Understand workflow structure

Whether you're using HubSpot, Zapier, Make, or any other automation platform, the underlying structure is identical. Understanding this universal pattern means you can learn one platform and transfer that knowledge to others.

This chapter shows you the four components of every workflow (trigger, conditions, actions, goals), explains common patterns you'll use repeatedly, demonstrates how to handle branches and loops, and teaches you to think in systems not just steps.

Trigger: What starts the workflow. Can be event-based (form submission, email opened, deal closed) or time-based (every Monday at 9am, 7 days after signup). Triggers are watching for something to happen.

Example triggers: Contact fills out form. Deal stage changes to 'closed won'. Email bounces. Date property reaches today. Contact hasn't opened email in 30 days.

Conditions: The if/then logic that determines what happens. Check properties, compare values, evaluate true/false. Conditions create branches in the workflow.

Example conditions: If company size > 100 employees. If industry = 'finance' OR industry = 'healthcare'. If contact opened email BUT didn't click link. If lifecycle stage = 'SQL' AND last activity date < 7 days ago.

Actions: What the workflow actually does. Send email, create task, update property, notify someone, call API, wait for time period. Actions are the work being automated.

Example actions: Send welcome email. Create task for sales rep. Update lead score +10. Add to nurture list. Send Slack notification to #sales channel. Wait 3 days then check if replied.

Goals: The end state you're trying to achieve. Not always explicitly coded in workflow, but should guide your design. Goals let you measure success.

Example goals: Contact becomes MQL. Demo gets booked. Deal moves to next stage. Rep follows up within 2 hours. Lead replies to outreach.

Pattern 1: Assignment workflows. Trigger: new record created. Conditions: check properties to determine best owner. Actions: assign to owner, notify owner, create task. Goal: appropriate owner assigned and notified quickly.

Example: New lead form submission → check company size and industry → if match assign to senior rep, if not assign to standard rep → send notification → create follow-up task due in 2 hours.

Pattern 2: Nurture workflows. Trigger: contact enters status. Actions: sequence of emails with wait steps between. Conditions: exit workflow if goal achieved. Goal: move contact to next lifecycle stage.

Example: Contact becomes MQL → wait 1 day → send case study email → wait 3 days → check if opened → if opened send ROI calculator → if not opened send different hook → wait 5 days → check if demo booked → if not create manual outreach task for rep.

Pattern 3: Notification workflows. Trigger: important event happens. Conditions: check if notification needed. Actions: send alert to relevant people. Goal: team aware of important changes immediately.

Example: Deal closes → check deal value > £10,000 → if yes send Slack notification to #wins channel → send email to CEO → create onboarding task for customer success → update revenue dashboard.

Pattern 4: Data hygiene workflows. Trigger: property updated or time-based check. Conditions: check data quality. Actions: clean, standardise, or flag data issues. Goal: maintain clean database.

Example: Every Monday at 9am → find contacts with missing company name → check if email domain can infer company → if yes, populate company name → if no, create task for rep to research → mark last data quality check date.

Branches: Different paths based on conditions. Use if/then branches when the same trigger needs different responses.

Example: Form submission → check form type → if demo request go to path A (notify sales, create high-priority task, send confirmation email) → if content download go to path B (add to nurture list, send content, low-priority lead score).

Keep branches under 4-5 paths. If you need 10 different paths, you probably need separate workflows or your conditions are too specific.

Loops: Repeating actions until condition met. Use loops for follow-up sequences, checking statuses, or retry logic.

Example: Send email → wait 3 days → check if replied → if no, send follow-up → wait 5 days → check if replied → if no, send final follow-up → wait 7 days → if still no reply, exit workflow and flag for manual outreach.

Limit loops to 3-5 iterations maximum. Infinite loops cause problems. Always include exit conditions.

Complex logic with AND/OR: Combine multiple conditions. AND means all must be true. OR means any can be true. Use parentheses for clarity.

Example: If (company size > 100 AND industry = 'finance') OR (company size > 500) then assign to enterprise team. This catches large finance companies (100+) OR any very large company (500+).

Test complex logic carefully. Write out truth tables if needed to ensure it works correctly.

Individual workflows are pieces of a larger system. Design workflows considering how they interact.

Workflow dependencies: Workflow A completes, triggers workflow B. Example: Lead assignment workflow completes → triggers welcome email workflow → triggers nurture sequence workflow. These must work together as a system.

Map dependencies. If workflow A depends on workflow B setting a property correctly, document this. If B breaks, A will fail too.

Data flow between workflows: Workflows communicate via property updates. Workflow A sets property X. Workflow B triggers when property X changes. Workflow C uses property X in a condition. Property X is the connection point.

Standardise property usage. Don't have workflow A setting 'lead_status' and workflow B checking 'status'. Use consistent property names across all workflows.

Compound effects: Multiple workflows affecting the same record. Example: Nurture workflow updating lead score, assignment workflow checking lead score, notification workflow triggering on score changes. These three workflows compound to create a complete lead management system.

Test compound effects. Run a test record through the entire system, not just individual workflows. Ensure they work together without conflicts.

Every workflow has four components: trigger (what starts it), conditions (if/then logic), actions (what it does), goals (end state achieved). Master this universal structure and you can build on any platform.

Common patterns: assignment workflows (distribute records to right owners), nurture workflows (automated email sequences), notification workflows (alert team to important events), data hygiene workflows (maintain clean database).

Handle branches (different paths based on conditions), loops (repeat until condition met), and complex logic (AND/OR combinations). Keep branches under 5 paths and loops under 5 iterations.

Think in systems. Workflows interact via property updates and trigger dependencies. Design workflows considering how they fit together in the larger system.

Next chapter: build automations systematically with proper testing.