--- title: Automations Discussion — 2026-02-24 type: article created: '2026-02-24' updated: '2026-04-05' source_docs: - raw/2026-02-24-automations-discussion-aviary-124843767.md tags: - aviary - hubspot - abm - automation - crm - orbit - bant - sales-pipeline - linkedin - data-cleanup - meeting layer: 2 client_source: AviaryAI industry_context: saas transferable: false --- # Automations Discussion — 2026-02-24 Working session with Aaron Grossman reviewing the ABM campaign launch results and refining HubSpot pipeline structure, BANT qualification fields, engagement automations, and database cleanup strategy. **Attendees:** Aaron Grossman (Aviary) · Mark Hope (Asymmetric) --- ## Overview The call had two main threads: (1) reviewing the freshly-launched Orbit ABM campaign for Tier 1 accounts, and (2) working through the HubSpot deal pipeline structure, BANT fields, and automation triggers Aaron had drafted. The session was hands-on — Mark shared his screen and made several HubSpot changes live. --- ## ABM Campaign Status (Orbit) The 6-email, 30-day sequence launched the day before this call for **104 Tier 1 accounts**. Each account has a personalized research report, strategy report, and individual email sequence loaded in [[tools/orbit|Orbit]]. **Email cadence:** Days 0 · 4 · 9 · 15 · 21 · 30 > Rationale: persistent without being aggressive for a cold audience. The team discussed potentially extending beyond 6 emails depending on results. **Email 1 results:** | Metric | Result | |---|---| | Open rate | 13% | | Click rate | 11% | | Bounce rate | 2% | | Unsubscribe rate | 2% | The 2% unsubscribe on a first cold email was flagged as a strong signal. The bounce rate was frustrating given pre-send hygiene was run immediately beforehand. Aaron will receive an Orbit login to view open/click data and export lists directly. Mark is also building a HubSpot dashboard so Aaron can monitor campaign performance without needing to log into Orbit separately. --- ## Key Decisions ### HubSpot Deal Pipeline Simplified The existing pipeline stages were replaced with a cleaner structure. The `Pre-Qualified` stage was removed — the act of creating a deal already implies pre-qualification. **New deal stages:** 1. `Qualified` 2. `Proposal` 3. `Contract Negotiation` 4. `Closed Won` 5. `Closed Lost` The standard HubSpot lifecycle stages (`Lead → MQL → SQL`) are retained for tracking contacts from non-ABM sources (website forms, conferences, webinars) before they become active deals. ### BANT Fields Added to Deals Custom properties for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline will be added to deal records. These can be checkboxes with accompanying detail fields. A potential automation: auto-promote a contact to `Sales Qualified` once all four BANT criteria are confirmed. ### Engagement Trigger Automation Rather than automating deal stage movement (which Aaron noted is easy to do manually), the priority automation is a **warm lead flag**: - **Trigger:** A prospect clicks on 2 or more emails in the Orbit sequence - **Action:** Create a HubSpot task for Aaron to initiate direct follow-up ### LinkedIn Outreach — Manual Only Mark enriched ~50% of Tier 1 contacts with LinkedIn profile URLs via Hunter. Aaron will use these for manual connection requests. LinkedIn automation was explicitly ruled out — their API is restrictive and platforms like Apollo that attempt it get flagged. ### Database Cleanup Approach The HubSpot company database has 10,000+ records (a mix of Aaron's Apollo imports and data from a prior consultant). Strategy to make it workable: 1. Create filtered views (e.g., FI Type = Credit Union AND Employees > 100) 2. Use bulk-select to assign owners and update properties across the filtered set 3. Rename the `FI Type` field to `Type` and expand values to include target customers, partners, technology partners, etc. > ⚠️ **Warning noted:** Bulk edits in HubSpot are difficult to reverse. Aaron committed to proceeding carefully. --- ## Action Items ### Mark - [x] Create Orbit login for Aaron - [ ] Build HubSpot dashboard for Orbit/ABM campaign tracking - [ ] Update HubSpot deal stages (remove Pre-Qualified; add Qualified, Proposal, Contract Negotiation, Closed Won, Closed Lost) - [ ] Add BANT custom properties to deal records - [ ] Build engagement trigger automation (2+ email clicks → create follow-up task for Aaron) ### Aaron - [ ] Clean HubSpot company database using filtered views and bulk edits - [ ] Rename `FI Type` field to `Type`; add expanded type values; reclassify companies - [ ] Experiment with AI agent for automated task creation from notes; share results --- ## Discussion Notes ### On Task Automation Aaron asked whether HubSpot could auto-create tasks from unstructured notes (e.g., typing "follow up in two weeks" in an activity note). It cannot natively. Mark described a potential agent-based workaround: an AI agent that scans yesterday's activity for a consistent keyword (e.g., "create follow-up") and generates tasks via the HubSpot API. Aaron planned to experiment with this before the next call. > Mark noted he manages the Aviary HubSpot instance entirely through the API via Claude — he doesn't use the HubSpot UI directly. ### On Pipeline Automation vs. Manual Movement Aaron confirmed that manually dragging deals between pipeline stages in HubSpot is not a burden — he was primarily interested in automations that surface warm leads and reduce the chance of missing engaged prospects, not in automating the pipeline progression itself. --- ## Related - [[clients/current/aviary/_index|Aviary Client Overview]] - [[tools/orbit|Orbit ABM Platform]] - [[knowledge/hubspot-pipeline-design|HubSpot Pipeline Design Patterns]] - [[knowledge/bant-qualification|BANT Qualification in HubSpot]]