Lists, pipelines & automations
How the three CRM building blocks fit together — who, where they are in a process, and what happens automatically
The CRM gives you three building blocks that look similar but do different jobs. A List is who, a Pipeline is where each contact is in a process, and an Automation is what happens automatically when something changes.
| Block | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| List | A named group of contacts | "Newsletter subscribers", "Beta testers" |
| Pipeline | Deals moving through stage columns | Lead → Proposal → Won |
| Automation | Steps that run when a trigger fires | "When a contact becomes a Channel Partner, send the welcome email" |
Where to find it
Connect → CRM in the sidebar, then Lists, Pipeline or Automations in the CRM menu. Contacts and organizations themselves are covered on CRM contacts & organizations.
Lists
A list is a curated set of contacts: in or out, nothing more. A contact can be in many lists at once ("Investors" and "Newsletter"). Lists have no order and no stages.
- Open Lists and click Create list.
- Give it a List name.
- Open the list, pick contacts under List members and click Add. A contact's own page shows the lists it is on under Lists.
Two things use a list: a Broadcast (under Broadcasts in the CRM menu (see Pipeline, forms & broadcasts)) emails everyone on the list, skipping anyone who has unsubscribed, and the list's own Automations section runs an automation whenever a contact is added to the list.
Pipelines
A pipeline is a Kanban board of deals. Each deal is a card in exactly one column (a stage) at a time. A new pipeline starts with Lead, Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Won and Lost; rename, recolor, reorder, add or remove stages under Pipeline Settings. A workspace can have several pipelines; switch between them with the selector at the top of the board.
A deal is its own record: it links to a contact and an organization and carries a value, a win probability and an expected close date. One contact can have several deals. Drag a card between columns as the deal progresses.
Automations
An automation is a trigger followed by an ordered list of steps, built on a visual canvas.
- Open Automations and click Create new automation.
- Give it a Name and choose the trigger: when Customer type is set to a given Profile Type (for example Investor).
- The automation opens in the builder. Add steps (send an email, generate an agreement, and so on) in the order they should run.
- Activate it when you are ready. New automations start inactive so you can build safely, and an automation cannot be activated without a trigger type.
Steps run in a straight line — step 1, then step 2, then step 3 — with no branching.
How they fit together
- A List answers who.
- A Pipeline answers where each contact is in a process.
- An Automation answers what happens automatically when something changes.
They are deliberately kept separate: a contact can be in many lists but in only one stage of a pipeline. They meet through events. Setting a contact's Profile Type to Channel Partner is an event; an automation listening for it sends the welcome email and generates the partner agreement, and the contact record itself stays a contact. Adding a contact to a list is another event, and the list's automations react the same way.
How it connects
- CRM contacts & organizations — the records that lists, deals and automations act on.
- Broadcasts — the CRM's bulk email, sent to a list; find it under Broadcasts in the CRM menu.
- Notifications — automation emails go to your contacts; your own notifications are configured separately.
FAQ
Can an automation trigger when a deal enters a stage? Not yet. Automations trigger on a contact's Profile Type today, and lists can run automations when a contact is added. Pipeline-stage triggers are not available.
Can an automation branch? No. Steps always run in order, one after the other.
Does a broadcast go to contacts who unsubscribed? No. A contact who opted out is skipped even if they are on the list.