If you’re in sales ops or run RevOps for a growing team, you know pipeline updates are a pain. Manual changes get missed, deals rot in the wrong stage, and everyone wastes time chasing down what happened. If you’re tired of “updating the CRM” being a full-time job, this guide is for you. We’ll walk through how to use Xiqinc triggers to automate sales pipeline updates, so your data stays fresh—and your reps can actually sell.
Let’s get into it.
Why Automate Your Pipeline Updates?
First, let’s be honest about the pain points:
- Manual updates get skipped. Reps forget, or just don’t bother.
- Dirty data. Deal stages are wrong; forecasts are useless.
- No real-time visibility. By the time you know what’s happening, it’s old news.
Automation isn’t magic, but it can fix a lot of these. With Xiqinc triggers, you can set up rules that move deals, update fields, or alert people—without anyone having to click around in the CRM.
But, and this is important: automation won’t fix a broken process. If your pipeline stages are already a mess, clean those up first. Automation just makes things faster—it doesn’t make them smarter.
Step 1: Map Out What Actually Needs to Happen
Don’t just start wiring up triggers. Step back and figure out what’s actually worth automating. Some things to look for:
- Stage changes based on activity: e.g., move a deal to “Negotiation” if a proposal is sent.
- Lead qualification: auto-update fields when key criteria are met.
- Alerts for stale deals: flag anything that sits idle too long.
Pro tip: Spend 15 minutes talking with your reps. Ask what they hate updating, or what’s always out of date. That’s your starting list.
Write these down. If you automate pointless busywork, you’re just moving the pain around.
Step 2: Get Your Data House in Order
Before you automate, check your CRM:
- Are your deal stages clear and not overlapping?
- Is the data you want to trigger on (like “Proposal Sent”) actually tracked as a field or activity?
- Are there fields nobody uses or understands?
If your CRM is messy, automation will just make a bigger mess, faster.
What to ignore: Don’t automate every possible field. Focus on the 2-3 things that most often get missed or cause friction.
Step 3: Get Set Up in Xiqinc
Assuming you’ve got your Xiqinc account and it’s connected to your CRM, log in. If you’re not sure if your CRM is supported, check Xiqinc’s docs. Most major ones (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive) are, but if you’re on something obscure, double-check.
- Navigate to Triggers/Automations: This is usually in the main sidebar.
- Pick your CRM connection.
- Create a new trigger.
You’ll see options to pick the object (deals, leads, etc.), the event (field change, new activity, etc.), and what action to take.
Step 4: Build Your First Trigger
Let’s walk through a classic example: automatically move a deal to “Negotiation” when a proposal is sent.
- Set the Trigger Event
- Object: Deal (or Opportunity)
- Event: Activity added (Proposal sent)
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You may need to specify the activity type—make sure your reps log proposals consistently.
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Define Conditions
- Only run if current stage is “Proposal” (prevents weird jumps)
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Only for deals above a certain value, if you want
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Set the Action
- Update deal stage to “Negotiation”
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Optionally, notify the deal owner or manager
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Test It
- Run a test on a dummy deal before rolling out. You don’t want to nuke your pipeline by accident.
What works: Xiqinc’s UI is straightforward and doesn’t hide settings behind paywalls. You can usually set up most triggers in a few clicks.
What doesn’t: Edge cases. If your reps are sloppy about logging activities, triggers can misfire or do nothing at all.
Step 5: Add More Automations (But Don’t Go Nuts)
Once you’ve got one trigger working, you’ll be tempted to automate everything. Resist! Start with the highest-impact changes:
- Stale Deal Alerts: Trigger a Slack message or email if a deal hasn’t moved in 14 days.
- Lead Scoring: Auto-update lead status if a score threshold is hit.
- Task Reminders: Assign follow-up tasks when a deal enters a new stage.
Pro tip: Roll out new automations one at a time. Otherwise, when something breaks, you’ll have no clue what did it.
Step 6: Monitor and Adjust
Don’t set and forget. Check on your automations after a week or two:
- Are deals moving as expected?
- Are reps complaining about weird updates?
- Is anything stuck or getting skipped?
If something’s wrong, tweak your trigger conditions. Sometimes you’ll realize your process needs a human touch. That’s fine—automation should help, not replace, your judgment.
What to Watch Out For
Common pitfalls:
- Garbage in, garbage out: If reps don’t log activities or keep data clean, automations will just mirror their mistakes.
- Over-automation: Too many triggers and you’ll create a maze nobody understands.
- Poor communication: Tell your team what’s automated! Otherwise, people get confused (or annoyed) when deals move “by magic.”
What you can ignore:
Don’t worry about automating every possible step, or using every feature Xiqinc offers. Focus on your biggest bottlenecks.
Pro Tips for Keeping It Simple
- Start small. One or two triggers is usually enough to see big gains.
- Document what you automate. Keep a simple Google Doc list of your triggers and what they do.
- Review quarterly. Processes change; your automations should too.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Automating your sales pipeline with Xiqinc triggers isn’t rocket science, but it pays to think before you click. Start with your biggest pains, automate small wins first, and check in often. Most teams need fewer automations than they think—keep it simple, and you’ll avoid a lot of headaches. If you mess up, you can always tweak or roll back. Iterate, and let your team get back to selling—not updating fields.
Good luck!