The Step-By-Step Guide to Setting Up HubSpot Workflows That Convert

If your HubSpot workflows aren’t delivering the results you need, chances are it’s not the tool’s fault. Most of the time, the issue is user error. 

And that’s not a surprise; there’s so much to consider that it’s only natural to make mistakes. 

The most common issues we see during a HubSpot audit are:

• Over-reliance on automation
• Poor/non-existent segmentation
• Messaging that isn’t mapped to your prospects

Emails shouldn’t be automated for the sake of it. Many businesses fall into the “we should automate this” trap. This can, if done incorrectly, result in you sending out hundreds of impersonal, ineffective emails that are never going to deliver the results you want. 

A good workflow should follow a set process; a tried-and-tested procedure that ensures you get the most value out of your HubSpot.

Fortunately, that’s exactly what we’ll be talking about today, starting with:

 

Step 1: Define your conversion goals before building anything

The first hurdle is where most workflows go wrong.

Chances are, you rarely go on a drive without a destination in mind. You should treat your workflows the same way. Each workflow needs a primary conversion goal; something specific, not simply “engagement”.

You need a single outcome for every workflow. For example, “This workflow will…”:

• Convert prospects into customers
• Get me demos booked
• Move prospects from content download to sales-qualified leads
• Encourage prospects to activate their free trial
• Nurture and educate cold clients

These are still fairly generic examples. You should ensure that your conversion goals are mapped directly to your needs as a business (and your unique audience). 

Your goal dictates everything that follows, from enrolment criteria to workflow type and reporting. If you can’t measure it, it isn’t a goal.

 

What to do in HubSpot

1. Write the goal down in plain English. “Book a demo with sales” is better than “increase conversions”.
2. Identify the HubSpot property that proves the goal has been achieved. This might be lifecycle stage, deal stage, a demo booked property or a custom conversion event.
3. Decide how success will be measured. Useful KPIs here include conversion rate from enrolment to goal, number of influenced deals, lifecycle stage movement, time to conversion, etc.

If you’re not sure which properties matter, or you’re relying on default fields that don’t align with your sales process, that’s usually the first sign you need a full HubSpot audit. 

Next up – more planning!

 

Step 2: Map the buyer journey and identify automation points

Your buyer journey is unique. Your workflows should reflect this and be mapped to each specific part of your funnel. 

The main thing to consider is which parts can be automated, and which parts need a human to step in and take over. 

For the most part, early-stage or nurturing workflows can be mostly automated, while conversion-focused workflows should probably have some oversight where possible.

 

How to get this step right

1. Map the key lifecycle stages you use in HubSpot. If your lifecycle stages are messy or unused, fix that first.
2. For each stage, ask what a contact needs to move forward. Do they need to be educated more, be reassured, or perhaps they just need a quick chat?
3. Identify where automation adds value. Sending relevant content, scoring engagement, and alerting sales at the right moment.
4. Be ruthless about what should not be automated. Complex objections, pricing conversations and deal negotiation belong with people. 

Automation overload is a real thing. Customers are growing savvier, meaning they’re aware of how email automation works and how to spot something insincere. Overuse it, and people will quietly switch off from what you’re saying. 

 

Step 3: Choose the right workflow type in HubSpot

HubSpot gives you multiple workflow types for a reason. Using contact-based workflows for everything is one of the most common mistakes we see.

 

Contact-based workflows

Best used when the goal is tied to an individual’s behaviour or status.

Practical uses include lead scoring, post-download nurturing and re-engagement campaigns based on inactivity.

Example: Increasing a lead score based on page views, form submissions and email engagement, then triggering a sales notification when a threshold is hit.

 

Company-based workflows

Useful when multiple people from the same target organisation are receiving your emails.

These work well for account-level nurturing, especially in longer sales cycles where several stakeholders are engaging with content.

Example: Enrolling companies once two or more contacts engage with high-intent content, then pushing targeted messaging to all associated contacts.

 

Deal-based workflows

These should be your go-to for anything tied directly to pipeline movement.

They are ideal for automating internal tasks, sales emails and stage-based actions once a deal exists.

Example: When a deal moves to “Appointment booked”, automatically send confirmation emails, create follow-up tasks and update deal properties.

Not sure which workflow type to choose? Give us a shout, and we can advise. 

 

Step 4: Build the enrolment triggers properly

Getting enrolment right, as you might expect, is pretty important. Put the wrong people in at the wrong time, and you’re gonna have a bad time. 

HubSpot does give you lots of enrolment trigger options, but sometimes more choice = more ways to mess things up.

Common enrolment triggers include form submissions, list membership, property changes, page views and lead score thresholds being met.

 

How to set your triggers up properly

1. Use specific triggers. Again, don’t be afraid to make them unique to your funnel. 
2. Build exclusion logic from the start. Exclude existing customers or opportunities and contacts already at or beyond your conversion goal.
3. Decide whether re-enrolment is needed. Most nurturing workflows should not allow constant re-entry.
4. Use suppression lists to prevent contacts from entering multiple similar workflows at once.

