for deal owner

5. Follow-up After Inactivity

Trigger: Contact has been inactive for 30 days What happens:

30 days no activity:
  → Check: Is there an open deal?
    → Yes: Notify owner
    → No: Send re-engagement email

No response after 14 days:
  → Property "Status" = "Inactive"

Setup:

Trigger: "Last activity date" > 30 days ago

Branch: "Associated deals" = "Open deal exists"

- Yes → Notify owner + Create task

- No → Send re-engagement email

Delay 14 days

Branch: "Any email opened since enrollment?"

- Yes → Exit workflow

- No → Set property "Inactive"

6. Webinar Reminder Sequence

Trigger: Webinar registration What happens:

Immediately:
  → Confirmation email with calendar link

1 day before:
  → Reminder email

1 hour before:
  → Reminder with access link

After webinar:
  → Branch: Attended?
    → Yes: Thank you + Recording + CTA
    → No: "Sorry you missed it" + Recording

Setup:

Trigger: List membership = "Webinar [Date] Registered"

Immediately: Send confirmation email

Delay until: [Webinar date minus 1 day]

Send reminder

Delay until: [Webinar date minus 1 hour]

Send reminder with link

Delay until: [Webinar date plus 2 hours]

Branch based on "Attended webinar" property

7. Customer Onboarding

Trigger: Deal Stage = "Closed Won" What happens:

Deal won:
  → Lifecycle Stage = Customer
  → Send welcome email
  → Task for CSM: "Schedule kickoff"
  → Slack: #customer-success

Day 3:
  → Email: Getting Started Guide

Day 7:
  → Email: Feature Highlight 1

Day 14:
  → Task: "Check-in call"

Day 30:
  → Email: Feedback survey (NPS)

Setup:

Trigger: Deal stage = "Closed Won"

Actions as described above

Use "Delay" for time-delayed actions

8. Automatic Customer Segmentation

Trigger: Various criteria What happens:

Revenue > $100,000:
  → Segment = "Enterprise"
  → Owner = Senior Account Manager

Revenue $10,000-100,000:
  → Segment = "Mid-Market"

Revenue < $10,000:
  → Segment = "SMB"

Industry = "E-Commerce":
  → Tag: "E-Commerce"
  → Add to specific nurturing list

Setup:

Trigger: Property "Annual Revenue" is known

Branch by revenue ranges

Set segment property + assign owner

Enroll in relevant lists

9. Meeting Follow-up

Trigger: Meeting booked through HubSpot What happens:

Meeting booked:
  → Confirmation via email
  → Task for owner: "Prepare for meeting"
  → Check contact's LinkedIn profile (Manual Task)

1h before meeting:
  → Reminder to both parties

After meeting (automatically detected):
  → Task: "Send follow-up"
  → Delay 1 day
  → Automatic follow-up email if no manual one sent

Setup:

Use HubSpot Meetings + Workflows:

Trigger: "Meeting activity" = Booked

Actions for preparation

Trigger: "Meeting outcome" = Completed

Actions for follow-up

10. Churn Prevention

Trigger: Warning signs detected Warning signs:

- No login for 14 days
Support tickets > 3 in 30 days
NPS Score < 7
Usage dropped > 50%

What happens:

Warning sign detected:
  → Property "Churn Risk" = High
  → CSM receives alert
  → Task: "Churn Prevention Call"
  → Optional: Inform executive sponsor

No engagement after 7 days:
  → Escalate to management

Setup:

Integrate your product data (API/Zapier)

Trigger: "Churn Risk Score" > Threshold

Notify CSM + Create task

Delay 7 days

Branch: "Task completed?"

- No → Escalate

Advanced Workflow Techniques

Using Branches Effectively

IF Contact property "Industry" = "E-Commerce"
  → Send E-Commerce specific email
ELIF Contact property "Industry" = "SaaS"
  → Send SaaS specific email
ELSE
  → Send generic email

Combining Multiple Triggers

Trigger: ANY of the following:
  - Form submission: Contact Form
  - Form submission: Demo Form
  - Form submission: Pricing Form

Extending Workflows with Webhooks

Trigger: Deal stage = "Proposal Sent"
Action: Webhook to Make.com
  → Make.com creates proposal in PandaDoc
  → PandaDoc sends for signature
  → Webhook back to HubSpot: Deal → "Contract Sent"

Re-Enrollment Logic

By default, a contact goes through a workflow only once. For recurring actions:

Settings → Re-enrollment → Allow re-enrollment when:

• Contact property changes
• List membership changes
• Form submitted again

Best Practices

1. Naming Convention

[Type] - [Goal] - [Details]

Examples:
"Lead - Nurturing - Newsletter Signup"
"Customer - Onboarding - Enterprise"
"Sales - Notification - Hot Lead Alert"

2. Always Set a Goal

Every workflow should have a goal (when is it successful?):

• Workflow Settings → Goal
• Contacts who reach the goal exit the workflow

3. Use Suppression Lists

Prevent certain contacts from entering workflows:

• Competitors
• Internal emails
• Unsubscribed contacts
• Existing customers (for lead workflows)

4. Test Before Activation

Create test contact

Set workflow to "Test mode"

Simulate run-through

Check all paths

Only then activate

5. Monitor Performance

Check regularly:

• Enrollment Rate
• Conversion Rate (for Goal)
• Email Open/Click Rates
• Workflow Errors

HubSpot + Make.com: A Powerful Combination

Why add Make.com?

HubSpot workflows are powerful but limited to HubSpot. With Make.com you can:

• Integrate external APIs
• Implement complex logic
• Build multi-app workflows
• Transform data

Example: Automatic Proposal Generation

HubSpot: Deal reaches "Proposal" Stage
    → Webhook to Make.com

Make.com:
    → Fetch deal data
    → Generate proposal in PandaDoc
    → Attach PDF to HubSpot deal
    → Email proposal to contact

HubSpot: Deal property "Proposal Sent" = True

Checklist: Setting Up Workflows

Planning

Setup

Test

Go-Live

Conclusion

HubSpot workflows are the key to scalable marketing and sales. The 10 workflows in this article cover the most important use cases:

Automatically nurture leads

Identify and notify on hot leads

Automate the sales process

Successfully onboard customers

Prevent churn

Start with one workflow. Perfect it. Then move to the next.

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Want to get the most out of HubSpot? We help with workflow strategy, implementation, and optimization - from the basics to complex multi-tool automations.