Entry and Exit Rules
Triggers that populate lists and actions that fire when membership changes
What It Is
Every list can have entry rules and exit rules. Each rule has two parts: a trigger (the condition that fires the rule) and one or more actions (what happens when the trigger fires).
Entry rules control how contacts arrive in the list and what happens when they do. Exit rules control how contacts leave the list and what happens when they go.
Rules are configured during list creation and can be edited afterward in list settings.
Why It Matters
Without rules, a list is just a container. With rules, a list becomes an automation point — a place where contact data changes, pipeline stages update, tags are applied, owners are notified, and sequences start or stop.
Consider a list called "Demo Completed." With entry rules, you can configure: when a contact’s pipeline stage changes to "SQL (Meeting Booked)," add them to this list. On entry, add the tag "demo-completed," change the custom field "Qualified" to "Yes," and notify the contact owner. On exit (when they move to "Proposal Sent"), remove the tag and update the pipeline stage.
The list itself becomes a trigger point for coordinated actions that would otherwise require manual coordination or a separate workflow.
How It Works
Entry Triggers
Three types of entry triggers:
When a new contact is created — Every new contact added to the CRM is automatically added to this list. Use sparingly — best for catch-all lists like "All New Leads" or "Onboarding Queue."
When pipeline stage is [stage] — When a contact’s pipeline stage changes to the selected stage, they are added to the list. Useful for stage-driven automation: "Add to Demo Follow-Up list when stage = SQL."
When contact field(s) match — When one or more contact field values match specified conditions, the contact is added. Useful for attribute-driven segmentation: "Add to Enterprise list when company_size > 200."
For Dynamic and Hybrid lists, the filter conditions act as an additional entry mechanism that operates independently of these triggers.
Entry Actions
Four available actions, each toggleable:
Add tag — Applies a tag to the contact. Tags are searchable and filterable across the CRM.
Change field to — Updates any contact field (standard or custom) to a specified value. Useful for marking contacts as qualified, setting a status, or populating a tracking field.
Update pipeline stage — Moves the contact to a specific pipeline stage. This triggers any stage entry actions configured on the destination stage.
Notify contact owner — Sends a notification to the team member who owns the contact.
Exit Triggers
Three types:
Manual removal only — Contacts are only removed when a human explicitly removes them. Default for Static lists.
When pipeline stage is [stage] — When a contact’s stage changes to the selected stage, they are removed.
When contact field(s) match — When field values match exit conditions, the contact is removed.
Exit Actions
Five available actions:
Stop active sequences — Halts any running sequence enrollment for this contact. Enabled by default — when a contact leaves a list with an attached sequence, the sequence stops.
Remove tag — Strips a specific tag from the contact.
Change field to — Updates a field value on exit.
Update pipeline stage — Moves the contact to a different stage on exit.
Notify contact owner — Alerts the owner that the contact has left the list.
Examples
A New Lead Nurture list with entry trigger on contact creation
Entry trigger: When a new contact is created. Entry actions: Add tag "new-lead", update pipeline stage to "Lead Ingested." Attached sequence: 5-email welcome series. Exit trigger: When pipeline stage is "MQL." Exit actions: Stop sequence, remove tag "new-lead", add tag "qualified." Result: every new contact automatically gets the welcome sequence and progresses through the pipeline with tags tracking their journey.
A Churn Risk list with entry trigger on field match
Entry trigger: When contact field "engagement_score" < 30. Entry actions: Notify contact owner. Exit trigger: When engagement_score >= 50. Exit actions: Change field "retention_flag" to "recovered." Result: the account manager is alerted the moment engagement drops, and the recovery is tracked when it improves.
A Conference Attendees static list with entry actions
List type: Static. No entry triggers (contacts added manually after the conference). Entry actions: Add tag "conference-2026", change field "Source" to "SaaS Connect 2026." Attached sequence: Post-conference follow-up series. Result: every contact you manually add gets tagged, source-attributed, and enrolled in the follow-up — all from a single drag-and-drop into the list.
