Overview
An activity trigger automation runs when something happens on a lead — a call gets a particular outcome, a text arrives, an appointment is marked.
Like the list stacking version, it branches: one sequence for the outcome you are targeting, another for everything else.
Steps
Part 1: Build the Automation
Step 1: Open your lead activity triggers
Go to Automations.
Click Leads.
Click Activity Trigger.
You will see your existing automations and the option to add a new one.
Step 2: Choose the activity
In the Activity Trigger section, pick what should set this automation off:
Incoming SMS
Incoming call
Direct mail sent
Outbound Call Outcome
Appointment Outcome
Outgoing SMS
The video uses Outbound Call Outcome.
Step 3: Choose the outcome
Select the specific result you want to act on — the video uses Not Answered.
Click Save.
Step 4: Set your timing
Choose day-based or delay-based timing, and set your default time zone.
Step 5: Build the matching branch
You will now see two paths.
The first is for your chosen outcome. Steps added here run when the call is marked Not Answered.
To text the lead:
Add a Send SMS step.
Select the recipient.
Choose the phone number the message sends from.
Step 6: Add more steps
You can add as many as your process needs:
Send an email
Send direct mail
Add a note
Add a task for your team — select a template or write it, choose the assignee, and set a task reminder for them
Notify team members — by role, by naming members, or everyone assigned to that property, then choose the channel and write the text
Step 7: Build the "anything else" branch
The second path covers every other outcome. If the call disposition is anything other than Not Answered, the steps here run instead.
Set this up too, so calls that connect are not left without a follow-up.
Step 8: Save
Click Save.
Part 2: Test It
Step 9: Call a lead
Open a property in your Active Leads pipeline.
Hover over the lead's information and click call.
Click Start Call.
Step 10: Record the outcome
When the call finishes, the call result option appears.
Select the call outcome — Not Answered in this example.
Select the phone status.
Click Exit.
Your automation will trigger.
Step 11: Confirm it ran
Click to view the automations active on that lead. You will see yours listed.
Click into it to see which steps have already run, which are pending, and the scheduled date and time for each.
Important Notes
This automation branches. One path for your chosen outcome, one for everything else. Leaving the second empty means nothing happens on any other result.
Recording the call outcome is what fires it. If your team ends calls without selecting a disposition, the automation never runs.
Six activity types can trigger an automation, including incoming and outgoing SMS, incoming calls, direct mail, call outcomes, and appointment outcomes.
Not Answered is a useful trigger for automatic follow-up — a text or task the moment a call fails to connect.
Tasks created here carry their own assignee and reminder.
The per-lead automation view shows executed, pending, and scheduled steps, which is the fastest way to check a test.
Troubleshooting
Your automation never runs
Your team may not be recording call outcomes. The automation triggers on the disposition, not on the call itself.
Nothing happens on calls that connect
The "anything else" branch is probably empty. Add steps there for outcomes other than the one you selected.
The wrong branch ran
Check which outcome you selected when building the automation. Everything other than that outcome falls to the second branch.
Your SMS did not send
Check the recipient and the sending phone number on the SMS step.
A step has not run yet
Check its delay, then open the automation from the lead to see the scheduled execution time.
Summary
You built an activity trigger automation for leads. You opened Automations, Leads, and Activity Trigger, chose an activity such as Outbound Call Outcome and an outcome such as Not Answered, and set your timing. You built one branch for that outcome and another for everything else, adding SMS, email, direct mail, notes, tasks, and team notifications. You tested it by calling a lead, recording the outcome, and confirming from the record which steps had run and which were scheduled.