How to migrate marketing automation workflows from legacy CRMs: A guide for B2B SaaS companies

When B2B SaaS companies decide to migrate from legacy CRM systems, one of their biggest concerns isn‘t just moving data—it’s ensuring their existing marketing automation workflows continue running without interruption. A single gap in automated nurture sequences or lead scoring can mean lost opportunities and confused prospects, and who wants that?

The stakes are high: A botched migration can misplace or muddle your data, such as customer records, purchase history, lead information, and pricing tiers.

To make your workflow automation migration as smooth as possible, I will break down the 10 marketing automation workflow templates for B2B SaaS companies migrating CRMs. I'll even tell you in what order you should migrate your workflows to avoid data loss or other transition nightmares.

Table of Contents

• 10 Marketing Automation Workflow Templates for B2B SaaS Companies Transitioning from Legacy CRMs
• How do I map legacy CRM processes to HubSpot B2B SaaS workflows?
• Workflow Migration Q&A

10 Marketing Automation Workflow Templates for B2B SaaS Companies Transitioning from Legacy CRMs

Phase 1: Critical Revenue Workflows

1. Demo Request Response Automation

The goal of a demo request response automation workflow is to immediately respond to and schedule demo requests.

HubSpot setup:

• Trigger: Form submission on demo request page
• Actions: Send instant confirmation email, create deal, assign to sales rep based on territory, add to “Demo Requested” sequence
• Enhancement: Use HubSpot's meeting scheduling tool integration

Time to implement: 2-4 hours

• Why first: Highest conversion rate touchpoint
• Revenue risk: Any delay in demo scheduling directly loses deals
• Migration complexity: Low — straightforward trigger/action setup

Why it matters: Demo requests have the highest conversion rates, so any delay in responding to demo requests directly impacts revenue.

2. Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) Handoff Workflow

Purpose: Seamless transition from marketing to sales

HubSpot setup:

• Trigger: Lead score reaches SQL threshold OR specific action taken (pricing page visit + demo request)
• Actions: Assign to sales rep, send internal notification, add to sales sequence, schedule follow-up reminder
• SLA: Automatic escalation if no sales contact within 24 hours

Time to implement: 2-4 hours

• Why second: Maintains marketing-to-sales velocity
• Revenue risk: Breaks the entire lead pipeline if not working
• Critical factor: Requires alignment between marketing and sales teams

Critical success factor: This workflow requires tight coordination between marketing and sales teams during migration.

3. Lead Lifecycle Progression Workflow

The purpose of a lead lifecycle progression workflow is to automatically move leads through your funnel stages.

HubSpot setup:

• Trigger: Contact property changes (Lead Score, Engagement Level, or Demo Request)
• Actions: Update lifecycle stage, assign lead owner, send internal notifications
• Key feature: Use HubSpot's native lead scoring vs. recreating complex legacy CRM scoring rules

Time to implement: 6-10 hours

• Why third: Handles 60-80% of your lead volume
• Revenue risk: Leads get stuck in wrong stages, affecting reporting and follow-up
• Foundation: Other workflows depend on this one working correctly

Migration tip: This workflow typically handles 60-80% of your lead volume, so test thoroughly before going live.

Phase 2: Customer Success Workflows

4. Customer Onboarding Progression Workflow

Purpose: Guide new customers through implementation milestones

HubSpot setup:

• Trigger: Deal closes won
• Actions: Enroll in onboarding email sequence, create onboarding tasks, assign customer success manager
• Milestones: Welcome (Day 0), Setup reminder (Day 3), First success check-in (Day 14), 30-day health score

Time to implement: 8-12 hours

• Why fourth: Directly impacts churn rates and expansion revenue
• Business impact: Poor onboarding can increase churn by 75%
• Time sensitivity: New customers expect immediate onboarding communication

Migration priority: High — customer success workflows directly impact churn rates.

5. Customer Health Score Monitoring Workflow

Purpose: Proactively identify at-risk customers

HubSpot setup:

• Trigger: Customer health score drops below threshold
• Actions: Alert customer success manager, add to retention campaign, schedule check-in call
• Data sources: Product usage data, support ticket frequency, payment history

Time to implement: 12-16 hours

• Why fifth: Prevents revenue loss from churn
• Strategic value: Proactive retention is 5-7x cheaper than acquiring new customers

Migration note: Health scoring models may need adjustment for HubSpot's calculation methods.

Phase 3: Growth and Optimization Workflows

6. Abandoned Trial Recovery Sequence

Purpose: Re-engage trial users who haven't logged in recently

HubSpot setup:

• Trigger: Contact hasn't engaged with product for 3 days (tracked via API)
• Actions: Send helpful tips email, offer customer success call, provide tutorial resources
• Timing: Day 3, Day 7, Day 12 touchpoints

Time to implement: 2-4 hours

• Why sixth: High ROI but not immediately critical
• Recovery potential: Can recover 10-15% of abandoned trials
• Lower urgency: Trial users expect some delay in follow-up

7. Renewal Opportunity Creation Workflow

Purpose: Automatically create renewal opportunities and start the renewal process

HubSpot setup:

• Trigger: 90 days before contract renewal date
• Actions: Create renewal deal, assign to account manager, enroll contact in renewal nurture sequence
• Automation: Generate renewal proposal template, schedule renewal discussion

Time to implement: 3-5 hours

• Why seventh: Important for predictable revenue, but has a longer timeline
• Planning horizon: 90-day advance notice allows for migration timing

Revenue impact: Companies with automated renewal processes see 18% higher renewal rates.

