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How to Use Automations to Apply E-Alerts or Market Updates

Automate follow-up by adding E-alerts or Market Updates through Automations, keeping leads engaged without extra manual work.

Quick Summary

Now you can add actions in Sierra Automations to automatically apply E-alerts or Market Updates based on any trigger you define, like when a lead fills out a form, receives a tag, or saves a property. This means smarter, hands-off nurturing that keeps buyers and sellers coming back to your site.

Why This Matters

E-alerts and Market Updates can already be added automatically to new leads through your Lead Routing Rules. For example, you might set up your rules so any lead that comes in from a Zillow source immediately receives an E-alert with matching listings.

But what about existing leads already in your database who take new actions that show fresh interest? Without this feature, your team would have to manually apply E-alerts or Market Updates to these contacts one by one. That takes time, slows down follow-up, and means some warm leads might slip through the cracks.

By adding the Create E-Alert or Create Market Update as an action in your Automations, you fill this critical gap. Now you can automatically trigger updates for existing leads based on exactly how they engage with you.

Example Use Cases

✅ Form to E-alert:

  • A team running a postcard or Facebook ad campaign drives traffic to a contact form about a new construction community. Once the form is filled out, a Lead Tag like “New Construction” is added. This tag triggers an Automation that applies an E-alert for all new construction listings. The lead immediately starts getting listings that match their interest, without any manual setup.

✅ Behavior to update:

  • A lead browsing your site saves a property. This triggers an Automation that applies a custom E-alert or Market Update tailored to similar listings. It keeps your brand top of mind and shows them you are paying attention to what matters.

Step-by-Step Instructions (How-To)

1. Access Automations

  • Go to your Sierra Admin Area (CAA).

  • Click on Automations under the Gear Icon.

  • Choose + Create New Automation, or edit an existing one.

2. Define Your Trigger

  • Set the action that will kick off this automated follow-up.
    For example:

    • When a Lead Tag is added, like “New Construction.”

    • When a lead saves a property.

    • When a lead changes status to “Prime.”

3. Add the E-Alert or Market Update Action

  • In the Actions section, you will see a new category called “Searches.”

  • Choose:

    • Create E-Alert to automatically send listing updates that match a saved search.

    • Create Market Update to send sellers updates on nearby listings and sales.

4. Choose or Create a Saved Search

  • A modal pops up with your existing favorited saved searches, or you can build a new search on the spot by specifying location, price, beds, and more.

  • This is the search that will power the E-alert or Market Update applied to leads when the automation runs.

5. Finish and Save

  • Add any other follow-up actions, like applying a tag or sending a welcome text.

  • Click Save and Activate to start running your automation.

Important Behavior Notes

Behind the scenes, when you add a saved search to an Automation as an E-alert or Market Update, Sierra creates a copy of that saved search specifically for the automation. This is similar to how a saved search is copied and attached to a lead.

Because of this, editing the original saved search in Manage Saved Searches will not update the automation. If you want to change the search criteria or parameters later, you must go directly into the automation and edit the saved search there.

⚠️ This ensures the automation always behaves consistently, even if the original saved search is edited or deleted elsewhere.

The screenshot below shows where you can edit the saved search directly from the Automation action. Click the pencil icon next to the search title to adjust filters like location, price, or property type.


Best Practices

✅ Combine this with your Lead Routing Rules.

  • Use Lead Routing Rules to automatically apply E-alerts or Market Updates for new leads based on source, price range, or location. Then use Automations to handle existing leads when they show new interest, like filling out a form or saving a property.

✅ Use tags to tailor alerts to campaigns.

  • For example, leads from a relocation campaign could automatically get E-alerts for listings in target neighborhoods. This keeps your outreach focused on what matters most to them.

✅ Pair behavioral triggers with immediate updates.

  • When a lead saves a property, instantly enroll them in a Market Update or E-alert that reflects similar listings. This keeps your site and brand top of mind.

✅ Keep automations clean:

  • Sierra will warn you if you try to delete a saved search tied to an active automation. Always review automations before removing saved searches to keep everything working properly.

How This Helps Your Business

Adding E-alerts and Market Updates through Automations turns every form fill or property save into a chance to nurture your leads. It ensures that both new leads from your marketing efforts and existing leads who are re-engaging get timely, relevant updates. This keeps your website sticky, brings buyers and sellers back to view more listings, and saves your team hours by removing manual setup. It is exactly how top teams scale consistent, personalized follow-up so agents can spend more time closing deals.

Known Issues

Parent/Child Lead Handling 

  • Automations are created on the parent site, but can apply to leads from child sites if the MLS used in the search is available to that child site.

MLS Region Mismatch

  • If an automation includes an MLS region not available to the child site the lead is associated with, it cannot be applied. For example, if the parent site includes the SIRA region but a child site only has GLAR, the automation cannot apply an E-Alert with SIRA to a lead from the child site that lacks SIRA. This will fail gracefully and not cause the entire automation to error out.

Creating automations for MLS regions not on the parent site

  • Users can only create automations with the MLS regions available to the parent site. If a child site has additional MLS regions, automations cannot be built for those.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

  • Trying to delete a saved search tied to an automation?
    • You will see a warning. If you continue, the automation using it will be paused or removed.

  • Why didn’t my lead get an E-alert?
    • Check that your saved search criteria actually match active listings and confirm the automation trigger ran.

  • Can I trigger multiple updates at once?
    • Yes. You can stack multiple actions in the same automation or build different automations to layer touchpoints.

FAQs

Q: Does this replace the regular way of applying E-alerts or Market Updates?
A: No. You can still manually add these on individual leads, and your Lead Routing Rules still automatically apply E-alerts or Market Updates to new leads. This just adds the ability to automate it for existing leads who take new actions.

Q: Can I do this for existing leads, not just new ones?
A: Yes. Any trigger you set, like a tag added manually or by another automation, can apply an E-alert or Market Update to existing leads.

Q: Who can use this feature?
A: It is available to Sierra users with access to the Automations feature.