Step by step guide to automating pipeline reviews in Troops for sales teams

If you spend more time wrangling pipeline data than actually selling, this guide is for you. We’ll show you how to set up automated pipeline reviews in Troops, so your sales team can stop chasing reports and start having real conversations. No fluff, just practical steps to get out of spreadsheet hell.

Why Automate Pipeline Reviews?

Manual pipeline reviews are a time sink. You chase reps for updates, struggle with outdated data, and half your team tunes out during the meeting. Automating this process with Troops means:

  • Sales leaders get clean, real-time data.
  • Reps spend less time updating CRM, more time selling.
  • Everyone sees the same numbers—no surprises.

But don’t expect automation to magically fix bad habits or a broken pipeline. Think of this as building better rails for your process; you’ll still need to drive.

Step 1: Get Your House in Order

Before you dive into automating anything, do a quick audit:

  • Is your CRM data clean? Troops just reads what’s there—garbage in, garbage out.
  • Do you have a clear review cadence? Weekly? Biweekly? Pick one and stick to it.
  • What does “pipeline review” mean for your team? Every company’s a little different. List out exactly what you want to see: new deals, deal stage changes, next steps, stuck opportunities, etc.

Pro Tip: If you can’t answer the three questions above in under a minute, pause and fix that first. Automation won’t solve unclear processes.

Step 2: Connect Troops to Your CRM and Slack

Troops is built to connect Salesforce (and sometimes HubSpot) to Slack or Teams. Here’s the quick rundown:

  1. Install Troops for your workspace (an admin will need to approve it).
  2. Connect your CRM account. Troops walks you through the OAuth process. Don’t overthink it.
  3. Pick where you want notifications to go. Most teams use a dedicated #pipeline-review channel, but you can pipe updates to DMs or private groups too.

Heads up: If your CRM is a mess or your Slack workspace is a free-for-all, expect some setup friction. Clean up users and permissions first if you haven’t already.

Step 3: Decide What to Automate (And What to Ignore)

This is where most teams get tripped up. Troops can automate a lot, but don’t try to automate everything on day one. Focus on:

  • Deal stage changes (e.g., “Show me all deals that moved forward or backward this week”)
  • New deals added to the pipeline
  • Deals with no activity in X days
  • Deals closing this week/month

Ignore the urge to automate every possible field. Too many alerts = alert fatigue. Start with what actually drives conversation in your review meetings.

Step 4: Build Your Troops Workflows

Troops uses “Workflows” to automate notifications and digests.

A. Create a Pipeline Digest

This is the bread and butter. A digest summarizes the pipeline at a set time (e.g., every Monday morning).

  1. Go to the Troops dashboard.
  2. Create a new Workflow, select “Digest.”
  3. Choose your CRM object (typically Opportunities or Deals).
  4. Set your filters: Stage, close date, amount, owner, etc.
  5. Pick your schedule: Weekly is typical.
  6. Choose your Slack channel.

Best practice: Keep the digest short. If it doesn’t fit in a Slack message, it’s too long. Focus on the biggest deals, changes, and stuck items.

B. Set Up Real-Time Alerts

For deals moving stages or going quiet, real-time alerts are useful:

  1. Create a new Workflow, select “Alert.”
  2. Trigger on field changes (e.g., Stage changes, Amount updates).
  3. Add any filters you need (e.g., only for deals over $50k).
  4. Send to the right Slack channel or DM.

Don’t overdo it. You want to surface only what’s urgent or worth discussion.

C. Automate Rep Reminders

If reps aren’t updating next steps or close dates, set up a gentle nudge:

  1. Workflow type: Alert or Reminder.
  2. Trigger: Opportunities without “Next Step” or missing close dates.
  3. Action: Send a DM to the rep, not the whole team.

Reality check: Don’t expect these reminders to magically fix rep habits. But it does save managers from nagging.

Step 5: Test, Tune, and Get Feedback

Roll out your automated reviews to a test group first—maybe one sales team or a couple of managers.

  • Ask what’s useful and what’s noise.
  • Tweak your filters and timing.
  • Adjust channel permissions if needed.

Don’t be afraid to kill an alert that nobody cares about. The best automation solves real problems and fades into the background.

Pro Tip: If your team is ignoring the digests or alerts, that’s a sign they’re not helpful. Less is more.

Step 6: Train Your Team (Without the Eye Rolls)

Automation only works if people trust it. Show your reps what’s changing:

  • Walk through a sample digest in your next pipeline review.
  • Explain that the goal is to cut down on status-check meetings and Slack pings—not to micromanage.
  • Remind everyone that Troops shows what’s actually in CRM. If it’s wrong, it means the data’s wrong.

Don’t force everyone to use Troops in the same way. Some reps will love alerts; others just want the weekly digest. That’s fine.

Step 7: Rinse, Repeat, and Don’t Overcomplicate

There’s no finish line here. Every few weeks:

  • Check if the pipeline reviews are smoother.
  • Prune any alert that isn’t pulling its weight.
  • Add new workflows only if there’s a clear need.

Stuff to skip: Fancy conditional logic, hyper-granular filters, or trying to automate team motivation. Keep it simple. Focus on what helps sales actually happen.

Summary: Start Simple, Stay Useful

Automating pipeline reviews with Troops isn’t about replacing good management; it’s about freeing up time for actual selling. Start with the basics, automate what really matters, and don’t let the tool run your process. Iterate as you go, and don’t be afraid to scale back if something isn’t working. The goal is fewer meetings, less busywork, and more deals closed. That’s it.