Context

When running sequences based on Salesforce field values, you may want to automatically stop sending emails once certain conditions are met - for example, when a prospect books a demo or when specific fields are updated in Salesforce.

Answer

The most effective way to automatically stop sequences based on Salesforce field updates is to use Unify's exclusion rules. Here's how to set it up:

1. Navigate to your exclusion settings

2. Create an exclusion rule based on your Salesforce criteria (e.g., opportunity exists, specific fields are updated)

3. Enable the "Sequences" toggle in the exclusion settings

When the "Sequences" toggle is enabled, Unify will automatically unenroll contacts from sequences if they meet the exclusion criteria after being enrolled. The system regularly checks for these conditions throughout the sequence, with CRM-based exclusions typically updating every 15 minutes. Additionally, changes to exclusion toggle settings may take up to 30 minutes to take effect across all systems. Note that there may be a brief delay between when exclusion criteria are met (such as opportunity creation) and when the contact is actually unenrolled due to sync timing. This means that if a contact in an active sequence suddenly matches your exclusion rules (such as having an opportunity created), they will be automatically removed from the sequence at any point during its execution.

The same timing delays apply when exclusion criteria are cleared – if you update a Salesforce field to remove a contact from exclusion (such as unmarking “left company”), there will be a similar 15‑30 minute delay before the contact becomes eligible for sequence enrollment again.

Important: Exclusion rules are applied individually to each contact. When a contact meets your exclusion criteria, only that specific contact will be removed from active sequences, not other contacts from the same company. To exclude all contacts from a company when one contact meets certain criteria (such as booking a meeting), you'll need to create company-level fields and exclusion rules based on those company properties rather than contact-level criteria.

Exclusion Hierarchy and Troubleshooting

If your exclusion rules aren't stopping sequences as expected, check the exclusion hierarchy:

Common scenario: If prospects with open opportunities are still appearing in tasks and remaining in sequences, verify that the “Open Opps” exclusion is explicitly enabled in your sequence’s ruleset (Settings → Features → Sequences → Rulesets). Even if the exclusion exists, it must be toggled on at the ruleset level to take effect. Modifying ruleset settings typically requires admin-level permissions.

• Sequence-level exclusions (found when editing individual exclusions) always take precedence

• Audience-level exclusions can override universal exclusions - even if an exclusion is enabled universally, it can be toggled off for specific audiences

• Global exclusions always override audience or sequence-level exclusion settings; even if disabled at the audience level, contacts matching an active global exclusion remain blocked.

Troubleshooting tip: If contacts are still being enrolled despite having exclusion rules set up, check your audience settings. Navigate to the audience used in your play and verify that the relevant exclusions are enabled at the audience level, not just universally. Also verify the sequence is assigned to a ruleset that has exclusions enabled (Sequence → Settings → Ruleset).

Important caveat for activity‑based exclusions: If you use criteria such as “Recent Manual Email” or “Last activity date within X days,” Unify’s email activity write‑back can update these fields and trigger the exclusion immediately after the first email is sent. To prevent contacts from being removed from sequences mid‑flow, many teams keep the “Sequences” toggle OFF for activity‑based exclusions, which blocks new enrollments while avoiding premature unenrollment.

Important distinction: Exclusions can be controlled at two levels:

• Global exclusions (Settings → Organization → Exclusions) with the “Exclude from Sequences” toggle - these apply across all sequences

• Ruleset-level exclusions (Settings → Features → Sequences → Rulesets) - these control exclusions for specific sequences within a ruleset

When troubleshooting why contacts aren't enrolling in a play, check both levels.

Troubleshooting enrollment drop-offs: If you notice fewer contacts enrolled in a sequence than expected from an uploaded list, exclusion rules may be preventing initial enrollment. To identify which exclusions are blocking contacts:

1. Navigate to the play where you're enrolling contacts

2. Toggle individual exclusions off and on to see which contacts are affected by each rule

3. Check the enrollment count changes as you toggle each exclusion to identify which rules are causing the drop‑off

Temporarily Bypassing Exclusions for a Specific Sequence

1. Identify which exclusions are blocking your contacts (check individual contact Exclusion tabs)

2. Go to Settings → Features → Sequences → Rulesets and select the ruleset your sequence belongs to

3. Turn off the sequence toggle for the specific exclusion(s) you want to bypass

4. Wait ~30 minutes for the change to propagate

5. Duplicate the play and re‑run it

6. Immediately re‑enable the exclusion toggle in the ruleset after enrollment

Note: Do not disable global exclusions (Settings → Organization → Exclusions) to bypass exclusions for a single sequence, as this will affect all sequences across your organization.

To verify which exclusion rules are affecting a specific contact, go to the Contacts page, search for the contact by email, open their record, and select the “Exclusion” tab to view all applicable exclusion rules.