Getting this right is really important. What you do not want is a new customer receiving nurturing emails long after they converted because no one built the proper exclusions. Take the time to set them up, and you’ll be good to go. 

 

Step 5: Add branching for relevance

We talk a lot about relevance in our blogs, and for good reason. Delivering relevant messaging at the right time to the right people is what leads to conversion. 

If everyone gets the same message regardless of behaviour, job title or interest, the workflow may as well not exist.

That’s where branching comes in. In its simplest form, by using branches we can send different contacts down different paths of the workflow – depending upon filters we have imposed e.g. job title, industry, page visited. 

Imagine you have a list of contacts that have all been sent the same initial email. Naturally, those that have taken the time to read that first piece of content are more informed than those who haven’t and therefore the messaging for email two may need to be different. So we simply add in a branch based on this interaction i.e. marketing email opened is true, and those that have will go down one branch. And those that haven’t will go down another. 

 

Step 6: QA and test before going live

It’s easy to get overzealous when creating workflows. After putting all that work in, it’s no surprise that you’re eager to hit the big send button.

But there’s one more thing you need to do first. 

Rigorous QA is the penultimate step, designed to prevent you from getting egg on your face. Through HubSpot’s testing tools, you can select desired contacts/companies and see firstly if they will be enrolled, but also which route they will take. This can be particularly beneficial if complex branches are involved – allowing you to understand if the workflow will have the desired effect and the right contacts will receive the right information.

 

Step 7: Measure and optimise workflow performance

Workflows are almost never “done”. Workflows become great when you measure and optimise them. Think of it like nurturing a child – the more attention you pay to your workflows, the faster they’ll develop. 

You should be measuring:

• Enrolment volume
• Conversions
• Email engagement rates
• Deals influenced
• Any other metrics that align with your KPIs

If a workflow hasn’t contributed to a measurable outcome in a reasonable time frame, it needs reviewing. Don’t be afraid to retire workflows that no longer align with your sales process. 

If you’re a salesperson: think back on prospect conversations you’ve had following your workflows. Were they productive? Had the workflows done their job? Has it been easier for you to convert? While much of this will be qualitative, it’s still important to reflect on. 

If you’re a marketer: TALK TO SALES! You can gather all the data you want, but if your sales team aren’t seeing any benefits, then chances are your workflows need reviewing. 

Sometimes, you’ll need to bite the bullet and rebuild a workflow instead of endlessly patching broken logic. Use dashboards to make your workflow performance visible to everyone. 

 

5 Common HubSpot workflow mistakes to avoid

We’ve touched on most of these above, but to summarise the common workflow mistakes we see:

 

1. Too many emails saying very little

Your messaging needs to be watertight. Workshop your tone of voice, narrow down what your audience want to hear and ensure you’re saying the right things to the right segments of your audience. When you’re emailing someone, ensure you’re doing so with purpose. 

 

2. No clear conversion goals

If you don’t know what you want, the people you’re emailing won’t know what you want, either. Again, knowing your conversion goals will help you approach workflows with purpose. Noticing a theme?

 

3. Poor segmentation holding you back

Sure, the occasional “send all” might work, but generally speaking, it’s a bad idea. 

By carefully segmenting your audience and sending tailored comms, you dramatically increase your chances of success. 

 

4. Endlessly re-enrolling the same contacts

Simply put, if you re-enrol a contact it means they rejoin the workflow again. So if part of your workflow involves sending out emails for example – a contact who re-enrols will be sent something they’ve already been sent. 

In some cases this may be required. If it’s a form fill, your thank email will likely be needed every time so by all means have re-enrollment turned on. However in other cases such as a nurturing workflow, you could end up spamming the contact and actually doing more harm than good. 

 

5. Using automation to replace sales effort

Automation should never replace a good salesperson. Make sure your salespeople are notified when prospects are ready to talk. This might be due to them hitting a specified lead score or reaching the end of a workflow. Whatever happens first. 

 

Strategy first, automation second

HubSpot’s incredibly powerful, but using it incorrectly is only going to cause you more headaches in the long run. Without an in-depth strategy, workflows simply don’t work. 

This leads to frustration, which leads to people abandoning HubSpot. This is rarely the right answer. 

That’s why HubSpot have partnered with our team at Catalyst. We’re HubSpot Diamond Partners, which means we’re trusted by HubSpot themselves to work with users just like you across onboardings, integrations, training and support.  

We specialise in marketing automation. Our clients come in all shapes and sizes, from a broad range of sectors. This means we know exactly what it takes to get a HubSpot workflow strategised, built and delivering results. 

But don’t just take our word for it. We’re 4x HubSpot Impact Award winners and are recommended by HubSpot to their customers. We’re here and ready to answer your questions. Get in touch.