Make a sequence start on its own: triggers, entry filter and re-entry

Where is the Start block?

• Go to CRM > Sequences and open the sequence.
• In the Editor tab, the Start block is the first card, above the steps. Closed, it sums up its setup in one line —for example, New deal · once per person—; with no triggers it reads Manual enrollment only — set up automatic start. Click it to open it.
• Set up its four parts, described below. There's no save button: it saves by itself.
• Turn the sequence on. Triggers only enroll contacts into a Live sequence that has at least one step.

What starts it: the triggers

A trigger is an event that enrolls the contact the moment it happens, with no wait for any periodic check. Add one with Add trigger and pick its type:

• Contact created — every new contact in the CRM. With Narrow by contact source you keep only the ones that come from certain sources, for example WhatsApp or a web form.
• Added to a list — when someone is added to one of the Lists you choose. Only static or CSV lists; to work with a dynamic list, enroll it from Enroll contacts → From list and check Link list for future auto-enrollment: the people who join it keep being enrolled on their own every few minutes.
• Label added — when the person gets one of the Labels that trigger. It's the handiest way to start the sequence by hand without opening it: put the label on the contact, from their record or on several at once from People, and they're in.
• Deal created — every new deal, or only the ones of the Pipeline you choose.
• Deal changed stage — when a deal moves to another stage. You can narrow it with Pipeline, From stage and To stage, for example only when it goes from Contacted to Negotiation.

An advanced sequence takes up to five triggers, and they work as alternatives: any one of them is enough to enroll the contact. A simple one takes one; to combine several, switch it to advanced (Settings tab, Switch to advanced).

Who gets in: the entry filter

One protection is fixed and can't be removed: contacts marked Do not contact never enter, nor do those who unsubscribed. Besides that, you can add your own filter: Add filter opens Entry filter, the same builder as the CRM's filters. It combines the person's fields —your custom fields included—, the fields of their linked deal (stage, status, value, labels and more) and four signals: Has a deal, Has phone, Has email and Last reply from contact. Contacts get in if they meet every rule under Match ALL of these conditions and, if you add rules under And match ANY of these conditions, at least one of those. Click Apply and the block shows the rules as chips; with no filter, every contact that sets off a trigger gets in.

The filter is checked once, when the contact comes in automatically: through a trigger or a linked list. Contacts you add with Enroll contacts don't go through it —you're the one choosing who enters—, and neither do those who come from another sequence with Continue in another sequence, because they were already filtered when they entered the first one. Do not contact applies always, in every case.

When does the first step go out?

Two waits come into play. When it starts, in the Start block, is the trigger's own: leave it on As soon as possible or choose After a wait, with the minutes, hours or days. It only applies to contacts who come in through a trigger. Then there's Step 1's wait —the time marker above it, in When to execute this step—, which applies to everyone, whichever way they came in: by hand, from a list, through a trigger or from another sequence.

• If the contact came in through a trigger, both waits add up. Example: When it starts at 1 hour and Step 1 with a 2-day wait → the first step goes out 2 days and 1 hour after the trigger.
• If you enrolled them by hand, only Step 1's wait counts: with 2 days, the first step goes out 2 days after the enrollment.
• If the sequence has a schedule (Scheduling, in the Settings tab) and the time falls outside it, the first step goes out when the next window opens, like every other step.

Re-entry: can someone go through again?

Re-entry decides what happens when the event fires again for someone who already went through the sequence:

• Once per person — the default: whoever was in the sequence once doesn't come back in automatically.
• Every time the trigger matches — they come back in each time the event repeats, as long as they've already finished their previous pass.
• After N days — they come back in only if the days you set have gone by since their last entry.

It's counted per person, not per email address, and nobody is ever in the same sequence twice at once: while they're still in it —active, paused or waiting on a task—, the trigger doesn't enroll them again. It applies to whoever comes in automatically, also from another sequence with Continue in another sequence. With Enroll contacts the person is added unless they're already in the sequence. In a simple sequence, re-entry stays on Once per person; to change it, switch it to advanced.

Nobody entered: what do I check?

While a sequence with triggers hasn't enrolled anyone yet, the block itself warns you: No one has entered through these triggers yet. Check that the sequence is active and the event actually happens. Go through these, in order:

• The sequence is Live and has at least one step.
• The event really happens as you set it up: the right list (static or CSV), the right label, pipeline or stages.
• The Entry filter doesn't leave everyone out, and the contacts aren't marked Do not contact.
• Re-entry: with Once per person, someone who was already in the sequence doesn't come back in.

Next step: to ask something about the contact and branch the flow, see Advanced sequences: conditions, branches and chaining; and so the steps act on the right deal, Link deals in a sequence (so the automation can move them).