If you’re a sales manager (or just the unofficial “tech person” on your team), you know the pain: deals stall, follow-ups slip through the cracks, and your team spends more time wrangling spreadsheets than actually selling. You’ve heard about automation, but most guides either drown you in buzzwords or gloss over the tricky bits. This guide is for anyone who wants to set up real, useful automated workflows in Rev — and doesn’t have endless hours to mess around.
Let’s cut through the sales ops fluff and walk through exactly how to get your team out of manual-mode. I’ll point out where automation helps, what’s just hype, and how to avoid the “set it and forget it” trap.
Step 1: Decide What (Actually) Needs Automating
Before diving in, pump the brakes. Not everything should be automated. Some tasks are better left to humans (writing thoughtful emails, building relationships), but others are just busywork.
Start by listing out: - Pain points your team complains about most (e.g., updating CRM, chasing down quotes, sending reminders) - Tasks that are repetitive and follow a clear pattern - Steps that stall when someone’s out sick or on vacation
Common sales tasks worth automating: - Routing new leads to the right sales rep - Auto-updating lead status in your CRM - Triggering follow-up emails after a meeting - Nudging reps about overdue tasks
What to skip:
Don’t bother automating things that change every week or require judgment calls. Automate the boring, predictable stuff first.
Pro tip:
Ask your team what annoys them most. Their answers are usually spot on.
Step 2: Map Out Your Ideal Workflow
Before you start clicking buttons in Rev, sketch out (on paper, whiteboard, or napkin) what your process should look like.
A simple lead workflow might be: 1. New lead comes in from your website. 2. Lead is assigned to the right rep based on territory or product. 3. Rep gets notified (email, Slack, etc.). 4. CRM is updated with lead info. 5. If there’s no follow-up in 48 hours, send the rep (and maybe their manager) a reminder.
Questions to ask: - Who needs to be notified, and when? - What info needs to move from one system to another? - What happens if someone doesn’t act?
Why bother mapping?
You’ll save hours (and a lot of cursing) by thinking through the flow before trying to automate it. Trust me.
Step 3: Get Your Rev Account Ready
If you haven’t already, sign up for Rev and make sure you’ve got access to the features you need (automation usually isn’t on the free plan). Check with your admin if you’re not sure.
Check these basics: - Can you connect your CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.) to Rev? - Do you have permissions to create or edit workflows? - Are your sales reps already in Rev, or do you need to invite them? - Are your integrations (email, Slack, calendars) set up and working?
Heads up:
If your tools aren’t connected to Rev, you’ll only get halfway there. Don’t put off the boring integration step — it’s necessary.
Step 4: Build Your First Automated Workflow in Rev
Here’s where the rubber meets the road. I’ll use a common example: auto-assigning new leads and notifying reps.
4.1: Start a New Workflow
- In Rev, go to the “Workflows” or “Automation” section.
- Click “Create Workflow” (the button might just say “New”).
- Give it a name you’ll recognize later (e.g., “New Lead Assignment”).
4.2: Set the Trigger
- Select the event that kicks things off — usually “New lead created” or “New form submission.”
- If you can, filter further (e.g., leads from a specific source or region).
What to ignore:
Don’t try to build a workflow that handles every possible lead type right away. Keep it simple.
4.3: Add Conditions (if needed)
- Want to only assign leads from certain industries to specific reps? Add “If” conditions.
- Most tools let you set multiple filters (e.g., geography, deal size).
Warning:
Don’t go wild with conditions unless you want a maintenance headache. Start basic, then add complexity if you actually need it.
4.4: Choose the Actions
Here’s where you tell Rev what to do when the trigger fires.
- Assign the lead: Select the sales rep or use a round-robin if your team’s big.
- Send notification: Pick email, Slack, or both. Make the message clear — “You’ve got a new lead: [Name] from [Company].”
- Update CRM: Map the info from the lead form to the right CRM fields.
Pro tip:
Write notifications you’d actually want to get. No one reads vague alerts.
4.5: Add Follow-Up Steps
- Set a delay (e.g., 48 hours).
- If the lead status hasn’t changed (i.e., no one followed up), send an automated reminder to the rep — and maybe flag the manager.
Be careful:
Don’t overdo reminders. Nagging notifications get ignored fast.
4.6: Test Before You Launch
- Run through the workflow with a test lead.
- Watch for missing notifications, wrong assignments, or data not syncing.
- Ask a rep to double-check — they’ll spot problems you missed.
What to ignore:
Don’t obsess over edge cases right now. Get the basics working first.
Step 5: Roll It Out (Without Wrecking Your Team’s Day)
An automation that makes life harder is worse than none at all. Communicate what you’ve set up, and get buy-in.
How to avoid mutiny: - Show the team how the workflow works (screenshare, quick video, or step-by-step doc). - Explain what will happen automatically, and what still needs a human touch. - Let reps know how to flag problems or suggest tweaks.
Pro tip:
Ask for feedback after a week. If everyone’s ignoring your reminders or the workflow’s causing confusion, adjust fast.
Step 6: Monitor, Tweak, and Don’t Settle
Automation isn’t “set it and forget it.” Stuff changes — your sales cycle, CRM fields, even Rev’s own features.
- Check regularly: Is the workflow actually making things easier, or did it just move the bottleneck?
- Look for errors: Are leads falling through the cracks? Are reps getting spammed?
- Tweak as needed: Don’t be precious. If something’s not working, change it or scrap it.
What to ignore:
Ignore the urge to automate every single thing right away. One or two solid workflows will have way more impact than a dozen half-baked ones.
Pro Tips for Real-World Automation
- Keep it human: Automation should take away grunt work, not personality. Don’t automate relationship-building.
- Document as you go: Even a simple Google Doc outlining what each workflow does will save you headaches later.
- Start small: Nail one workflow, then add more as your team gets comfortable.
- Don’t chase every feature: Rev (and every tool) will hype new automation features. Stick to what actually helps your team.
Wrapping Up
Automated workflows can save your sales team tons of time — if you keep them simple and focused. Start with the ugliest, most annoying manual tasks, set up a basic workflow in Rev, and get feedback early. Don’t fall for shiny, overcomplicated setups. Iterate, keep it practical, and let your team get back to actually selling.