If your B2B outreach feels like an endless loop of repetitive tasks and dropped balls, you're not alone. Most teams spend way too much time on manual follow-ups, sorting replies, or copying info between tools. This guide is for folks who want to use Revreply to build automations that actually save time—without drowning in configuration hell or buying into overblown promises.
Below, I’ll walk you through setting up custom triggers and workflows in Revreply, step by step. You’ll get a clear look at what’s actually useful, what’s not worth your time, and where the real-world snags tend to happen.
1. Know What You Actually Want to Automate
Before you touch a single setting, get clear on:
- What’s eating your time? Is it sending manual follow-ups, tracking replies, or qualifying leads?
- What triggers matter? Think: A new lead comes in; someone replies “I’m interested”; a deal goes quiet for 7 days.
- What’s truly “custom”? Don’t create a workflow just because you can. If you’re not sure you’ll use it, skip it for now.
Pro tip: Write out the manual steps you do today. If you can’t describe it in plain language, you probably can’t automate it (yet).
2. Get the Lay of the Land in Revreply
Revreply’s automation features are split into two pieces:
- Triggers: These are events or conditions that kick things off—like “Contact replied” or “Deal moved to stage X.”
- Workflows: These are the chain of actions that happen after a trigger, like sending an email, updating a field, or creating a task.
The interface is straightforward, but don’t expect the polish (or the headaches) of a Salesforce. Most options are practical — you won’t get lost in a maze of “AI-powered synergy modules.”
3. Setting Up Your First Custom Trigger
Let’s do a basic but powerful one: automatically assign hot leads to a rep when someone replies with interest.
Step-by-step:
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Go to Automations.
In Revreply, find the “Automations” tab. Click “Create Trigger.” -
Pick Your Trigger Event.
For this example: - Choose “Contact replied”
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Add a filter for reply content. Most teams use simple keywords: “interested,” “demo,” or “pricing.”
Don’t get fancy with regex or sentiment analysis unless you know what you’re doing—it usually backfires. -
Set Conditions.
Optional, but useful. For example, only trigger if the contact is in the “Outreach” stage, or if the email isn’t from a competitor domain. -
Name Your Trigger.
Keep it obvious: “Assign rep: replied with interest.”
What works:
- Keyword triggers catch 80% of hot replies.
- Revreply’s UI makes filtering replies manageable.
What doesn’t:
- Overcomplicating with too many keywords. You’ll end up with false positives or missed leads.
- Relying on “AI” to sort intent—right now, it’s not that smart.
4. Building the Workflow: Assign, Notify, and Track
Once your trigger’s set, build out what should actually happen.
Core steps for our example:
- Assign Lead to a Rep
- Use Revreply’s round-robin assignment, or set specific criteria (e.g., territory or account owner).
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Don’t try to outsmart the assignment logic. Simple rules work best.
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Send Notification
- Trigger an email or Slack message to the assigned rep.
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Pro tip: Keep notifications actionable—include the reply text and contact info so the rep doesn’t have to log in just to see what’s up.
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Update Lead Status
- Move the lead to “Engaged” or your equivalent stage.
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This helps keep your pipeline view clean and your metrics meaningful.
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(Optional) Create a Follow-up Task
- If you’re serious about not letting leads slip, auto-create a task for the rep to follow up within 1 day.
What works:
- Direct notifications cut response time.
- Updating status automates pipeline hygiene.
What doesn’t:
- Triggering a flood of notifications for every reply, even “Not interested.” Tighten your filters.
- Creating so many tasks that reps start ignoring them.
5. Test Before You Trust It
Don’t skip this. Even basic automations can go sideways:
- Test with dummy data.
Send sample replies to yourself and see what gets triggered. - Check assignments and notifications.
Make sure the right people are getting alerted—and that it’s clear what they need to do. - Watch for false positives.
If your workflow is picking up irrelevant replies, tweak your keywords or add more filters.
Pro tip:
Set up a “dry run” period where the automation only notifies you (or an admin) instead of the whole team. That way, you catch issues before anyone gets spammed.
6. Other Useful (and Overrated) Workflow Ideas
Useful Automations
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No-Reply Nudges:
Trigger a follow-up email if there’s no reply after X days. Simple, but it works. -
Deal Stage Moves:
Auto-move leads based on replies or activity. Keeps your funnel honest. -
Contact Enrichment:
Trigger data enrichment when a lead hits a certain stage (if you have integrations set up). Just don’t expect magic—data vendors are hit or miss.
Overrated/Not Worth the Effort
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Hyper-personalized branching:
If you’re running a small team or have a simple funnel, you don’t need 12 variations of a workflow for every possible reply. You’ll just confuse yourself. -
“AI Sentiment” triggers:
These sound cool, but usually misfire—especially with B2B emails, which are rarely clear-cut. -
Chaining too many steps:
Every extra action is a potential point of failure. Stick to 2-3 actions per trigger unless you have a very good reason.
7. Measuring and Tweaking Your Workflows
Automations aren’t “set and forget.” Here’s how to keep them useful:
- Review performance monthly.
Are leads getting assigned? Are reps following up faster? Is the noise level manageable? - Ask your team.
If reps are groaning about spammy notifications, listen. - Track drop-offs.
If leads are stalling at a certain stage, maybe your workflow needs a tweak—or maybe it’s a sales problem, not a tech one.
Pro tip:
Keep a log of changes. If something breaks, you’ll know what changed and when.
8. When to Scale Up (and When Not To)
If you’re running a 2-person shop, resist the urge to build Rube Goldberg machines. Focus on:
- One or two high-impact triggers
- Simple, direct workflows
As your team or process complexity grows, you can layer in more. But more automations means more maintenance and more points of failure. If something feels brittle, it probably is.
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Custom triggers and workflows in Revreply can save you a ton of time—if you set up only what you need, test as you go, and don’t fall for every shiny feature. Start small, watch what actually works (and what doesn’t), and adjust. You’ll spend less time wrestling with your tools and more time actually talking to customers—which is the whole point.