If you run sales or ops at a B2B company, you’ve probably heard how automation can “revolutionize your pipeline.” But let’s be real: most teams just want fewer repetitive tasks and more actual selling. If the idea of building your first workflow in Getcorrelated sounds appealing—but also a little daunting—you’re in the right place. This is a nuts-and-bolts guide for sales teams who want to set up their first real automation without spending three days reading vendor docs.
Why Bother With Automation, Anyway?
If you’re reading this, you already know why you want automation: you’re tired of copy-pasting lead info, chasing down the same “Did you see my email?” replies, and losing track of prospects because something slipped through the cracks. Automation won’t magically fix a broken sales process, but it will:
- Save you time on repetitive tasks
- Cut down on manual errors
- Make follow-ups happen, even when you forget
Will it close deals for you? No. But it’ll give your team more time to actually talk to humans—the part that matters.
What This Guide Covers (and What It Doesn’t)
We’re going to walk through setting up a basic, practical workflow in Getcorrelated: automatically following up with new demo requests. This is the kind of workflow that’s easy to build, hard to mess up, and gives you immediate value.
What you won’t find here: - Advanced branching logic - Integrating with every SaaS tool under the sun - Fluffy “thought leadership”
Let’s get to it.
Step 1: Map Out Your Workflow on Paper First
Before you even log in to Getcorrelated, sketch out what you actually want to automate. This sounds obvious, but skipping this step is how you end up automating chaos.
For our example:
“When someone submits a demo request, send a personalized follow-up email within 10 minutes. If there’s no reply in 2 days, send a gentle reminder. When they reply, assign them to a sales rep.”
Pro tip:
Write each step as a simple sentence. If it sounds confusing now, it’ll be worse in the app.
Step 2: Log In and Get Oriented
Assuming you already have a Getcorrelated account (if not, sign up—honestly, onboarding is straightforward), log in and head to the “Workflows” or “Automations” section.
Some honest observations: - The UI is cleaner than some, but not everything is obvious. Hover for tooltips. - Don’t get sidetracked by all the templates—most are just starting points. - Skip the “advanced settings” for your first workflow.
Step 3: Choose Your Trigger
Every workflow starts with a trigger—the event that kicks everything off. For our use case, it’s “New Demo Request Submitted.”
To set this up: - Click “Create Workflow” (or similar button). - Name it something you’ll recognize in a month, like “Demo Request Follow-up.” - Pick “Form Submission” or “New Lead” as your trigger, depending on how your CRM and demo form are connected.
Watch out for: - Integrations. If your demo form isn’t hooked up to Getcorrelated, you’ll need to connect it first. This usually means logging into your CRM (like Salesforce or HubSpot) and giving permissions. - Test the trigger with a fake submission before moving on.
Step 4: Define Your First Action—The Follow-up Email
Now you tell Getcorrelated what should happen after the trigger.
Best practices: - Use the built-in email editor. Don’t overthink the template; personal but not creepy is the goal. - Add variables like {{FirstName}} to personalize. Just double-check your data source—nothing blows credibility faster than “Hi, [FirstName].”
Example email:
Subject: Thanks for your demo request
Hi {{FirstName}},
Thanks for reaching out! When’s a good time to connect? Just reply to this email, and we’ll get something on the calendar.
Best,
{{YourName}}
Common issues: - Test the email. Send it to yourself first. Weird formatting and broken variables are more common than you’d hope. - Avoid adding attachments or links unless you’re sure they’re not going to spam.
Step 5: Add a Wait Step and Reminder Email
You want to nudge folks who don’t reply without being annoying.
- Add a “Wait” action for 2 days.
- Then, add another email action—a gentle reminder.
Reminders that don’t sound desperate:
Subject: Just checking in
Hi {{FirstName}},
Wanted to follow up on my last note. Let me know if you’re still interested in a demo or have any questions.
Thanks,
{{YourName}}
What to avoid:
Don’t set up a sequence of five follow-ups. That’s how you end up in spam folders, not on demo calls.
Step 6: Set Up the “Reply” Trigger and Assignment
The real goal is to get replies. When someone responds, you want to assign them to a sales rep automatically.
- Add a trigger for “Email Reply” or “Lead Status Changed.”
- Set an action: “Assign to Sales Rep.”
- If your team is small, this can just mean assigning to you.
- If you have round-robin assignment (and it actually works), set that up here. Otherwise, keep it simple.
Reality check:
Automated assignment sounds great, but only if reps actually get notified and follow up. Make sure your notification settings are working, or all this is for nothing.
Step 7: Test the Whole Thing (Don’t Skip This!)
Run through the entire workflow with a test lead. This is where most people find:
- Emails end up in spam
- Variables don’t populate (e.g., “Hi, .”)
- Triggers miss real submissions
Checklist: - Use a couple of real emails (a Gmail and a work address) for testing - Reply to your own follow-up—does assignment work? - Check what the prospect actually sees. Would you reply to it?
Pro tip:
Have a teammate try it, too. They’ll catch stuff you miss.
Step 8: Turn It On (But Monitor Closely)
Once you’ve tested and fixed any issues, turn the workflow on for real leads.
Keep an eye on: - Volume: Are too many (or too few) leads going through? - Errors: Are any steps failing? (Check workflow logs.) - Replies: Are responses actually being routed to reps?
Don’t just “set it and forget it.” The first week is where you’ll catch the weird edge cases.
Step 9: Tweak, Don’t Tinker
Resist the urge to layer on more complexity right away. The fastest way to kill momentum is by trying to automate everything at once.
- Wait a week or two.
- Talk to your reps: Are the emails working? Are leads being assigned?
- Only add new steps if you’re confident the basics are solid.
What to ignore:
- Fancy scoring models (unless you have real data)
- Multi-channel outreach (until you’ve nailed email)
- Endless A/B testing (at least for your first workflow)
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Watch Out For
What Works
- Automating basic, repetitive steps (like follow-ups) is a no-brainer.
- Getcorrelated’s workflow builder is better than most, but not magic.
- Simpler is almost always better.
What Doesn’t
- Overcomplicated flows. If you’re trying to automate every possible scenario, you’ll end up with a mess.
- Ignoring testing. You’ll just make mistakes faster.
- Assuming automation means “hands off.” You still need to watch it.
Watch Out For
- Data quality. Garbage in, garbage out.
- Notification overload. Too many pings and your team will tune it out.
- “Automation for automation’s sake.” Only build what actually saves time or improves follow-up.
Keep It Simple — and Iterate
You don’t need a 20-step workflow to get value. Start with one thing: fast, reliable follow-up. Once that’s humming, add more if you need to. The best automations are the ones your team actually uses—and notices when they’re gone.
Building your first workflow in Getcorrelated isn’t rocket science, but it does take a little upfront work and a healthy dose of skepticism about what’s actually worth automating. Keep it simple, test often, and never automate something you don’t understand.
Now, go build something that gives you your time back. That’s the whole point.