Building Blocks for Automation

Automation pipelines are built using a visual drag-and-drop interface where you combine different types of blocks to create powerful workflows. Each block serves a specific purpose, and understanding what each block does will help you design effective automation campaigns for your agency.

This reference guide documents all available automation blocks, their settings, and when to use them. Blocks are organized into two main categories: Trigger Blocks (what starts a campaign) and Action Blocks (what happens when the campaign runs).

How to Access the Pipeline Builder

To create or edit automation pipelines and work with blocks:

1. Navigate to Automation in the left navigation menu
2. Click Automated Pipelines
3. Click the purple Create New Pipeline button (or select an existing pipeline to edit)
4. You'll see the pipeline builder interface with two tabs on the left: Triggers and Actions

Understanding Block Categories

Automation blocks are divided into two main categories:

• Trigger Blocks: Define when and why a campaign should start. Every pipeline must have exactly ONE trigger block that specifies the initiating event or condition
• Action Blocks: Define what happens after the trigger fires. You can chain multiple action blocks together to create complex workflows

When you drag a block from the left panel onto the canvas, you can click it to configure its properties in the right panel. Blocks can be connected together by dragging connection lines between them.

Trigger Blocks Reference

Trigger blocks define the starting point for your automation campaigns. Each pipeline can have only ONE trigger block. Choose the trigger that best matches when you want the automation to execute.

Among the trigger blocks available:

1. Initiated by Agent
2. Time Has Passed
3. Sales Pipeline Step Changed
4. New Prospect
5. New Customer
6. Customer Event Occurs
7. New Quote
8. New Policy
9. Policy Event Occurs
10. Document Signed
11. WebForm Received

Initiated by Agent

What it does: Allows agents to manually start a campaign from customer or policy pages using the "Campaigns" button. This is ideal for workflows that require human judgment before initiating.

Settings for Initiated by Agent: No configuration required.

When to use: Use when you want agents to control when automation runs (e.g., sending a welcome packet only after reviewing customer information, or initiating a cancellation workflow after speaking with the customer).

Example: A "Send Welcome Kit" pipeline that agents trigger after completing initial customer setup.

Time Has Passed

What it does: Triggers a campaign after a specified amount of time has elapsed. This block checks at regular intervals and starts campaigns for any records that meet the time criteria.

Settings for Time Has Passed:

• Time Amount (required): Number value (e.g., 7, 30, 90)
• Time Unit (required): Select from Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, or Months

When to use: Use for time-based follow-ups, reminders, or scheduled tasks (e.g., "7 days after policy creation", "30 days after last contact", "90 days before renewal").

Example: Send a satisfaction survey 7 days after policy issuance.

Sales Pipeline Step Changed

What it does: Triggers when a prospect is moved to a different step (column) in the Sales Manager board.

Settings for Sales Pipeline Step Changed:

• From Office (optional): Filter by which office the prospect belongs to (can select "Any")
• From Step (optional): Select which step (column) the prospect is moving FROM (can select "Any" to trigger on any step change)
• To Step (required): Select which step (column) the prospect is moving TO (must select "undefined" to match any destination)
• Prospect Type (optional): Filter by Personal Customer or Commercial Customer

When to use: Automate actions based on sales pipeline progress (e.g., send information packet when prospect moves to "Quote Requested", assign task when moved to "Needs Follow-up").

Example: When prospect moves from any step to "Ready to Close", send a congratulations email and create a policy setup task.

New Prospect

What it does: Triggers when a new prospect record is created in the system.

Settings for New Prospect:

• Prospect Type (optional): Filter by Personal or Commercial prospects
• Creation Method (optional): Filter by how the prospect was created: Manually by Agent, Converted from Lead, or Created by Carrier Downloads
• Office (optional): Filter by which office the prospect belongs to

When to use: Welcome new prospects, assign to agents, add to nurture campaigns.

Example: When a new prospect is manually created, send a welcome email and create a follow-up task for 2 days later.

