---
title: AviaryAI HubSpot ABM Automation Workflow
type: article
created: '2026-04-05'
updated: '2026-04-05'
source_docs:
- raw/2026-03-11-aviaryai-weekly-call-129176325.md
tags:
- hubspot
- abm
- automation
- email-marketing
- client:aviaryai
layer: 2
client_source: null
industry_context: null
transferable: true
---

# AviaryAI HubSpot ABM Automation Workflow

## Overview

AviaryAI's ABM email sequences run through HubSpot and are governed by an enrollment/cancellation workflow. A logic flaw was identified during the [[clients/aviaryai/_index|AviaryAI]] weekly call on 2026-03-11: the workflow cancels email sequences for a contact as soon as a HubSpot deal is created for them. This produces an unintended side effect in multi-business-unit accounts (e.g., large credit unions) where outreach to other contacts at the same organization is silently stopped.

## Current Behavior

- When a deal is created in HubSpot for any contact, the ABM email sequence for that contact is **cancelled**.
- The intent is correct in isolation: once a deal exists, manual sales follow-up should take over and marketing automation should step back.
- However, AviaryAI often engages with **one business unit** of a larger credit union while other business units at the same organization remain untouched prospects.
- Creating a deal for the first contact causes sequences for other contacts at the same account to be cancelled — stopping outreach that should continue.

This was surfaced when reviewing the sequence dashboard, which showed a significant number of contacts in a **Cancelled** state that Aaron had not intentionally removed.

> "I might be talking to one business unit and the other business unit might not even know. So I wouldn't say just because I have a deal, that means we shouldn't reach out to the whole credit union, especially the larger credit unions."
> — Aaron Grossman, 2026-03-11

## Root Cause

The cancellation trigger is set to **deal creation**, which is too broad. It fires for any deal associated with a contact, regardless of whether that contact's business unit is the one being actively worked.

## Proposed Solution

Change the cancellation trigger from **deal creation** to the **Opportunity lifecycle stage**.

### How It Works

HubSpot lifecycle stages progress through:
`Subscriber → Lead → Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) → Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) → Opportunity → Customer`

By triggering cancellation only when a contact reaches the **Opportunity** stage, the workflow becomes more precise:

- Contacts actively in negotiation (Opportunity stage) are removed from automated sequences.
- Contacts at the same account who are still in earlier lifecycle stages continue to receive ABM emails.
- Sales reps retain control by deciding when to advance a contact to Opportunity, rather than the trigger firing automatically on deal creation.

## Implementation Notes

- The trigger change needs to be made in the HubSpot workflow editor for the active ABM sequence.
- Aaron (AviaryAI) will propose his preferred approach and include it with the next 100-account list submission.
- Mark Hope (Asymmetric) will implement the trigger change once the approach is confirmed.
- Care should be taken to audit any contacts currently in **Cancelled** state to determine if they should be re-enrolled.

## Related Context

- The ABM campaign covers 101 accounts (as of 2026-03-11), with a next batch of ~100 accounts to be added.
- Sequences are built and managed in HubSpot; contact data is enriched and deduplicated by the Asymmetric team.
- Click timestamps in the sequence dashboard are unreliable due to the N8N/SQS capture process — 3 AM timestamps do not necessarily indicate bot activity.

## Related Articles

- [[clients/aviaryai/_index|AviaryAI Client Overview]]
- [[knowledge/hubspot/lifecycle-stages|HubSpot Lifecycle Stages]]
- [[knowledge/email-marketing/abm-sequence-design|ABM Sequence Design]]