Why use automated workflows
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One of the main features of a customer relationship management (CRM) platform is sales automation. CRMs can automate tasks like data importation, data categorization, email marketing, and more!
But your CRM won’t automate all your sales tasks. Your team will also need to perform certain activities in your CRM, and it’s up to you to figure out which ones and how they’ll perform them. That’s where setting up automated workflows becomes important.
But what is workflow automation, and why should you set up automated workflows for your business? We’ll answer those questions below. Keep reading to find out more.
Automate Repetitive Sales and Marketing Tasks: Use CRM automation to eliminate manual, repetitive actions like assigning leads, sending follow-up emails, or updating pipeline stages—freeing your team to focus on closing deals and nurturing relationships.
Design Workflows Around a Clear Sales Pipeline: A clearly defined sales process is essential for effective automation. Knowing each stage of your pipeline helps identify where automation can streamline handoffs and reduce delays.
Customize Triggers and Actions to Match Your Business: Build automation sequences tailored to your team’s specific processes—for example, auto-moving leads to the next stage after a form submission or sending alerts when deals stall.
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A workflow automation is a series of repeatable steps that you set to automatically occur in response to specific triggers. For example, in an email marketing workflow, one step might be to send out a welcome email whenever someone subscribes to your email list. You could automate this step using your CRM.
The reason for using automation workflows is simple: They can make your job—and your team members’ jobs—far easier.
Basically, your CRM can likely handle many of the mundane, day-to-day tasks you’d otherwise have to do yourself. The CRM can do it just as well, leaving you to focus your energy on things the CRM can’t do. That improves the overall efficiency of your sales pipeline.
CRMs already allow you to set up workflows, making it easy for you to repeat certain tasks over and over. But when you automate those tasks, completing your workflows gets even easier.
Of course, you have to take the time to decide which things you’ll automate and which things you’ll handle manually, as well as how the two will intersect.
There are a handful of ways to create the best automation setup. It’s ultimately down to your company’s preferences, but even so, here are three things you can do to boost your workflow’s quality.
The first step of your workflow setup should be to figure out what you can automate. After all, your CRM can likely automate multiple tasks, but it can’t handle everything on its own. So, the question is, what can it handle?
The answer depends entirely on your CRM. Also, you may find that there are some tasks the CRM technically can automate, but that you’d feel safer performing manually. Either way, you’ll want to start by getting an idea of your options. What can be automated, and what can’t?
Once you’ve figured out how to answer that question, you can move on to the next step of your automation setup.
The next step is to analyze your sales pipeline to figure out the best possible workflow. Look at every part of the pipeline, from lead generation to the final sale, and determine which spots can benefit the most from automation and which require a human touch.
For example, you may find that the lead generation stage works best with an automated approach, while the final sales stage needs hands-on efforts to be successful. Of course, your business may find different results—it varies from company to company.
From there, you can set up your sales pipeline within your CRM. The way that works is that you first define which stages you’ll include in your pipeline—qualification, meeting, pitch, etc.—and then set up those stages in your CRM, allowing you to categorize leads based on which stage they’re in.
You can then automate tasks at each pipeline stage where you found that automation would be helpful. Likewise, avoid automating tasks at stages where it doesn’t seem to help.
The final step is to simply put together your customized workflows. It’s best not to use a cookie-cutter workflow but to take what you learn from the previous two steps and commit the time and effort to develop an automation setup that works best for your team.
Ideally, your CRM should make it easy to build this workflow, automating the tasks you want to automate and ensuring that the automation stays turned off for the things you want to handle manually. You should be able to customize processes, dashboards, and more.
Some of the tasks you may want to automate include:
Looking for the perfect CRM to automate your sales process? You’re looking at it. Nutshell is designed specifically for small businesses like yours, and it comes equipped with a variety of excellent features, sales automation being just one of them.
Nutshell can also help you generate customized data reports so you can learn more about your audience. Plus, we offer one of the best support teams around. They’ll be ready and willing to help you through any questions or concerns you may have.
Want to see for yourself? Just check out our 14-day free trial to see what Nutshell can do for your business.
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For most small-to-mid-sized businesses, setting up basic CRM automation workflows takes 2-4 weeks. Week 1 focuses on planning and identifying which tasks to automate. Week 2 involves configuring your workflows and testing them. Weeks 3-4 are for refining based on real-world use and training your team. Simple automations like welcome emails or lead assignments can go live in just a few days, while complex multi-step workflows may need more time to perfect.
The biggest mistakes include automating without a clear plan, over-automating tasks that need a human touch, and skipping team training. Many businesses also fail to test workflows before launching them, leading to errors that frustrate customers and sales reps alike. Another common pitfall is using outdated or messy data—automation only amplifies bad data. Start small, test thoroughly, and make sure your team understands why and how each automation works.
No, you don’t need to be a tech expert to set up CRM automation in Nutshell. Modern CRMs are designed with user-friendly interfaces that let you build workflows with simple point-and-click tools. What you do need is a clear understanding of your sales process and which tasks would benefit most from automation. If you can map out your workflow on paper, you can build it in your CRM. Plus, Nutshell’s support team is always ready to help guide you through the process.
Not everything should be automated. Focus on automating repetitive, time-consuming tasks like data entry, lead assignment, and follow-up email sequences. Keep tasks manual when they require personal judgment, creativity, or relationship-building—like closing high-value deals or handling complex customer issues. A good rule of thumb: if a task is predictable and doesn’t need a human touch, automate it. If it requires empathy or strategic thinking, keep it manual.
Monitor key metrics like response times, lead conversion rates, and time saved on manual tasks. Check your CRM regularly to ensure workflows are triggering as expected—look for leads moving through pipeline stages, emails being sent on schedule, and tasks being created automatically. Set up alerts for failed workflows or errors. Most importantly, ask your sales team for feedback. If they’re spending less time on admin work and more time selling, your automation is working.
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