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Form Submission Triggered Workflows

LeadCenter.AI’s workflow system supports form submission triggers, allowing you to automate workflows when visitors submit forms on your website or through embedded forms. This powerful feature enables automated lead nurturing, qualification, and follow-up processes. Understanding how form submission triggers work will help you build effective workflows and avoid common issues.

Understanding Form Submission Triggers

The Form Submission Created trigger automatically starts a workflow when a form is submitted. This trigger is ideal for automating lead nurturing, qualification, and follow-up based on form submissions.

• Workflows trigger automatically when a form is submitted, whether it creates a new lead or updates an existing lead.
• The form submission and associated lead are available in the workflow context for use in subsequent nodes.
• You can add filters so workflows only run for submissions that match specific criteria (form title, URL, UTM parameters, form data, etc.).

Important Considerations

The following behaviors are important to understand when working with Form Submission Created workflows:

1. Form Submissions Trigger for Both New and Existing Leads

Form Submission Created workflows trigger for both new leads and existing leads. When a form is submitted:

• If a duplicate lead is found: The system updates the existing lead with the new form data, creates a form submission record, and triggers the Form Submission Created workflow.
• If no duplicate is found: The system creates a new lead, creates a form submission record, and triggers the Form Submission Created workflow.

Important: Form Submission Created workflows always run in both scenarios. If you need different behavior for new vs. existing leads, use a Contact Filter (for example, filter on lead creation date or other lead properties), or create separate workflows with different filters.

2. Missing Email AND Phone = No Workflow Trigger

If a form submission is missing both email and phone, the system rejects the submission and no workflow triggers. The form submission is not processed, and no lead is created or updated.

• At least one of email or phone must be provided for the form submission to be processed.
• If both are missing, the form submission is silently rejected (returns false), and no workflows trigger.
• This prevents creating incomplete lead records that cannot be contacted.

Tip: Configure your forms to require at least email or phone. Adding client-side validation helps prevent users from submitting incomplete forms.

3. Form Submissions from Appointments Don’t Trigger Form Submission Workflows

When a form submission is created as part of an appointment booking process, the Form Submission Created workflow is not triggered. Instead, only the Appointment Created workflow triggers.

• When someone books an appointment through a calendar link, a form submission record is created to store the booking data.
• This form submission does not trigger Form Submission Created workflows (to avoid duplicate automation).
• Only the Appointment Created workflow triggers, which is the correct workflow for appointment-related automation.

Important: If you want to automate actions based on appointment bookings, use the Appointment Created trigger, not the Form Submission Created trigger. Form Submission Created workflows do not run for appointment-related form submissions.

4. New Leads Trigger BOTH Form Submission Created AND Lead Created Workflows

When a form submission creates a new lead, both the Form Submission Created workflow and the Lead Created workflow can trigger at the same time. This can result in duplicate automation if both workflows are configured similarly.

• If a form submission creates a new lead, the system fires both:
  • Form Submission Created (because a form was submitted)
  • Lead Created (because a new lead was created)
• If a form submission updates an existing lead, only the Form Submission Created workflow triggers. Lead Created does not fire for existing leads.

Important: If you have both Form Submission Created and Lead Created workflows set up, they may both run for the same new lead created from a form. This can cause duplicate emails, tasks, or other actions. Use filters to differentiate form-based lead creation from other lead creation methods, or disable one of the workflows if you don’t need both.

5. Contact Filters Work, But Appointment Filters Don’t

Contact Filters work perfectly with Form Submission Created triggers because every form submission is associated with a lead (contact). You can filter based on contact properties such as:

• Name, email, phone
• Stage, source, tags
• Custom fields and other lead attributes

However, Appointment Filters cannot be used with Form Submission Created triggers because form submissions do not contain appointment data. The workflow builder will prevent Appointment Filters from being added when the trigger is Form Submission Created.

Note: If you need to filter form submissions based on whether the contact has appointments, use a Contact Filter instead. Contact Filters can reference appointment-related data through the contact’s relationship to appointments.

6. Form Submission Filters Only Work with Form Submission Triggers

Form Submission Filter nodes can only be used with the Form Submission Created trigger. The workflow builder will prevent you from using Form Submission Filters with other trigger types (such as Appointment Created or Lead Created).

Form Submission Filters allow you to filter based on:

• Form Title: The form’s title or name.
• Form URL: The URL where the form was submitted.
• UTM Parameters: Source, medium, campaign, term, or content.
• Form Data: Specific field values submitted by the user.
• Lead Source/Stage: The lead source or stage assigned to the submission.
• Submission ID: The client-side submission ID.

7. Spam Detection Affects Duplicate Matching

The system uses different duplicate detection rules for spam vs. non-spam leads:

• For non-spam leads: Duplicate matching uses first name, email, and phone.
• For spam leads: Duplicate matching uses only email and phone (first name is ignored).

This difference can affect which existing lead is matched and updated when a form is submitted, especially for submissions classified as spam.

Tip: Keep in mind that spam detection can influence which lead a submission updates. If you’re filtering workflows based on lead properties, make sure your filters work for both spam and non-spam scenarios where appropriate.

8. Form Submissions Always Have a Lead

Every form submission in LeadCenter.AI is associated with a lead (contact). The Form Submission Created workflow handler automatically makes that lead available in the workflow context.

• If the form submission creates a new lead, that new lead is available in the workflow.
• If the form submission updates an existing lead, that existing lead is available in the workflow.
• You can safely use Contact Filters and other lead-based nodes in Form Submission Created workflows.

Best Practices

• Avoid Duplicate Automation: If both Form Submission Created and Lead Created workflows are enabled, use filters to distinguish form-based lead creation from other creation methods, or disable one workflow to prevent duplicates.
• Use Contact Filters: Since every form submission has an associated lead, use Contact Filters to target VIP clients, specific stages, or contacts with particular custom fields.
• Filter by Form Properties: Use Form Submission Filters to target specific forms, landing pages, or UTM campaigns for more granular automation.
• Account for Existing Leads: Remember that Form Submission Created workflows trigger for both new and existing leads. Use filters (e.g., lead creation date, stage) if you need different behavior.
• Require Email or Phone: Configure forms to require at least one contact method (email or phone) to prevent silent rejections and missed automations.
• Use Appointment Triggers for Appointments: For appointment-related automation, rely on the Appointment Created trigger instead of Form Submission Created, since appointment booking form submissions do not trigger form workflows.

Common Use Cases

• Immediate Lead Qualification: Send qualification emails or assign tasks when specific forms are submitted (e.g., form title = “Contact Form”).
• UTM-Based Routing: Route leads to different pipelines or teams based on UTM campaign or medium.
• VIP Client Handling: Send special responses or notifications when VIP clients submit forms (combine Contact Filters with Form Submission Filters).
• Form-Specific Automation: Create separate workflows for different forms (e.g., “Newsletter Signup” vs. “Request a Consultation”).
• New vs. Existing Lead Handling: Use Contact Filters (such as lead creation date) to send different messages to new leads vs. existing clients submitting forms.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Duplicate Workflows: Running both Form Submission Created and Lead Created workflows for the same new lead can result in duplicate emails, tasks, or actions.
• Missing Contact Information: Allowing forms to submit without email or phone causes silent rejections and no workflows will run.
• Appointment Confusion: Expecting Form Submission Created workflows to run for appointment bookings will fail — use Appointment Created triggers instead.
• Assuming New Leads Only: Form Submission Created workflows also run for existing leads. If you need new-lead-only logic, add appropriate filters.

Need Assistance?

For questions or issues related to form submission triggers, filters, or workflows, contact LeadCenter Support at support@leadcenter.ai.