Limitation: There is currently no bulk view to see why multiple contacts didn't enroll in a play. You must check each contact's Exclusion tab individually to identify which exclusions are blocking them.

Changes to exclusion rules can take up to 30 minutes to propagate throughout the system.

Enhanced Troubleshooting for Sequence Enrollment Issues

Using the Not Enrolled Breakdown View

While exclusion rules are a common cause of enrollment drop‑offs, several other eligibility rules can prevent contacts from enrolling in sequences. For faster diagnosis than toggling individual exclusions:

1. Navigate to the sequence where you're enrolling contacts

2. Open the Enrollments tab

3. Check the Not Enrolled breakdown, which lists the specific blocking reason for each contact with counts

This view provides the exact reason each contact was skipped, including:

• Contacts already enrolled in another sequence (including paused sequences)

• Re‑enrollment window restrictions

• Per‑company enrollment caps

• Mailbox or sequence sending limits

• Unsubscribe status

• Routing mismatches

• Missing template variables

• Exclusion rules (global, audience‑level, sequence‑level, or ruleset‑level)

Understanding Queued Contact Behavior

You may see contacts appear as “queued” in a sequence even when they match your exclusion criteria. This is expected behavior – exclusions are checked at send time, not at queue time. Contacts matching your exclusion rules will be automatically skipped when the sequence attempts to send, so they will not receive emails even though they appear in the queue.

Duplicate Contact Records

If you see conflicting enrollment statuses for the same person (one showing as enrolled, another as “Excluded”), check whether multiple contact records exist with different email addresses. Unify uniquely identifies contacts by email, so duplicate records can have different exclusion statuses or enrollment histories. To resolve this, merge the duplicate records in your CRM and confirm which email address should be used going forward.

Opportunity-Based Exclusions Across Multiple CRMs

When troubleshooting opportunity‑based exclusion rules, remember that Unify Opportunity fields pull from opportunities in both Salesforce and HubSpot (if connected). If a contact appears excluded despite not seeing a matching opportunity in one system, check for open opportunities in all connected CRMs. To see all active opportunities associated with a company account in Unify, scroll down on the account record to view the complete list of opportunities from all connected CRMs.

Ruleset-Level Exclusions Not Visible in Contact Tabs

If a contact shows “Excluded” for all sequences but their Exclusions tab shows no blocking rules, check ruleset‑level exclusions at Settings → Features → Sequences → Rulesets. Ruleset exclusions can block enrollment even when they don’t appear on the contact’s Exclusions tab. Review each ruleset associated with your sequences to identify which specific exclusion rule is preventing enrollment.

Alternative Bypass Methods for Individual Contacts

For single contacts: If you need to bypass an exclusion for just one or two specific contacts, you can add a filter to the exclusion rule itself with “email is not” and specify the contact’s email address. This allows the individual contact to bypass the exclusion while keeping the rule active for everyone else.

Important constraints when bypassing rules:

• Contacts cannot be in multiple sequences simultaneously (including if the other sequence is paused). They must be fully removed first.

• A contact can’t be enrolled in the same sequence twice.

• Unsubscribed contacts cannot be enrolled via manual enrollment while global unsubscribe exclusions are enabled.

Creating Company-Level Exclusions for Sequence Management

Step‑by‑Step Setup

1. Go to Settings → Organization → Exclusions

2. Create a new exclusion and select Companies

3. Set company‑level criteria (e.g., opportunity stage, deal status, or a custom company field that updates when a meeting is booked)

4. Enable the “Exclude from Sequences” toggle so contacts are proactively removed from active sequences

Key Implementation Considerations

• Domain Matching: Company‑level exclusions match against the company’s domain field (exact match). Add domain variations separately if needed.

• Field Requirements: If your criteria (such as “meeting booked”) only exists on a contact record, create or update a company‑level field when any contact books, then base the exclusion on that company field.

• Salesforce Opportunities: For Salesforce opportunity‑based criteria, use Unify Opportunity fields in your exclusion rules—these pull directly from your Salesforce opportunities.

• Contact Association: Ensure contacts are associated to the correct account/company for the exclusion to apply.

Opportunity-Based Exclusions and Contact-Level Workarounds

Important limitation not covered in standard exclusion documentation: Unify's native opportunity/deal-based exclusions work at the company level by design, which can create unexpected behavior for users who want to exclude only specific contacts associated with opportunities rather than all contacts at a company.

Workaround for Contact-Level Opportunity Exclusions:

1. Create a contact‑level field in your CRM (e.g., “Associated with opportunity in stage X” or “Primary opportunity contact”).

2. Use a CRM workflow or automation to populate this field for contacts tied to relevant opportunities.

3. Sync this field to Unify and create a people‑level exclusion based on it.

4. Enable the “Sequences” toggle for this exclusion to automatically unenroll contacts.

This approach gives you granular control over which specific contacts are excluded based on opportunity association, rather than the default company‑wide exclusion behavior.