New Customer

What it does: Triggers when a new customer record is created (when a prospect is converted to a customer or a customer is created directly).

Settings for New Customer:

• Customer Type (optional): Filter by Personal or Commercial customers
• Creation Method (optional): Filter by Manually Created by Agent, Converted from Prospect, or Created by Carrier Downloads
• Office (optional): Filter by which office

When to use: Onboard new customers with welcome materials, setup reminders, assign initial tasks.

Example: When a new customer is created, send a welcome package and schedule a 30-day check-in call.

Customer Event Occurs

What it does: Triggers when specific events occur for a customer, such as birthdays or profile updates.

Settings for Customer Event Occurs:

• Event Type (required): Select the event:
  • Birthday (on the exact day)
  • 3/5/7 Days Before Birthday
  • Details Updated (when customer information changes)
  • Email Received (when customer sends an email)
  • Text Received (when customer sends an SMS)
• Customer Type (optional): Filter by Personal or Commercial
• Office (optional): Filter by office

When to use: Engage customers on special occasions, respond to customer-initiated communications, track profile changes.

Example: Send birthday greetings 7 days before the customer's birthday with a special offer.

New Quote

What it does: Triggers when a new insurance quote is created in the system.

Settings for New Quote:

• Policy Type (optional): Filter by insurance type (Auto, Home, Life, Commercial, etc.)
• Creation Method (optional): Filter by Manually Created, Imported from Rater, or Carrier Downloads
• Carrier (optional): Filter by specific insurance carrier
• Product (optional): Filter by specific product within a carrier
• Office (optional): Filter by office

When to use: Follow up on quotes, send quote documents, remind agents to contact customers.

Example: When an auto quote is created, send quote details to the customer and create a follow-up task for 3 days later.

New Policy

What it does: Triggers when a new insurance policy is created or bound.

Settings for New Policy: Same as New Quote (Policy Type, Creation Method, Carrier, Product, Office filters, plus optional premium amount filters: Premium Higher Than or Premium Lower Than, all optional).

When to use: Welcome new policyholders, send policy documents, schedule renewal reminders, assign service tasks.

Example: When a new home insurance policy is bound, send welcome packet, policy documents, and set up renewal reminders 60 days before expiration.

Policy Event Occurs

What it does: Triggers when specific events happen to an existing policy.

Settings for Policy Event Occurs:

• Event Type (required): Select the policy event:
  • Expires in 3/7/14 Days
  • Expired
  • Renewed
  • Cancelled
  • Reissued
  • Replaced
  • Rewritten
  • Pending Cancellation
• Policy Type, Carrier, Product, Office (optional): Filters for policy attributes
• Premium Change Filters (optional): Premium Higher Than or Premium Lower Than thresholds

When to use: Renewal campaigns, cancellation prevention, policy change notifications, retention workflows.

Example: When a policy expires in 30 days, send renewal reminders to both customer and agent, then follow up at 14 days, 7 days, and 3 days before expiration.

Document Signed

What it does: Triggers when a customer completes signing a PDF form sent through the platform.

Settings for Document Signed:

• PDF Form Template (optional): Filter by which form template was signed (can select "Any")
• Customer Type (optional): Filter by Personal or Commercial
• Office (optional): Filter by office

When to use: Next-step workflows after document completion (e.g., after application signed, start underwriting process).

Example: When customer signs the policy application, create a task for the underwriting team and send a confirmation email to the customer.

WebForm Received

What it does: Triggers when a customer submits a web form (either from your agency website or a form sent via automation).

Settings for WebForm Received:

• Form Type (required): Select "Quote Request" or "Regular Form"
• Form Template (optional): Filter by specific form template

When to use: Lead capture workflows, quote request follow-ups, data collection responses.

Example: When a customer submits a quote request form, create a prospect record, assign to an agent, and send an acknowledgment email.

