1
What Triggers Are
A trigger is the event that starts your workflow. Jtek monitors for this condition continuously in the background — the moment it occurs, the workflow fires.
- Triggers are always-on listeners. Once a workflow is active, Jtek watches 24/7 for the trigger condition. You don't need to be logged in or even thinking about it.
- One trigger per workflow. Each workflow can have only one starting trigger. If you need multiple entry points, create separate workflows — one for each trigger.
- Triggers are not retroactive. Activating a workflow will only affect contacts going forward. It won't run on existing contacts who already met the condition before the workflow was turned on.
- Triggers can be filtered. Most triggers support conditions that narrow down which contacts qualify. This prevents workflows from firing on contacts that shouldn't be included.
- Jtek logs every trigger event. In the Execution History tab, you can see every time the trigger was detected, which contact it fired for, and whether the workflow completed successfully.
Tip: Before building a workflow, write down the trigger in plain English first: "When a new contact is created AND the tag is Facebook Lead, then…" Getting the trigger right is the most important step.
2
Most Common Triggers
Jtek offers dozens of trigger types. These are the five you'll use most often for lead follow-up and client communication workflows.
- Contact Created — Fires when a new contact is added to Jtek by any method: form submission, manual entry, import, or third-party integration. The most common trigger for first-touch sequences.
- Tag Added — Fires when a specific tag is added to an existing contact. Great for mid-funnel workflows: "When tag 'Appointment Booked' is added, send a confirmation text."
- Appointment Booked — Fires when a contact books an appointment through Jtek's calendar. Use this to trigger automatic confirmations and reminder sequences.
- Opportunity Stage Changed — Fires when a deal is moved to a specific pipeline stage. Example: when a deal moves to "Under Contract," automatically send a congratulations text and create a closing checklist task.
- Inbound SMS / Call Received — Fires when a contact sends you a text or calls your Jtek number. Use with caution — combine with filters to avoid triggering on every single inbound message.
Jtek
Automations
SELECT A TRIGGER
👤
Contact Created
New contact added to Jtek
🏷️
Tag Added
Specific tag applied to contact
📅
Appointment Booked
Calendar booking created
🔀
Opportunity Stage Changed
Deal moved to a new stage
3
Setting Trigger Filters
Filters narrow the trigger so it only fires for the right contacts. Without filters, a "Contact Created" trigger fires for every single new contact — which is usually not what you want.
- Click "Add Filter" inside the trigger settings panel after selecting your trigger type.
- Choose a filter field. Options include: Tag, Lead Source, Pipeline, Contact Type, Custom Field, and more. Select the field that defines which contacts should qualify.
- Set the condition. Example: Tag is "Facebook Lead." Now the trigger only fires when a new contact has that specific tag — not every new contact.
- Stack multiple filters with AND/OR logic. Example: Tag is "Facebook Lead" AND Lead Source is "Paid Social." Only contacts matching both conditions trigger the workflow.
- Test your filter carefully. A filter that's too narrow means the workflow never fires. A filter that's too broad means it fires on contacts it shouldn't. Check Execution History after a few days to confirm the right contacts are being enrolled.
Tip: When in doubt, start with a broader filter and add a tag manually to test contacts. You can always tighten the filter after you've confirmed the workflow actions are correct.
4
Time-Based Triggers
Some workflows need to fire at a specific time rather than in response to an event. Jtek supports both date-based triggers and time delays within a workflow.
- Date/Time trigger — Fires on a specific absolute date and time. Use this for one-time campaigns: a market update email on a specific date, a seasonal promotion, or a holiday greeting.
- Anniversary or birthday triggers — Jtek can fire a workflow on a contact's birthday or the anniversary of a custom date field (e.g., "Closing Date"). Great for relationship-building touchpoints with past clients.
- Wait steps inside a workflow — This is the most common time-based pattern. After an action fires, add a Wait step: "Wait 3 days." The workflow pauses and then continues with the next action.
- Wait step timing options — Set waits in minutes, hours, or days. You can also set a wait to fire "at a specific time" (e.g., next 9 AM) so follow-ups land during business hours regardless of when the trigger fires.
- Combining time-based and event triggers. Example: Contact Created (trigger) → Send SMS immediately → Wait 3 days → Send Email → Wait 4 days → Send SMS check-in. This is a basic nurture sequence using wait steps.
Tip: Use "Wait until next 9 AM" instead of "Wait 24 hours" when you want follow-up messages to land during business hours. This ensures your texts never arrive at 2 AM.
5
Troubleshooting a Trigger Not Firing
If your workflow isn't running when you expect it to, work through this checklist before assuming something is broken.
- Is the workflow Active (not Draft)? The most common issue. Check the toggle in the top right of the workflow canvas. If it says "Draft," the workflow will not run, period.
- Is the trigger filter too narrow? Open the trigger settings and review every filter condition. If a contact doesn't match all conditions exactly (tag spelling, capitalization, etc.), it won't qualify.
- Check the Execution History tab. On the workflow detail page, click "Execution History." Look for entries with errors. Click any entry to see exactly which step failed and why.
- Was the contact already enrolled? By default, Jtek won't re-enroll a contact in the same workflow if they've already completed it. Check the workflow settings for a "Allow Re-Enrollment" option if you need repeat runs.
- Is the contact's data correct? A trigger filtering by Tag requires the exact tag text. Check the contact's profile directly to confirm the tag is there, spelled exactly as the filter expects.
Important: Triggers are case-sensitive for tag filters. "Facebook Lead" and "facebook lead" are treated as two different tags. Standardize your tag naming conventions across the team to avoid misfires.
Tip: Create a test contact with your own phone number and manually apply the trigger conditions. This lets you verify the workflow fires and the messages arrive correctly without affecting real leads.