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Lead Automated Communication Plans (ACPs)

Jessica Lara
  • Updated

When a new Lead is created in Finalsite Enrollment (EMS), an Automated Communication Plan (ACP) can immediately start the conversation, sending a welcome email to the family, notifying the right staff member, or kicking off a nurture sequence, without waiting for the contact to progress to Inquiry.

This article walks through example ACPs you can set up on the Lead tab of the Communication Plan page (Settings > Communication > Communication Plan). To learn the mechanics of building an ACP step (triggers, additional criteria, actions, timing), see the related articles below:

💡Quick Answers

  • Do Lead ACPs trigger every time I update a lead's information? No. Lead ACPs only trigger at the moment of creation. They will not fire again if you update the lead or if the lead's status changes later (e.g., from Active to Progressed).
  • Can I change the trigger on the Lead tab? No. On the Lead tab, the trigger is preset to "lead" and cannot be edited. The plan is designed specifically to fire the moment a contact enters the system as a Lead.
  • Why didn't my "Progressed Lead" ACP fire when I promoted an Active lead? Lead ACPs are evaluated based on the lead's state at arrival. If a lead arrives as Active, only the Active ACP will run. Even if they become Progressed later, the system will not re-evaluate Lead tab ACPs for that contact.
  • I’m already using CMS Workflows for my forms. Will this send two emails? It could! You should coordinate your Lead ACPs with your CMS Workflows to ensure you aren't sending duplicate welcome messages to the same family.

In this Article

How Leads are Created

A Lead ACP fires whenever a contact enters the Lead status, regardless of how the lead arrived. Leads can be created in Finalsite Enrollment through any of the following paths:

  • Finalsite Leadflow — a parent submits a Composer (CMS) form that has been configured to map data into Finalsite Enrollment. Lead Source is set to the CMS form name in Finalsite Enrollment.
  • Niche Integration — a parent interacts with a call-to-action (e.g., "Learn More" or "Apply Now") on your Niche profile, or submits a Niche-specific lead form. Lead Source is set to Niche in Finalsite Enrollment.
  • Manually, via the Quick Action Menu — an admin adds a parent with the Lead role directly from within Finalsite Enrollment. Manually-added leads do not have a Lead Source or Lead Status populated, so they will only match Lead ACPs that do not use Lead Source or Lead Status as Additional Criteria.

If your school uses multiple paths, the same Lead ACPs apply to all of them. Use Additional Criteria, such as Lead Source, if you need to route different welcome experiences to leads coming from different channels.

Notes on Lead ACPs Before You Begin

  • Lead ACPs only trigger when a lead is first created. They will not fire again if the lead's status changes later (for example, from Active to Progressed).
  • Lead ACPs are evaluated based on the lead's state at arrival. For example, you can have one ACP for Active leads (parent only) and a separate ACP for Progressed leads (parent with an attached student/prospect). If an existing Active lead is later promoted to Progressed, the Progressed ACP will not fire.
  • On the Lead tab, the Trigger is preset to lead and cannot be changed. The step fires when a contact enters the Lead status.
  • A name is required for any new ACP step, including Lead ACPs. The name is only visible to your internal team.
  • Lead Source and Lead Status are only populated for leads created through Finalsite Leadflow or the Niche Integration. Leads added manually through the Quick Action Menu do not have these fields set, so any Additional Criteria that filters on Lead Source or Lead Status will exclude manually-added leads.
  • Coordinate Lead ACPs with any existing CMS Workflows you have running on the same form. A common mistake is to send the same welcome message twice, once from CMS and once from EMS.

⚠️ Important Note

Please note that your field names and values may differ from the examples below. Be sure to double-check on the Fields page in your site by navigating to Settings > Fields & Data > Fields.

Information-Based Communication Plan Steps

Add a new Lead ACP step.png

Welcome Email to Active Leads (Parent Only)

Use this ACP when a parent completes a Leadflow form or expresses interest through Niche without providing any student information. The lead arrives in EMS with an Active status (parent only, no attached student/prospect).

  1. On the Communication Plan page, click the Lead tab and then Add a New Step.
  2. Enter a clear Name for the step (required). For example: "Active Lead - Parent Welcome."
  3. The Trigger is preset to lead and cannot be changed.
  4. Set Additional Criteria to limit this step to Active leads only:
    • Field: Lead Status
    • Operator: is
    • Value: Active
  5. Set the Perform Action box to Send Email.
  6. Select the desired Time to send the email. For a welcome email, Immediately is typically the best choice.
  7. Set the Email Recipients (i.e., Send to) to the appropriate parent option.
  8. Select your pre-saved email template containing the parent-focused welcome message. This is a good place to invite the parent to share their student's information or visit your inquiry form.
  9. Click Save.