Phase 4: Enhancement Workflows

8. Lead Nurturing by Industry Workflow

Purpose: Deliver industry-specific content to prospects

HubSpot setup:

• Trigger: Contact property “Industry” is known
• Actions: Add to industry-specific email lists, send relevant case studies, tag for industry-specific campaigns
• Personalization: Use HubSpot's smart content features

Time to implement: 6-8 hours

• Why last: Support growth but don't break existing business
• Optimization focus: These improve performance rather than maintain it

Data point: Segmented nurture campaigns see 25% higher open rates than generic campaigns.

9. Event Registration and Follow-up Workflow

Purpose: Manage webinar/event registrations and post-event nurturing

HubSpot setup:

• Trigger: Registration form submission
• Actions: Send confirmation email with calendar invite, add to event reminder sequence, segment for post-event follow-up
• Post-event: Send recording, related resources, schedule follow-up based on attendance

Time to implement: 5-7 hours

• Why last: Support growth but don't break existing business
• Optimization focus: These improve performance rather than maintain it

Integration tip: Connect with your webinar platform (Zoom, GoToWebinar) for seamless data flow.

10. Competitive Intelligence Workflow

Purpose: Track prospects researching competitors

HubSpot setup:

• Trigger: Website visitor views competitor comparison pages OR mentions competitor in form
• Actions: Add to competitive battlecard sequence, alert sales team, provide competitive positioning content
• Intelligence: Track competitive mentions for market insights

Time to implement: 3-4 hours

• Why last: Support growth but don't break existing business
• Optimization focus: These improve performance rather than maintain it

Strategic value: Helps sales teams prepare for competitive deals and improves win rates.

How do I map legacy CRM processes to HubSpot B2B SaaS workflows?

Start with what you have.

List all your current CRM processes — how leads come in, how sales follow up, and what happens after someone becomes a customer. Don't overthink it; just write down what actually happens day-to-day.

Learn HubSpot's style.

HubSpot works differently from most legacy CRMs. It's all about workflows that trigger automatically when certain things happen (like when someone fills out a form or opens an email). Take some time to play around in HubSpot and see how workflows function.

Map it out step by step.

For each process you currently have, figure out how to recreate it in HubSpot. The good news? You don't have to copy everything exactly - this is your chance to fix those annoying parts of your old system that never worked quite right.

Start small.

Don't try to rebuild everything at once. Pick your most important process (usually lead follow-up) and get that working perfectly before moving on to the next one.

Test everything.

Before you go live, run your workflows with a few test contacts to ensure they work like you expect. Trust me, it's much easier to fix issues before your whole team is using it.

Keep improving.

Once it's running, check your workflow reports regularly. HubSpot shows you exactly where people are getting stuck, so you can keep improving.

The biggest mindset shift? Think of HubSpot as your new automated assistant that never forgets to follow up, rather than just a place to store contact info.

Workflow Migration Q&A

Why is my marketing automation not working after switching CRMs?

Your marketing automation not working after switching CRMs could likely be due to one or more factors.

Your data got messy in the move. Names of contact properties might have changed, or some of your data didn‘t transfer properly. Check if your automation is trying to use fields that don’t exist anymore or have different formatting. For example, if your old system called it “Lead Source” and HubSpot calls it “Original Source,” your workflows won't know what to look for.

Integrations broke. Your marketing automation likely relied on connections between your old CRM and tools such as the email platform or landing page builder, whose connections need to be rebuilt with your new system.

Different trigger logic. Your old automation might have triggered when “Lead Status = Hot” but now you need it to activate when “Lifecycle Stage = Marketing Qualified Lead.” Your workflow automation logic is the same, but the language is different.

Permissions and settings. Sometimes, automation gets turned off during migration, user permissions are changed, or email-sending domains need to be re-verified.

Quick troubleshooting steps:

• Check if your workflows are actually turned on (sounds obvious, but happens all the time)
• Look at your contact records to see if the data your automation needs is actually there
• Test with yourself as a contact to see where things break down
• Check your email deliverability settings if email automation isn't working

Can we keep our current automation processes after switching CRMs?

You can keep most of your workflow automation processes after switching CRMS, but bear in mind that switching CRMs provides an excellent chance to improve your processes. Ask yourself: “Is our automation working well, or are we just used to the process?” Many businesses find that their new CRM works better when simplifying overly complex workflows.

Will we lose our data as we migrate marketing automation workflows from legacy CRMs to CRMs like HubSpot?

Your data will transfer, but it might look different. Historical reports may need rebuilding, and some data relationships might change. Always export everything from your old system before starting, and keep that old system accessible for at least 6 months as a backup.

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