If you’re tired of every new lead from your site going to the wrong sales rep (or worse, to everyone), you’re not alone. HubSpot has a bunch of automation tools, but getting form notifications routed to the right person isn’t as dead-simple as it should be. This guide is for anyone who wants more than just basic “notify the team” emails and actually wants to send the right info to the right sales rep—without making a mess.
Let’s get real about what works, what’s clunky, and how to set this up without losing your mind.
Why Custom Notifications Matter (And Where HubSpot Drops the Ball)
Out of the box, HubSpot Forms (link to hubspot-forms.html) will happily notify a fixed set of email addresses when someone submits a form. That’s fine if you have one general inbox, but as soon as you want to send leads to certain reps based on region, territory, product, or something else, you hit a wall.
The most common gripes: - No built-in “dynamic” notification rules – You can’t just tell HubSpot, “Send this lead to the right rep based on what the prospect picked.” - Manual workarounds – People end up forwarding emails or CC’ing everyone, which is a recipe for confusion and missed leads. - Automation is possible, but requires some setup – You’ll need to use HubSpot Workflows, and you need at least a Marketing Hub Professional or Sales Hub Professional subscription to get the good stuff.
If you’re on the free or Starter plan, you’re out of luck—skip the rest of this guide, or consider upgrading if this feature is worth it for your team.
Step 1: Figure Out Your Routing Logic
Before you touch anything in HubSpot, get clear on how you want to route leads.
- By territory or geography (e.g., state, country)
- By product interest (e.g., Product A vs. Product B)
- By company size or industry
- By sales rep “round robin” (not covered here, but possible)
Pro Tip: Write it down. Seriously. Make a chart of which rep gets what, so you don’t have to guess later.
Step 2: Make Sure Your Form Collects the Right Info
Your automation is only as good as your data. If you want to route by territory, but your form doesn’t ask for location, you’re sunk.
Checklist: - Does your form ask the right questions (e.g., “Which product are you interested in?” “What state are you in?”)? - Are the fields required? - Are the options standardized (no free-text fields if you can avoid it)?
You can edit your existing form in HubSpot or create a new one. Make sure the fields you’ll use for routing actually exist and are mapped to contact properties.
Step 3: Build Your HubSpot Workflow
Here’s where the magic (and occasional frustration) happens. Workflows are the only way to send notifications based on what someone submits.
3.1. Go to HubSpot Workflows
- In your HubSpot dashboard, go to Automation > Workflows.
- Click Create workflow.
- Pick Start from scratch.
- Choose Contact-based workflow.
3.2. Set Your Enrollment Triggers
You want the workflow to fire when someone submits your form.
- Click Set enrollment triggers.
- Choose Form submission.
- Select your form (the one you built in Step 2).
Now, every time someone fills out that form, the workflow will trigger.
3.3. Add Branches for Each Routing Rule
This is the “if/then” part. For example, if you want to route by product:
- Click the + button to add an action.
- Choose If/then branch.
- Set your condition: e.g., “Product interest is Product A”.
You can set up as many branches as you need—one for each rep or scenario.
3.4. Add Notification Actions
Under each branch, add an Internal email notification action:
- Click + under the branch.
- Choose Send internal email (sometimes called “Send notification”).
- Fill out the email. You can include personalization tokens to show the lead’s info.
- Enter the sales rep’s email address (or addresses).
Repeat for each branch/rep.
A Note on Internal Email Notifications:
These emails aren’t fancy and they’re not super customizable. They get the job done, but don’t expect beautiful layouts or much branding.
Step 4: Test Your Workflow
Don’t skip this. HubSpot’s testing tools are so-so, and it’s easy to miss a branch or mistype an email.
- Submit test forms with different answers for each branch.
- Check that each rep actually gets the email, with the right info.
- Double-check spam folders—HubSpot’s notification emails can get filtered out.
If something’s not working, check: - Are your conditions set up right? - Did you enter the correct email addresses? - Did you activate the workflow? (Yes, this happens...)
Step 5: Clean Up Default Form Notifications
By default, your form might be sending out notifications to a team inbox or old addresses.
- Go to your form’s settings.
- Turn off the default notification emails to avoid duplicates.
- Rely on your workflow for all notifications from now on.
Honest Pros and Cons of This Approach
What Works: - You can route leads flexibly, and each rep only gets the leads they care about. - Updates are easy—just tweak the workflow if someone leaves or territories change. - No code needed, just some logic and patience.
What’s Annoying: - You need a paid HubSpot tier. No way around it. - Internal notification emails can’t be branded or styled much. - If you have lots of reps or complex rules, workflows can get messy fast.
What to Ignore: - Don’t bother with “round robin” routing unless you’re ready to dive into more complex workflows or third-party tools. - Don’t try to hack this with shared inboxes or manual forwarding. It’s a mess and easy to screw up.
Pro Tips for Keeping It Sane
- Document everything. Keep a simple doc of who gets what, and share it with your team.
- Review workflows quarterly. Sales teams change, and so do the rules.
- Train your reps. Make sure they know what these emails look like, so nobody misses a hot lead.
- Use HubSpot’s workflow history. If something goes wrong, check the execution history to see where things broke down.
Wrap-Up: Keep It Simple and Iterate
There’s no “set it and forget it” here. Start with the basics—route by the criteria that matter most, and don’t try to automate every edge case from day one. As your team and needs grow, it’s easy to tweak your workflows. The key is to keep things clear and maintainable, so you spend less time chasing down leads and more time closing them.
If you hit a wall or something’s not working, don’t be afraid to ask for help. HubSpot’s community forums are more helpful than most, and sometimes a second pair of eyes is all you need. Good luck!