Action Blocks Reference

Action blocks define what happens after a trigger fires. You can chain multiple action blocks together to create complex workflows. Each action block can be connected to the next using connection lines on the canvas.

Among the action blocks available:

1. Send Email
2. Send Text
3. Create Task
4. Create Reminder
5. Create Web Form
6. Create PDF Form
7. Begin ESign Request
8. Create Prospect
9. Update Records
10. Stop And Wait For
11. Await For Approval
12. Send Postcard
13. End Campaign

Send Email

What it does: Sends an email using a pre-configured email template.

Settings for Send Email:

• To (required): Select who receives the email - Customer, Assigned Agent, Customer and Agent, or Specific Agent
• CC (optional): Additional email addresses (comma-separated)
• Subject (required): Email subject line (can use merge fields like {CustomerName})
• Body (required): Email content with rich text editor (supports merge fields, images, links)
• Track Clicks (optional): Yes/No - enables tracking of link clicks in the email
• Attach Generated PDFs (optional): Yes/No - automatically attaches any PDF forms generated earlier in the workflow

When to use: Any email communication - welcome messages, reminders, notifications, follow-ups, document delivery.

Example: Send a renewal reminder email 30 days before policy expiration with a link to the renewal form.

Send Text

What it does: Sends an SMS text message to the customer's mobile phone.

Settings for Send Text:

• To (required): Select Customer, Assigned Agent, Both, or Specific Agent
• CC (optional): Additional phone numbers
• Message (required): Text content (160 character limit, can use merge fields)

When to use: Time-sensitive notifications, appointment reminders, payment confirmations, urgent alerts.

Example: Send a text reminder 1 day before a scheduled appointment with the agent.

Create Task

What it does: Creates a task and assigns it to an agent.

Settings for Create Task:

• Task Title (required): Short description of the task
• Task Description (optional): Detailed task instructions
• Priority (required): Select Low, Normal, or High
• Assign To (required): Choose "Auto-assign to customer's agent" or select a specific agent
• Supervisor (optional): Select an agent to supervise/review the task

When to use: Assign follow-up work, create reminders for agents, trigger manual processes that require human attention.

Example: Create a "Follow up on quote" task assigned to the customer's agent 3 days after quote is sent.

Create Reminder

What it does: Creates a reminder that appears in the agent's calendar and reminder notifications.

Settings for Create Reminder:

• Reminder Title (required): Short reminder text
• Reminder Description (optional): Additional details
• Assign To (required): Auto-assign to customer's agent or select specific agent(s)

When to use: Calendar-based reminders, date-sensitive notifications for agents.

Example: Create a reminder for the agent 60 days before policy expiration to start the renewal process.

Create Web Form

What it does: Generates a web form link and optionally sends it to the customer via email or SMS (when used after Send Email or Send Text blocks).

Settings for Create Web Form:

• Form Template (required): Select which web form template to use
• Map Data To (required): Choose whether form responses update Customer, Policy, or both

When to use: Collect additional information from customers, quote requests, policy updates, claim reporting.

Example: Send an email with a link to a policy review form asking customer to update their coverage information.

Create PDF Form

What it does: Generates a PDF document using a template and pre-fills it with customer/policy data.

Settings for Create PDF Form:

• PDF Template (required): Select which PDF form template to use
• Map Data From (required): Choose which data source to use for field mapping (Customer, Policy, etc.)

When to use: Generate certificates of insurance, policy summaries, applications, disclosure forms.

Example: Generate a certificate of insurance PDF and attach it to the next Send Email block.

Begin ESign Request

What it does: Initiates an electronic signature request using Adobe Sign or DocuSign integration.

Settings for Begin ESign Request:

• E-Signature Template (required): Select the document template to send for signature
• Map Data From (required): Choose data source for pre-filling document fields
• Notification Type (required): Select how to notify the signer (Email, SMS, or Both)

When to use: Collect legally binding signatures on applications, policy documents, authorization forms.

Example: Send the policy application via Adobe Sign, then wait for signature completion before proceeding to next steps.

