A common cause of stuck or underperforming sales funnels is getting overwhelmed with repetitive tasks. HubSpot workflows fix that.
Well-designed workflows can boost sales funnel performance and drive higher conversion rates by taking care of the behind-the-scenes work: assigning leads, sending follow-ups, updating deals, and keeping everything moving. They make your funnel faster, cleaner, and a lot less stressful to manage.
It all starts with understanding what workflows actually are and how they keep your sales process running behind the scenes.
What are HubSpot Workflows?
A HubSpot workflow is automation that does the busywork for you. It’s a series of “if this, then that” actions that keep your marketing and sales process moving without someone having to manually push endless buttons.
Let’s say a hot prospect fills out a demo form. Instead of your team manually following up, a workflow can send an email, create a task for your sales rep, update their contact record, and move that deal into the next stage. It’s like having a digital assistant that never forgets to follow up, never takes a day off, and always plays by the rules you set.
When they’re built right, workflows help you stay consistent, close more deals, and spend less time on repetitive tasks.
What's the Difference Between a Sequence and a Workflow?
HubSpot’s two main automation tools are sequences and workflows. Both save time, but they serve different purposes.
Sequences help sales teams automate one-to-one outreach. You can schedule automated follow-up emails to contacts OR send task reminders to employees. For example: if a contact submits a demo request form, create a task for a salesperson to call that contact.
Workflows handle broader automation. They manage contacts, deals, and tasks across your whole system, like assigning leads, sending nurture emails, or updating deal stages. I'll get into some more detailed examples below.
In short, sequences are a simple linear execution of an action, and workflows are for more complex automations of multiple actions. Use both to stay consistent and keep your funnel moving.
Related Content: What's the Difference Between a Sequence and a Workflow in HubSpot?
Why Workflows Matter for Your Sales Funnel
A good sales funnel runs on timing and consistency. Workflows make that possible by guiding leads through each stage automatically.
At the top of the funnel, workflows can send welcome emails or share helpful resources right after someone fills out a form, while also updating contact records as leads engage. As leads move into the middle of the funnel, workflows can nurture them with follow-up emails, assign a sales rep, and create tasks for outreach. Once they’re near the bottom, workflows can trigger deal updates, send reminders, and hand off the lead to customer service after a deal is won.
The real power of workflows is how they handle complexity without feeling complicated. Once they’re set up, they quietly keep your sales systems in sync so your team can focus on tasks that move the needle – not tedious data entry.
How to Build a Workflow in HubSpot
HubSpot gives you the tools to create logic paths, delays, and branches that fit how your sales funnel actually works. You decide the triggers, the timing, and what happens next. But first, you have to know what you want your workflow to do before you can build it.
Planning Your Workflow Before You Build
Every strong workflow starts with a clear goal. Are you handing off leads to sales, re-engaging old contacts, or moving deals through your pipeline? Define that first. I'll go into some ideas below that show you how a goal translates into a workflow.
Next, map out how people will enter the workflow. This is your trigger. Maybe it’s a form submission, a lifecycle stage change, or someone clicking a link in an email. Be specific so your automation runs for the right people at the right time.
Finally, make sure sales and marketing are on the same page. If one team thinks a lead is ready for outreach and another team doesn’t, your workflow won’t work the way you expect. Agree on what “sales-ready” means before you hit publish.
Quick Guide to Building a Workflow
Building a workflow in HubSpot can feel tricky the first time you sit down to do it. There are a lot of moving parts, and it’s easy to overcomplicate the setup. That’s where working with a HubSpot expert makes life easier.
On paper, though, every workflow follows the same basic structure:
- Choose your object and trigger. Decide what you want to automate: contacts, companies, deals, or tickets, and what action will start the workflow.
- Add your actions. Choose what happens next. You can send an email, create a task, update a property, or move a deal to a new stage.
- Set delays and/or branching logic. Add timing between steps or use if/then branches based on specific data or outcomes. For example, branch actions by industry based on what someone selects in a form.
- Test and turn it on. Double-check your triggers, timing, and results before you launch. Use the built-in testing tools to make sure it works as expected.
For a much more detailed breakdown, check out HubSpot’s workflow tutorials.
Workflow Tips
Workflows can get complex fast. These tips will help you keep things organized, effective, and easy to manage over time.- Keep it focused. Each workflow should have a clear goal. It’s usually easier to manage and update three smaller workflows than one giant, tangled one.
- Use the description section. Always fill it out when you create a new workflow so anyone looking through workflows can easily see what it does.
- Test before launch. Use the built-in testing tools before launching your workflow to catch any obvious hiccups.
- Loop in other teams. Always let marketing, ops, or other relevant teams know what you're building before you turn it live. This makes sure you don't have two workflows doing the same thing (or worse, counteracting each other).
- Review regularly. Schedule time each quarter to check your workflows. Keep an eye on open rates, click-throughs, and conversions to see what’s working.
- Personalize when you can. Use personalization tokens and smart content to make your automated emails feel more human.
Workflows don’t have to be overly complicated. Keep them clear, test often, and they’ll quietly do the heavy lifting for you.
Examples of HubSpot Workflows for Sales Teams
1. Lead Scoring Workflow
Lead scoring helps your sales team focus on the contacts that matter most. This workflow automatically scores leads based on pre-defined criteria, then alerts your team. I recommend following a school grading format because it's generally easy for everyone to understand: an A lead is our target market exactly, a B lead is a good fit, a C lead is ok, a D is off target, and an F is a "no way."
