Waits, Approvals and Sequences How to pause a workflow for time, for a person, or for the recipient to act - and how to build a follow-up sequence.

Three ways a workflow can pause, each resuming differently. Together they are what turns a single automation into a sequence.

Wait

Pauses for a set time, then continues. The simplest pause.

Use it to space out steps: send, wait two days, follow up. The workflow is genuinely parked - it consumes nothing while waiting and resumes on schedule.

Email Wait

Parks the contact until they open or click the email just sent, then branches on what they did - or takes a "no engagement" path when the wait times out.

This is the node that makes real follow-up sequences possible. Instead of blindly sending a second email two days later, you send a different one depending on whether they engaged.

1. Send the email.
2. Add an email wait after it.
3. Set the timeout - how long to wait for engagement.
4. Attach a branch for engagement - they opened or clicked.
5. Attach a branch for no engagement - the timeout path.

The no-engagement branch is the one people leave empty. It is the more common outcome, and it is where the interesting decision is: try a different subject, try another channel, or stop.

Approval

Pauses until a person decides, then resumes down the approved or rejected branch.

The decision is recorded with who made it, when, and any notes. Resumption is automatic - nobody has to restart anything.

Use approvals for anything with a consequence somebody should own: a discount above a threshold, an external communication, a refund.

1. Add an approval node where the decision belongs.
2. Configure who decides.
3. Attach both branches. Always attach the rejected branch - an approval whose rejected path goes nowhere silently ends the workflow, and the requester is never told.

Building A Sequence

A follow-up sequence is a workflow with waits and email waits in it. There is no separate sequence builder.

A three-touch sequence:

1. Trigger - lead created, or a stage change.
2. Action - send the first email.
3. Email wait - 3 days.
4. On engagement - create a task for the owner to call them. They are warm; a human should take over.
5. On no engagement - send the second email, different angle.
6. Email wait - 4 days.
7. On engagement - task for the owner.
8. On no engagement - send the third, then end.

Two principles worth keeping:

• Hand to a human on engagement. The point of a sequence is to find who is interested. Once you know, a person should take it.
• End the sequence. Sequences that never terminate are how a workspace ends up mailing someone eleven times. Put a real end on the last branch.

Timing

Space touches by days, not hours. The wait is measured from the previous step, so a sequence with a 3-day and a 4-day wait spans a week.

Consider working days. A sequence starting Thursday with 3-day waits lands its second touch on Sunday. If that matters for your market, add a condition on weekday before sending - see Conditions and Branching.

Common Questions

How long can a workflow wait? Long waits are fine. The workflow is parked, not running.

Can I cancel a parked workflow? Deactivating the workflow stops new executions. Executions already parked need clearing individually - check the runs view.

What if someone replies instead of clicking? The email wait branches on open and click. A reply is a conversation, and belongs in the inbox where a person picks it up.

Does the approval notify the approver? Yes, through the notification system. If approvers are not being told, check the routing - see Notifications in the Settings section.