How to build a nurture workflow for inbound B2B leads in HubSpot
Turn passive leads into sales-ready opportunities automatically.
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Back to the subject at hand.
The primary function of B2B marketing isn't just to "build relationships" - it is to accelerate pipeline velocity.
When a lead enters your database, they are on a clock. Without a structured, architected nurture strategy, they will go cold or competitor-bound within days.
Many marketers treat HubSpot workflows as simple "drip campaigns" (Email 1 → Wait 3 Days → Email 2). But in a mature Revenue Operations model, a nurture workflow is a logic engine that sorts, scores, qualifies, and orchestrates usage across channels.
Here is how to build a nurture architecture that scales.
Phase 1: The data foundation
Before you drag a single action into a workflow, you must prepare your CRM schema to capture data correctly.
A messy database leads to messy automation.
1. The "ingestion" layer
Don't clutter your CRM with unique date properties for every single ebook (e.g., "Date Downloaded Guide A").
This leads to property bloat. Instead, standardize your capture with these properties:
- Recent Conversion: A single text field updated by workflows with the name of the last asset downloaded.
- Recent Conversion Date: A date field stamped whenever a form is filled.
- Lifecycle Stage: Ensure your forms set this to "Lead" or "Subscriber" automatically to prevent data hygiene issues.
2. The "exclusion" list (crucial!)
The fastest way to kill a deal is to send a "What is [Product]?" ebook to a prospect who is currently negotiating a contract with your VP of Sales.
Create an Global Exclusion List and use it as a suppression list for all nurture workflows.
- Criteria: Lifecycle Stage = Opportunity OR Customer.
- Criteria: Associated Deal Stage is NOT Closed/Lost.
- Criteria: Opted out of email.
Phase 2: architecting the workflow
In HubSpot, navigate to Automations > Workflows.
We recommend a "Hub & Spoke" model rather than one giant, complex workflow.
Step 1: Enrollment triggers
Enroll contacts based on behavior, not just manual list adds.
- Trigger A: Form Submission (Specific Asset).
- Trigger B: Viewed Pricing Page > 2 times (High Intent).
- Trigger C: Lead Score > 50 but < 100 (Warm, but not hot).
Step 2: The "goal" criteria
This is the most skipped step in HubSpot.
Set a Goal for your workflow.
The goal of a nurture sequence is usually to get the lead to take the next step (e.g., Book a Demo).
- Goal Criteria: Lifecycle Stage becomes "Marketing Qualified Lead" (MQL) OR "Form Submission: Demo Request."
- The Benefit: When a contact meets the goal, they are immediately removed from the workflow. They stop receiving low-level nurture emails and are moved to the Sales Handoff process.
Step 3: Multi-channel orchestration (beyond email)
Advanced RevOps architectures use workflows to trigger actions outside the inbox.
Ad Audiences
Use the "Add to Ad Audience" action to push the contact into a specific LinkedIn Matched Audience or Google Customer Match list.
This ensures they see ads relevant to the email content they are receiving (Air Cover).
SMS
Use integrations (like Sakari or SMS Magic) to send a text alert if they click a high-intent link.
Direct Mail
Trigger a Sendoso or Reachdesk gift if a target account reaches a specific engagement threshold.
Phase 3: "Jump" logic & time zones
Standard workflows are linear. Smart workflows are dynamic.
The "jump" logic
If a lead in Step 2 visits your "Pricing" page, they have signaled high intent.
They should not have to wait 5 days for the next email.
- How to build it: Use "Go to action" logic.
- Logic: IF "Page View" = Pricing URL, THEN Jump to "Final Email (Call to Action)."
Global sending
For B2B companies with international presence, always check the "Send in contact's time zone" box in the workflow settings.
Sending a B2B email at 3:00 AM local time guarantees it gets buried.
Phase 4: Three nurture "recipes" to build first
Don't reinvent the wheel.
These are the three foundational workflows every B2B org needs.
Recipe 1: The "new lead" welcome (immediate)
- Trigger: New Contact created (Lifecycle = Subscriber).
- Goal: Conversion to MQL.
- Cadence:
- Day 0 (Instant): Delivery of the requested asset.
- Day 2: "Best of" content (Top 3 blog posts).
- Day 5: Problem/Solution education (No pitch).
- Day 9: Soft Pitch ("How we help").
Recipe 2: The "wake up" (re-engagement)
- Trigger: Contact property "Last Marketing Email Open Date" is more than 90 days ago.
- Goal: Any link click.
- Strategy: Send 2 emails. If no open, set "Marketing Contact Status" to Non-Marketing to save money.
- Email 1: "Are you still interested in [Topic]?"
- Email 2: "Should I close your file?" (The break-up email).
Recipe 3: The "post-event" (webinar/trade show)
- Trigger: Form submission on specific Webinar landing page.
- Goal: Book a meeting.
- Cadence:
- Day 0: Recording link + Deck.
- Day 1: "One question regarding the webinar..." (Plain text email from Rep).
- Day 3: Additional resource related to the topic.
Phase 5: Scoring, handoff & attribution
Nurturing is useless if it doesn't alert Sales when a lead is ready.
1. Scoring
You should have a separate Lead Scoring Workflow running in the background.
- Action: Increase "HubSpot Score" by +10 for every nurture email clicked.
- Action: Increase "HubSpot Score" by +50 for visiting the Pricing page.
2. The handoff
When HubSpot Score hits your threshold (e.g., 100), trigger the MQL Handoff Workflow:
- Update Lifecycle Stage to MQL.
- Rotate Record to a Sales Rep (Round Robin).
- Create a Task: "Lead Hot - Follow up within 2 hours."
- Send Internal Slack Notification to the rep.
3. Attribution (revenue proof)
Associate every asset (landing page, email, blog post) in the nurture to a specific HubSpot Campaign.
This allows you to run a "Campaign Influence" report later, showing exactly how much pipeline revenue originated from or was influenced by this specific workflow.
Benchmarking: What does "good" look like?
Stop guessing.
Compare your nurture performance against these B2B standards:
- Open rate: Aim for >30%. If lower, test subject lines.
- Click-through rate (CTR): Aim for >2.5%. If lower, your content isn't relevant.
- Unsubscribe rate: Maintain <0.5%. If higher, your segmentation is wrong (you are sending to the wrong people).
- Goal conversion rate: Aim for 3-5% of enrolled leads becoming MQLs.
Need a hand?
Building a nurture workflow is easy.
Building one that reliably generates revenue requires architectural expertise.
At RevBlack, we specialize in turning HubSpot (and Salesforce) into revenue multipliers. Whether you need complex lead scoring, behavioral triggers, or a full system audit, we have done it before.
Drop us a line explaining your specific situation, and we’ll reach back as soon as we can.
