Automated follow up after a sales conversation should start when a deal moves and stop the moment the buyer answers. On the levelpartner.ai platform that is a workflow with the Pipeline Stage Changed trigger, filtered to a stage such as proposal sent or meeting completed, with Stop on Response ticked in its settings. This article sets one up. Once it runs, every proposal and every completed meeting gets a timed next touch, and nobody who has already replied receives a "just checking in" email two days later.
What you get once it is set up
Each stage that marks a conversation having happened gets its own short sequence. A deal moved to proposal sent receives a recap email after two days and becomes a call task for its owner after five. A deal moved to meeting completed receives a summary with the agreed next step the same afternoon. If the buyer replies by email, text or chat at any point, the sequence ends for them and the owner takes it from there.
Silence becomes visible. Instead of discovering a dead deal at quarter end, the sales lead sees the call task the day it falls due.
Before you start
- A pipeline in Opportunities whose stages mark real events, such as proposal sent and meeting completed. Stage design is covered in CRM pipeline stages.
- A named owner on every opportunity, so tasks land with a person.
- One short email per stage, written in the owner's voice, using fields for the buyer's name and the deal.
- Email sending set up with your domain, and SMS consent recorded if you plan to text.
How to set it up
The steps below build the proposal-sent sequence. Repeat them for each stage you want covered, one workflow per stage.
- Go to Automation, then Workflows.
- Click Create New Workflow, or open an existing workflow to edit it.
- Click + Add New Trigger.
- Search for Pipeline Stage Changed and select it.
- Name the trigger so its purpose is clear, such as "Proposal sent follow-up".
- Set the filters In Pipeline and Pipeline Stage to the pipeline and the proposal-sent stage.
- Add the actions that should run after the stage change, such as a wait, the recap email and a follow-up task for the owner.
- Click Save Trigger.
- Check that every required step is in place, then click Publish.
- Test by moving an opportunity into the stage by hand and checking what the workflow does.
Then open the workflow's Settings tab and tick Stop on Response. It ends the workflow for any contact who replies to a message the workflow sent, across all the channels it manages, so a text reply ends an email sequence too. Voicemail detection is on by default, which stops an answerphone being counted as a reply.
Two more filters are worth knowing. Assigned To lets you run a different sequence for a senior partner's deals, and Status set to Open keeps won or lost deals out. If a deal moves back into the stage later, the workflow fires again when the filters match, so decide whether that is what you want.
What post-conversation follow up is for in a 60-person firm
Most firms with flat revenue are not short of leads. They leak between first meeting and signed order. A partner sends a proposal, gets pulled into delivery, and the proposal sits. The buyer reads silence as low interest and signs with whoever called back.
The workflow fixes the part that relies on memory. It does not write the proposal or close the deal. It makes the next touch happen and hands the owner a task where a human voice matters. Machine for timing, person for judgement.
The first reply to a brand-new enquiry is a different job with different timings, covered in following up new enquiries automatically. The personal side of chasing a live deal, what the salesperson actually says, is in sales follow up.
Suppose the firm sends 30 proposals a month, a third of them get no contact after sending, and 6 buyers a month who already replied still receive a reminder. With a Pipeline Stage Changed workflow on proposal sent and Stop on Response ticked, every proposal would get a recap at two days and a call task at five. That would mean 10 more proposals a month followed up, and 6 fewer awkward reminders to people who had already answered.
What it replaces and the weekly time
It replaces the spreadsheet of open quotes, the sticky notes and the Friday scramble to chase. Building the first two workflows takes a morning. Running them takes about twenty minutes a week: read the replies that stopped a sequence, clear the call tasks and change any email that draws no response. Discuss stalled deals and unanswered follow-ups in the same weekly pipeline review.
The mistake most people make
Automating the chase but not the stop. Without Stop on Response a buyer who replied yesterday gets today's reminder, and one who complained by phone still gets a cheerful nudge. Tick it before you publish, and remember a phone call is not a reply to the workflow, so the owner removes that contact by hand.
The second mistake is one long sequence for every stage. A meeting recap and a proposal reminder need different words, gaps and owners. Keep one short workflow per stage.
When not to use it
Do not automate follow up on your five or ten largest deals. At that size every touch should be written by someone who knows the account, so use a task instead of a message. Also hold back on any stage that means a complaint, a dispute or a cancellation request.
Troubleshooting
The workflow never fires
The opportunity was moved by an import, or the filters do not match. The trigger only reacts to real-time stage changes. Test with a manual move and check In Pipeline and Pipeline Stage.
Buyers who replied still get messages
Stop on Response is unticked, or they replied by phone. Tick the setting and ask owners to remove a contact after a call.
The same deal gets the sequence twice
The deal went back to an earlier stage and forward again. Narrow the filters or switch off re-entry in the workflow settings.
Tasks land with the wrong person
The task is assigned to a fixed user. Assign it to the opportunity owner so it follows changes in the team.
Frequently asked questions
How many automated follow-ups should a proposal get?
Two messages and one call task is a sensible start. After that, move the deal to a nurture stage rather than chasing further.
Does Stop on Response cover email and SMS together?
Yes. A reply to any message the workflow sent, on any channel it manages, ends the workflow for that contact.
Can the trigger watch more than one stage?
One trigger can be filtered to a stage, and filters can be combined. For different stages, use separate workflows so each has its own wording and timing.
Will buyers know the messages are automated?
Not if they are short, specific and sent in the owner's name with the deal details filled in. Generic wording is what gives automation away.