Create Prospect

What it does: Creates a new prospect record from data collected earlier in the workflow (typically from a web form submission).

Settings for Create Prospect: No additional configuration - uses data from the triggering event (like a WebForm Received).

When to use: Lead capture workflows where you want to automatically create prospect records from web form submissions or other data sources.

Example: When a quote request form is received, create a prospect record and assign them to an agent.

Update Records

What it does: Updates customer or policy fields with new values or data collected during the workflow.

Settings for Update Records:

• Map Data To (required): Select which record type to update (Customer, Policy, etc.)
• Field Mappings (required): Configure which fields to update and their values

When to use: Sync data from forms back to customer/policy records, update status fields, set tags or flags.

Example: After customer completes a policy review form, update their policy record with the new information.

Stop And Wait For

What it does: Pauses the campaign execution until a specific event occurs or condition is met.

Settings for Stop And Wait For:

• Wait For (required): Select what event to wait for:
  • Email Link Clicked (waits for customer to click a link in the previous email)
  • Form Submission (waits for customer to submit a form)
  • Document Signed (waits for e-signature completion)
  • Approval (waits for agent approval - see Await For Approval block)

When to use: Create workflows with customer-driven branching logic, wait for customer actions before proceeding.

Example: Send a quote email, wait for customer to click "I'm interested" link, then send application form. If not clicked within 7 days, send follow-up.

Await For Approval

What it does: Pauses the campaign until a specific agent approves or rejects the workflow to continue.

Settings for Await For Approval:

• Approver (required): Select which agent must approve (or use customer's assigned agent)

When to use: Require manual review/approval before proceeding with sensitive actions (e.g., before sending cancellation notice, before issuing refund).

Example: When policy cancellation is requested, wait for the agent to review and approve before sending cancellation confirmation to the customer.

Send Postcard

What it does: Integrates with a direct mail service to send physical postcards to customers (requires integration setup with mail service provider).

Settings for Send Postcard: Configuration depends on your integrated mail service provider.

When to use: Physical mail campaigns, birthday cards, renewal reminders via postal mail, marketing campaigns.

Note: This feature requires setup and may incur additional costs through the mail service provider.

End Campaign

What it does: Explicitly stops the campaign execution. Any blocks after this will not run.

Settings for End Campaign: No configuration required.

When to use: End workflows early based on conditions, stop execution after a certain point.

Example: If customer clicks "Not interested" in an email, end the campaign instead of sending more follow-ups.

Building Your First Pipeline

Now that you understand all available blocks, here's how to build an effective automation pipeline:

1. Choose Your Trigger: Start by selecting the trigger block that matches when you want automation to run
2. Add Action Blocks: Drag action blocks onto the canvas and connect them in the order you want them to execute
3. Configure Each Block: Click each block and fill in its properties in the right panel
4. Test Your Logic: Use the "Initiated by Agent" trigger for testing - you can manually trigger test campaigns and verify they work correctly
5. Save and Enable: Save your pipeline and set its status to "Active" to enable it

Best Practices

• Start Simple: Begin with simple 2-3 block workflows before building complex multi-step campaigns
• Use Descriptive Names: Name your pipelines clearly so you can find them later (e.g., "30-Day Policy Renewal Reminder")
• Test Before Activating: Always test workflows using "Initiated by Agent" or on test records before enabling automatic triggers
• Monitor Execution: Regularly check execution logs to ensure campaigns are running as expected
• Use Templates: Start with system templates and customize them rather than building from scratch
• Combine Blocks Strategically: Use Send Email + Create Web Form + Stop And Wait For to create interactive workflows

Conclusion

Understanding automation blocks is the foundation for creating powerful workflows that save time and improve customer engagement. Start with simple combinations, test thoroughly, and gradually build more sophisticated campaigns as you become comfortable with the block system. The visual pipeline builder makes it easy to see your workflow logic at a glance and modify it as your business needs evolve.