Welcome Email to Progressed Leads (Parent + Student)

Use this ACP when a parent fills out a Leadflow form with student information included (Child Name and, optionally, Entry Grade and Entry Year). The lead arrives in EMS with a Progressed status because a prospect was created at the same time.

  1. On the Lead tab, click Add a New Step.
  2. Enter a Name such as "Progressed Lead - Family Welcome."
  3. The Trigger is preset to lead.
  4. Set Additional Criteria to limit this step to Progressed leads:
    • Field: Lead Status
    • Operator: is
    • Value: Progressed
  5. Set the Perform Action box to Send Email.
  6. Select Immediately as the Time (or a short delay like 1 day after trigger if you want the message to feel less automated).
  7. Set the Email Recipients to the appropriate parent option.
  8. Select your pre-saved email template. Because the family shared student information, you can make this message more personal by referencing the student's entry grade or year, and pointing the family to a next step, such as scheduling a tour.
  9. Click Save.

Welcome Email Filtered by Lead Source

If you receive leads from multiple sources, such as several different CMS Leadflow forms, your Niche profile, and any other configured channel, you can send a different welcome email based on which source the lead came from.

Common Lead Source values include:

  • The name of a CMS Leadflow form (e.g., Open House Interest, Request More Info)
  • Niche (set automatically by the Niche Integration)

You can confirm the exact Lead Source values your site is receiving by reviewing the Leads Report or the Lead Source column on the Leads page.

  1. On the Lead tab, click Add a New Step.
  2. Enter a Name that identifies the source, such as "Niche Lead - Welcome Email" or "Open House Form - Welcome Email."
  3. The Trigger is preset to lead.
  4. Set Additional Criteria based on the Lead Source field. 
    • For example, to target leads from Niche:
      • Field: Lead Source
      • Operator: is
      • Value: Niche
    • Or, to target leads from a specific CMS form:
      • Field: Lead Source
      • Operator: is
      • Value: (the name of the CMS form, e.g., Open House Interest)
  5. Set the Perform Action box to Send Email.
  6. Choose your desired Time (typically Immediately).
  7. Set the Email Recipients appropriately.
  8. Select a pre-saved email template that speaks directly to the context of that source. For example, a Niche-specific welcome that references where the family found you, or a confirmation that includes Open House parking and arrival details.
  9. Click Save.

Internal Reminder for New Lead Follow-Up

Use this ACP to automatically remind your admissions team to make personal contact with every new lead.

  1. On the Lead tab, click Add a New Step.
  2. Enter a Name such as "New Lead - Admissions Follow-Up Reminder."
  3. The Trigger is preset to lead.
  4. Optionally, set Additional Criteria if you only want reminders for certain leads. For example, only Progressed leads, or only leads from a specific Lead Source.
  5. Set the Perform Action box to Create Reminder.
  6. Select the desired Time. 1-2 days after the trigger is a common choice, giving the family a moment to receive the welcome email first.
  7. Set the Assign Reminder To field to the appropriate admissions team member(s).
  8. Set the Reminder Text to something actionable, such as "Call this lead to introduce yourself and answer any initial questions."
  9. Click Save.

Delayed Nurture Email for Leads Who Haven't Inquired

Use this ACP to send a follow-up email a week or two after the initial welcome, useful for keeping your school top of mind without overwhelming the family.

⚠️ Important Note

Lead ACPs are evaluated against the lead's state at arrival, not at the time the email is scheduled to be sent. The N days after trigger timing still works for delayed sends, but the additional criteria you set will be re-checked against the lead's data at send time (see the scheduled ACPs section of "Automated Communication Plan Setup").

  1. On the Lead tab, click Add a New Step.
  2. Enter a Name such as "Lead Nurture - 10 Day Follow-Up."
  3. The Trigger is preset to lead.
  4. (Optional) Set Additional Criteria to target specific leads. For example, only Active leads, or only leads from a specific Lead Source.
  5. Set the Perform Action box to Send Email.
  6. Select N Days After Trigger as the Time and enter the number of days (for example, 10).
  7. Set the Email Recipients to the appropriate parent option.
  8. Select your pre-saved email template. Common content includes a soft invitation to an upcoming Open House, a link to your virtual tour, or a brief story about a current family.
  9. Click Save.

You can chain multiple steps like this for a longer nurture sequence. For example, a second touchpoint 30 days after the lead arrives.

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