In this article:
Overview
Automations automate ecosystem alerts by watching for a specific condition in your Crossbeam data and posting a notification to Slack when a new match occurs. Instead of manually monitoring overlaps, you configure an Automation once and let it flag new mutual customers, shared opportunities, and closed-won deals as they happen.
✍️ Note
Automations run on an hourly cadence and only notify you of new matches identified since the last run. They don't fire for matches that already existed before the Automation was created.
Plan Availability
Automations are available on Connector (with the platform fee), Supernode, and Enterprise plans.
Credits: Summary alert Automations use 1 Crossbeam Credit each time they send an alert, which only happens when there are new results. See the Crossbeam Credits FAQ for details.
Prerequisites
Requirement | Details |
Seat type | Full-access seat required to create or edit Automations |
Slack | A Slack workspace must be connected, all alerts are delivered in Slack |
To set up Automations triggered by partners opening or closing opportunities (Ecosystem Signals), your partner must:
Have a CRM connected to Crossbeam
Be syncing and sharing the following fields with you:
Deal open date
Deal close date
Deal is closed
Deal is won
Permissions
Under Roles and Permissions, a new Automations permission controls what each role can do:
Permission level | What it allows |
Manage | Create, edit, enable/disable, and delete Automations |
View | See the Automations page and existing Automations, but can't create or edit them |
✍️ Note
Only full-access seats can create Automations. Any user with access to the destination Slack channel will see the alerts.
Available Triggers
The following five signals are available in the Create Automation dropdown.
Each fires only on new matches, not existing ones.
1. New mutual customer
Fires when an account enters both your Customers population and a partner's Customers population.
2. New mutual account detected
Fires when an account appears in both your org's data and a partner's data for the first time, regardless of population type.
3. Partner opens a new opp on a mutual account
Fires when a partner creates a new open opportunity on an account that's also in your Crossbeam data.
4. Partner closes a deal won on a mutual account
Fires when a partner marks a deal closed-won on an account that's also in your Crossbeam data.
5. Deal has strong partner coverage
Fires when one of your deals reaches Recommended in Deal Navigator.
Start from a Template
Templates come with the trigger, conditions, and Slack destination already set, so you only review them, pick your values, and turn them on.
Click Automations in the navigation bar. The Templates tab shows every ready-to-use template.
Narrow the list by use case: Lead Generation, Deal Acceleration, or Retention and Expansion
Click a template to open it, and add conditions to narrow it further, such as a specific partner
Review the action, and change it to a channel or a Slack Connect channel with a partner if needed
Choose the recipient or channel
Click Test Automation, confirm the sample arrives in Slack, then click Save Automation
Create Your Own Automation
Don’t see a template that fits? Build an Automation from scratch.
Click on Automations in the navigation bar
Click the Create Automation button
If Slack isn't connected yet, you'll see a prompt to connect it before you can continue (steps here)
In the modal, enter a name for your Automation
Select a trigger—the signal that will notify you when it occurs:
New mutual customer
New mutual account
Partner opened a deal on a mutual account
Partner won a deal on a mutual account
Deal has strong partner coverage
(Optional) Add one or more conditions to filter the trigger:
Partner | Partner Score |
Partner tag | Industry |
Number of Employees | Amount |
Close Date | Is Closed/Is Open |
✍️ Note: Conditions combine with AND only in this release—there's no OR or grouping.
Select an action:
Send a Slack message to channel (public or private)
Send a Slack message to partner (Slack Connect)
Send a Slack direct message
Tag Account Owner by toggling on or off this option
Choose the Slack channel from the dropdown that appears after you select your action.
✍️ Note
If a partner isn’t sharing the data an Automation calls for, you’ll see a heads-up with the option to Request Data. You won’t get alerts for that partner until they share data with you.
Test an Automation
Once all fields are filled in, click Test Automation
Check the selected Slack channel for an example notification confirming your setup works as expected
Click Save Automation to activate the Automation
✍️ Note
You must test an Automation before you can save it. Check your Slack channel to confirm you received the sample message.
Example Slack Notifications
Single match
When only one record matches, the notification shows full detail—account owner, partner account owner, and employee count—along with a short recommendation and a button to view the overlap in Crossbeam.
Multiple matches
When more than one record matches in a single run, the notification shortens to a list of the top 3 matches, each with its own short recommendation, plus a button to view the overlaps in Crossbeam.
Manage Automations
The Your automations tab lists every Automation you have access to, showing its name, trigger, conditions, action, owner, last run time, and whether it’s enabled.
From this tab, you can:
Enable or disable an Automation using the toggle—disabling pauses notifications without deleting the configuration
Edit an Automation to change its name, trigger, conditions, or action
Delete an Automation to remove it permanently
FAQ
What's the difference between an Automation and a Slack notification I already get from Crossbeam?
Standard Crossbeam Slack notifications report on population changes in bulk. Automations are user-defined: you configure the specific condition to watch for, and each alert includes a short recommendation rather than a raw data summary.
Do Automations fire for matches that already existed when I created the Automation?
No. Automations diff results against the previous run and only surface new matches.
Can I edit the message an Automation sends?
No, message copy is fixed. Configurable instructions for the message are planned for a future release.
Can an Automation send a Slack DM?
Yes. Automation can send notifications via Slack DM, a Slack channel, or a Slack Connect channel.
Why didn't my Automation fire even though the condition seems to be met?
Check the following:
The match existed before the Automation was created (not a new result)
The partner required by the trigger isn't actively sharing data
Required CRM fields aren't synced (for the two opportunity-based triggers)
The Automation is disabled
The partner isn’t sharing data with you. Use Request Data to ask them.
Can multiple Automations use the same trigger type?
Yes. You can create multiple active Automations with the same trigger but different conditions, actions, or channels.
How often do Automations run?
Hourly. Each Automation produces at most one notification per run, even if multiple records match.
What happens if my Slack integration needs reauthorization?
If your org's Slack connection requires reauthorization, the Automations run is skipped for that cycle—no notification is delivered until the connection is reconnected.
📄 Related Articles