Before building this workflow, make sure you have clear internal lead-scoring guidelines. For example: you might decide internally if a lead is in X industry with Y job title, they're automatically a B grade. Or if a contact submits a form with a non-work email (@gmail, @outlook, etc.) they might automatically get an F grade. There's no one-size-fits-all structure – do what makes sense for your organization.
Description:
Set up your workflow to enroll contacts when they self-serve to enter your system by filling out one of your website forms. Then, review properties on that form and assign a lead score based on your internal criteria. If a lead is assigned an A, B, or C, send a task to a salesperson to reach out.
You can also add in steps for routing to a specific salesperson based on properties (for example, assign a specific salesperson based on industry or region).
2. Lead Nurturing Workflow
Not every lead is ready to buy right away. A lead nurturing workflow keeps those contacts engaged and moving through your funnel until they’re ready for a sales conversation. This is more robust than a sequence because you'll be able to add branching logic based on a user's activity to further personalize communications.
Description:
Set your workflow to enroll contacts after they take an early-stage action, like downloading a guide, subscribing to your blog, or signing up for your newsletter. Send a timed series of educational emails that build trust and help them learn more about your product or service.
Between each email, add short delays to space out your communication. You can also add branching logic to tailor content based on behavior, like whether someone opened the previous email or clicked a link. Send them different emails based on what they engage with.
3. Lead Routing Workflow
When someone books a demo or consultation, this workflow assigns the right salesperson and makes sure follow-up happens on time. As with the lead scoring workflow, you will first need to define internally how you want to route leads. Do you want to assign them based on job title, industry, region, or a combination? Or do you want to do a round robin assignment?
Description:
Enroll contacts when they submit your “Schedule a Consultation,” “Book a Demo,” or other relevant form. Define how you want to route leads inside your team first. In the workflow, set an action to assign the Contact owner based on those internal rules.
Create a task for the assigned rep to review the contact and reach out. Add a short delay, then use a branch to check for activity (call placed, email sent, meeting scheduled). If the rep has not taken action, create a reminder task and notify the manager if needed. This keeps leads moving through the sales funnel.
4. Re-Engagement Workflow
A re-engagement workflow helps you reconnect with contacts who haven’t interacted with your emails or sales team in a while. This keeps your database healthy and gives your sales team a clear view of who’s still worth pursuing.
Description:
Set up your workflow to enroll contacts who haven’t opened an email, visited your site, or been contacted within a set period of time — usually 60 to 90 days. Send a short series of personalized emails with useful resources, updates, or special offers to spark interest again.
After each send, add a delay and use branches to check for engagement. If a contact opens an email or clicks a link, remove them from the workflow or assign them to a sales rep for personal outreach. If there’s no activity after the full sequence, you can automatically mark them as “unengaged” or add them to a cleanup list for review.
5. Marketing Handoff Workflow
When marketing generates a qualified lead, you need a clean, consistent handoff to sales. This workflow makes that transition automatic so leads don't get lost in the shuffle. You'll need to first define internally what actions or contact properties in an MQL should turn them into an SQL. Have a meeting with both the marketing and sales teams so everyone is on the same page.
Description:
Set your workflow to enroll contacts once they reach your Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) criteria — in most cases, this is submitting a form. Then, add actions to update their lifecycle stage to a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL). This will depend on your internal criteria. For example: if a contact gets marked as an MQL after downloading an ebook and then they schedule a demo after receiving a follow-up email, you likely want to mark them as an SQL.
After they're marked as a SQL, add a step to move them into your lead routing workflow.
6. Customer Follow-Up Workflow
Once a deal closes, the relationship shouldn’t stop there. A customer follow-up workflow keeps new customers engaged and helps your team transition smoothly from sales to service.
Description:
Set your workflow to trigger when a deal is marked as Closed Won or when a contact’s lifecycle stage changes to Customer. Add actions to send a thank-you email, introduce the customer to their account manager or service contact, and create an internal task for the sales rep to confirm the handoff.
You can also build a short delay before sending a follow-up email or survey to check in on satisfaction after a few weeks. If the customer responds positively, assign them to a list for testimonials or case studies. If not, notify your service team to reach out.
7. Follow-Up Reminders Workflow
Even the best salespeople get busy. A follow-up reminder workflow makes sure leads don’t sit idle by automating internal notifications and task reminders.
Description:
Enroll contacts or deals when a key action hasn’t happened within a set timeframe — for example, if a proposal hasn’t been viewed in five days or a contact hasn’t been emailed in a week. Add a delay, then create a task or send a notification to the assigned sales rep to follow up.
You can also branch based on deal stage or last activity date. For higher-value deals, send a manager alert if there’s still no activity after a second reminder.
Related Content: How to Automate Quoting & Follow-up with HubSpot Workflows
Final Thoughts
Workflows are what turn a good sales process into a scalable one. They connect every step of your funnel so leads don’t slip through the cracks and your team can focus on closing, not chasing.
Start small, keep refining, and build with your sales goals in mind. When your workflows align with how your funnel actually works, you’ll see faster responses, smoother handoffs, and better results across the board.
If you’re ready to boost your sales funnel with smarter automation, our HubSpot experts can help you build workflows that do the work for you.
Learn about our HubSpot services here.
BizzyWeb is a Minneapolis-based digital marketing and web design agency that helps companies get the high-quality leads they need to grow and thrive. Our tactics include inbound marketing, SEO, advertising, web design, content creation and sales automation. We are an accredited HubSpot Diamond Partner and we offer full-service HubSpot onboarding, enablement and strategy for new and current users.
