⚡Lead Automations

Automatically send messages to new leads the moment they arrive. Define a sequence of WhatsApp, SMS, and Email steps with delays and fallback logic so you never miss a follow-up.

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Quick Start

1. Go to Leads in the sidebar

2. Click Automations in the header bar

3. Click New to create your first automation

4. Pick a webhook source, add one or more steps, and click Create

That's it. The next time a lead arrives through that webhook, the automation runs automatically.

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Setting Up an Automation

1. Name and Webhook Trigger

Give the automation a descriptive name (e.g. "Landing Page Welcome Sequence"). Then choose which webhook source triggers it. Only leads arriving through the selected webhook will run this automation.

You need at least one webhook configured. Set up webhooks from the Webhooks button in the Leads header.

2. Add Steps

Each step sends a message on a specific channel. Steps run in order from top to bottom.

For each step, choose:

• Channel - WhatsApp, SMS, or Email

• Template - An approved message template. Templates are managed in the Broadcasts section

• Delay - How long to wait before sending this step:

  • Immediate (no delay)

  • 5, 15, or 30 minutes

  • 1 or 2 hours

  • 24 hours

3. Add Fallback (Optional)

Check "If fails, auto-fallback" on any step to set up a backup channel. If the primary channel fails (e.g. the lead doesn't have WhatsApp), the system automatically tries the fallback channel with a different template.

4. Safety Lock

The safety lock prevents sending duplicate automations to the same person. If a lead with the same phone number or email arrives within the safety window (default: 5 minutes), the automation is skipped.

Increase this to 30 minutes or more if your webhook might fire multiple times for the same person.

5. Active Toggle

Automations are active by default. Toggle the switch off to pause an automation without deleting it. You can re-activate it at any time.

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Example Workflows

Welcome with SMS fallback

Step	Channel	Delay	Template	Fallback
1	WhatsApp	Immediate	Welcome_WA	SMS: Welcome_SMS
2	Email	2 hours	Follow_Up_Email	-

What happens: When a lead arrives, a WhatsApp welcome message is sent immediately. If it fails, SMS is tried instead. Two hours later, a follow-up email is sent regardless.

Drip campaign

Step	Channel	Delay	Template
1	WhatsApp	Immediate	Day_0_Welcome
2	WhatsApp	24 hours	Day_1_Value_Prop
3	Email	24 hours	Day_2_Case_Study

What happens: A 3-day drip sequence. Day 0: immediate WhatsApp. Day 1: another WhatsApp. Day 2: email with a case study.

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Variable Injection

Templates can include variables that are automatically filled from the lead's data:

Variable	Value
{{name}}	Full name
{{first_name}}	First name
{{last_name}}	Last name
{{email}}	Email address
{{phone}}	Phone number
{{company}}	Company name
{{source_name}}	How the lead was acquired (webhook name)

Any custom fields from the lead are also available as variables. For example, if a lead has a custom field planInterest, you can use {{planInterest}} in your template.

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Monitoring Automations

Automation List

Click Automations to see all your automation workflows at a glance. Each entry shows:

• Name and active status

• Step count and channels used

• Stats: triggered / completed / failed counts

• Actions: Edit, Delete, Toggle on/off

Lead Activity Timeline

Open any lead's detail view to see automation events in the activity timeline:

Event	What it means
Automation triggered	The automation started running for this lead
Step sent	A message was sent successfully. Shows delivery status (Sent, Delivered, Read)
Step failed	A message failed. Shows the error. Click Retry to try again
Fallback	The system switched to a fallback channel after a failure
Automation completed	All steps finished successfully
Automation skipped	The automation didn't run (safety lock or missing contact info)

Message Delivery Tracking

Automation messages are tracked using the same system as broadcast campaigns. Delivery status updates automatically as the messaging platform reports back:

• Sent - Message was accepted by the platform

• Delivered - Message arrived on the recipient's device

• Read - Recipient opened the message (WhatsApp only)

• Failed - Message could not be delivered (error details shown)

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Retrying Failed Steps

If a step fails, a Retry button appears in the lead's activity timeline. Clicking it re-sends the failed message. This is useful when:

• A temporary API outage caused the failure

• You've since configured the missing channel credentials

• The lead's contact information was corrected

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Compliance and opt-out

For SMS steps, OnRaven automatically enforces opt-out compliance:

• Blacklist check — Leads who have opted out (e.g. replied STOP to a previous message) are skipped. The automation step is marked as skipped and the next step is not sent.

• Opt-out suffix — A "STOP: {url}" line is automatically appended to SMS messages in a single message (kept short to avoid SMS segmentation) to comply with TCPA/CTIA requirements.

• Opt-out blacklist — Manage opted-out numbers under Broadcasts → Opt-out. You can remove numbers only with proof that the recipient opted back in.

WhatsApp and Email steps are not subject to the same opt-out blacklist (WhatsApp uses its own opt-out handling at the template level).

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Tips

• Always test with your own phone/email first. Create a test lead via the webhook to verify templates render correctly before going live.

• Use the safety lock wisely. Set it to at least 5 minutes to avoid duplicate messages. Increase it for webhooks that may fire repeatedly (e.g. form resubmissions).

• Start simple. Begin with one or two steps, verify they work, then add more complexity.

• Approve templates first. WhatsApp requires template approval from Meta. Make sure your templates are in "Approved" status before using them in automations.

• Fallbacks are optional but recommended. If your audience might not all be on WhatsApp, add SMS or Email as a fallback.