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Automation Systems

Kova

ERP implementation consulting for mid-market companies

Strategist: Apostolos Bolkas · Engagement: Automation Systems · March 2025

Context

Kova is an 8-person consulting firm helping mid-market companies implement ERP systems. They were running 40+ active client engagements with a completely manual back office: leads copied by hand from Typeform into HubSpot, follow-ups sent from personal inboxes, pipeline tracked in a Google Sheet updated twice a week.

The brief: map every manual process, automate what's stable, and hand over a system the team can run without us.

Before and After

Before

1

Lead submits Typeform

Someone checks email and manually copies data to HubSpot. Average delay: 4.2 hours.

2

Lead assigned to consultant

A partner decides by memory who has capacity. No rules. No visibility.

3

Follow-up sent

Consultant sends a personal email when they have time. Sometimes the same day. Sometimes day 3.

4

Pipeline updated

Google Sheet updated twice a week by the operations person. Always behind. Never trusted.

5

Deal moves to proposal

Leadership finds out in the Monday meeting. Or doesn't find out until it's too late.

After

1

Lead submits Typeform

HubSpot contact created instantly. Source, service type, and company size mapped automatically. Assigned to the right consultant in 0 seconds.

2

Lead routed by rule

Routing logic: service type + company size → consultant. Capacity tracked in HubSpot. No decisions by memory.

3

Follow-up sent

Personalised email sent within 2 minutes of form submission. Consultant notified via Slack with full lead context.

4

Pipeline updated

HubSpot updates in real time. Monday morning report sent automatically to leadership every week.

5

Deal moves to proposal

Slack alert to the partner immediately. No Monday meeting required to surface a hot deal.

Lead response time

4.2 hrs 2 min

−99%

CRM data completeness

61% 98%

+37pp

Manual hours saved

11 hrs/wk

freed

Leads lost to no follow-up

~6/mo 0

eliminated

01

Automation Inventory

What was built

Lead capture sync

Live

Creates or updates a HubSpot contact on every Typeform submission. Maps service type, company size, and source. Deduplication by email address.

Trigger

Typeform submission

Destination

HubSpot CRM

Owner

Operations

Lead routing

Live

Routes leads to the correct consultant based on service type and company size. Sends Slack notification to assigned consultant with lead summary and a one-click link to the HubSpot record.

Trigger

New HubSpot contact created

Destination

HubSpot owner assignment + Slack

Owner

Operations

Immediate follow-up sequence

Live

Sends a personalised email within 2 minutes of assignment. Email uses the consultant's name and signature. Sequence pauses automatically if the lead replies.

Trigger

Lead assigned in HubSpot

Destination

HubSpot email sequence

Owner

Assigned consultant

Weekly pipeline report

Live

Pulls HubSpot data: new leads this week, demos booked, open deals by stage, deals that haven't moved in 14+ days. Formatted and sent automatically. No manual export.

Trigger

Every Monday at 8:00am

Destination

Email to leadership (3 recipients)

Owner

Operations

Proposal stage alert

Live

Instant Slack alert when a deal reaches the Proposal stage. Includes company name, deal value, consultant name, and link to the HubSpot deal record.

Trigger

HubSpot deal moves to Proposal stage

Destination

Slack #pipeline channel

Owner

Partner

02

Integration Map

How the tools connect

Typeform

Lead capture

HubSpot CRM

Source of truth — contacts, deals, pipeline

HubSpot Email

Follow-up sequences

Slack

Real-time alerts — routing + proposal stage

Scheduled report

Monday pipeline email to leadership

Integration decisions

  • Native Typeform → HubSpot integration used (no Zapier). Reason: fewer failure points, no third-party data routing.
  • HubSpot workflows used for routing and sequences instead of a separate tool. Reason: all logic in one place, owned by the client after handover.
  • Slack integration via HubSpot native connector. Reason: no webhook maintenance required.
03

Handover State

What is live and who owns it

All 5 automations are live

Lead capture sync Operations Manager
Lead routing Operations Manager
Follow-up sequence Assigned consultant
Weekly pipeline report Operations Manager
Proposal stage alert Partner (monitor only)

How to monitor

  • HubSpot workflow history: check weekly for failed enrolments or skipped steps.
  • Slack #pipeline channel: if deal alerts stop appearing, the workflow has likely paused.
  • Weekly report: if it doesn't arrive by 8:15am Monday, check HubSpot scheduled workflow status.

How to request changes

Any change to routing rules or sequence copy goes through the Operations Manager. Changes to Slack alerts or report recipients go through the Partner. No automation is modified without a written request and a QA test on a sandbox contact first.

04

The Diagnosis

What was really broken

The 4-hour lead response time wasn't a people problem. The team was responsive — they just had no system that made responding in 2 minutes possible. Every hour of delay was a structural problem disguised as a workload problem. The automation didn't make the team work harder. It made the lag disappear.

How this was built

Built to be handed over.

Not maintained. The Automation Systems engagement includes:

Current State Audit

Every tool, every process, every manual step — scored for automation readiness before anything is built.

Process Maps

Trigger, steps, inputs, outputs, and failure modes documented for every candidate process.

Automation Backlog

Prioritised by impact, effort, and risk. We build in order of leverage, not convenience.

Integration Decisions

Every tool connection documented with alternatives considered and trade-offs explained.

SOPs

Standard operating procedures for every automation your team inherits. Written for the person who wasn't in the room.

QA + Handover

Every automation tested before go-live. Full handover doc: what's live, who owns it, how to monitor, how to change it.