Why Automate Your Pipeline Stages

Manually moving deals through your sales pipeline and following up with leads at every stage takes time away from selling. Pipeline automation lets you configure actions that trigger automatically when a deal enters or exits a stage — such as sending a follow-up email, applying a tag, or notifying a team member. By automating key steps in your pipeline process, leads keep moving through your sales process without requiring manual intervention at every stage.

Pipeline automation is powered by Easy Automations. For more information on how Easy Automations work and what actions are available, see the Easy Automations setup guide.

Important: Automations that use a Deal enters stage trigger will fire in two situations: when a deal is manually moved into the selected stage from another stage, and when a new deal is created and placed directly into that stage. Creating a new deal is treated as the deal entering its starting stage, so the automation will trigger on deal creation as well as on manual stage changes.

How to Add Automation to a Pipeline Stage

1. In the left-hand navigation menu, click Pipeline to open the Pipeline view.

2. Locate the pipeline stage you want to automate. Click the Automate stage button inside that stage to open the automation configuration panel for that stage.

   

   The Pipeline view displays each stage as a column. Each stage column contains an Automate stage button. Clicking the Automate stage button inside the target stage opens the automation configuration side panel for that specific stage.

3. The automation configuration panel opens on the right side of the screen. You can build your automation directly in the side panel, or click Go to automations to open the full automation builder in a larger view.

   

   The automation configuration side panel displays the automation builder on the right side of the screen. The Go to automations link is located at the top of the side panel. Clicking Go to automations opens the full-screen automation builder where larger or more complex automations can be built more easily.

4. In the automation builder, select a When event to define what triggers the automation. Three trigger options are available for pipeline stage automations:

   • Deal enters stage — triggers when a deal is moved into the stage, or when a new deal is created in that stage
   • Deal exits stage — triggers when a deal is moved out of the stage to another stage
   • Deal is closed — triggers when a deal is marked as closed

   

   The trigger selection screen displays three options: Deal enters stage, Deal exits stage, and Deal is closed. Each option is displayed as a selectable card. Click the trigger that matches when you want the automation to run.

5. Configure the details of the selected trigger — such as which specific stage applies — and click Next to proceed.

   

   The trigger configuration screen displays the selected trigger type at the top and configuration fields below it. After filling in the required trigger details, click the Next button in the lower-right corner to advance to the trigger review step.

6. Review the configured trigger details to confirm the trigger is set up correctly. Click Next to proceed to the action selection step.

   

   The trigger review screen displays a summary of the trigger configuration. Confirm the trigger details are correct before clicking Next to proceed. Clicking Next advances to the step where you select what action the automation will perform.

7. Select the action you want the automation to perform when the trigger fires. Available actions include sending an email, sending a text message, applying a tag, and other automation options.

   

   The action selection screen displays a list of available automation actions. Each action is listed as a selectable option. Click the action you want the automation to perform when the pipeline trigger fires.

8. Continue configuring the details of the selected action. When you have finished configuring the action, click Preview to review the complete automation before publishing.

   

   The action configuration screen displays the fields required to configure the selected action. After completing the configuration, the Preview button appears in the lower-right corner. Clicking Preview opens the automation summary screen.

9. Review the complete automation — including the trigger and the action — on the preview screen. If the automation is configured correctly, click Publish to activate it.

   

   The automation preview screen displays the full automation summary, including the configured trigger and action. The Publish button is located in the lower-right corner of the screen. Clicking Publish activates the automation. The automation will begin triggering immediately for deals that meet the configured trigger condition.

10. After publishing, the pipeline stage that has automation configured will display a lightning bolt icon in the stage column header. The lightning bolt icon indicates that at least one active automation is attached to that stage.

    

    The Pipeline view displays the lightning bolt icon in the header of any stage that has an active automation attached to it. Stage columns without automation do not display the lightning bolt icon. The lightning bolt icon is a visual indicator only and does not affect how the automation runs.

How to Delete Automation from a Pipeline Stage

1. In the Pipeline view, locate the stage with the automation you want to delete. Click the Edit automation button on that stage to open the automation management panel for that stage.

   

   The Pipeline view displays the Edit automation button on stages that have automation configured. Clicking Edit automation opens the automation management panel for that stage, which lists all automations currently attached to the stage.

2. In the automation management panel, locate the automation you want to delete. Click the menu icon on that automation to open the automation options menu.

   

   The automation management panel displays a list of automations attached to the selected stage. Each automation in the list has a menu icon on the right side. Clicking the menu icon opens a dropdown with options for that automation, including the Delete option.

3. In the automation options menu, click Delete to initiate the deletion of the automation.

   

   The automation options menu displays the available actions for the selected automation. The Delete option is listed in the menu. Clicking Delete opens a confirmation dialog to prevent accidental deletion.

4. A confirmation dialog will appear asking you to confirm the deletion. Click Delete automation in the confirmation dialog to permanently delete the automation from the stage.

   

   The confirmation dialog displays a message confirming the automation to be deleted and a Delete automation button. Clicking Delete automation permanently removes the automation from the pipeline stage. The lightning bolt icon will be removed from the stage column in the Pipeline view if no other automations remain attached to that stage.

Learn More: Pipeline Training at Keap Academy

For a deeper walkthrough of pipeline setup and automation strategy, see the Pipeline in Pro and Max course at Keap Academy — free self-paced training with expert walkthroughs and strategic guidance.