How To Add or Remove Contacts Inside of Your GHL Workflows

When managing leads, referral partners, or clients, automations (also called workflows) are essential for staying consistent with your follow-ups and marketing. But what happens when you forget to add someone to a workflow, or need to remove them from one? This guide walks you through how to manually add, bulk add, or remove contacts from workflows, so you can keep your CRM organized and compliant.

What Is a Workflow?

In your CRM, a workflow is an automation that runs when a contact is enrolled. It might send emails, texts, or internal reminders automatically, saving you hours each week.

There are three main ways to add contacts to a workflow:

1. Manually (one contact at a time)

2. In bulk (through a smart list)

3. Automatically (within an existing workflow)

Let’s break down each method.

1. Manually Add a Single Contact

This is ideal when you want to add one borrower or partner to a workflow, maybe a new lead or an agent who requested updates.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Go to your Contacts tab in your CRM.

2. Select the specific contact.

3. Click the “Add to Automation” icon (it looks like a play button with a semicircle).

4. Give your action a name (for example: Add to Client Follow-Up).

5. Choose the correct workflow from the dropdown list.

6. Decide how to send:

   • Send all at once — perfect for single contacts.

   • Send at a scheduled time — if you’d like it to start later.

7. Hit Confirm and then Add to Automation.

Your contact is now enrolled in that workflow.

2. Bulk Add Contacts Using a Smart List

If you have a list of contacts who meet specific criteria, for example, all real estate agents or leads from a specific campaign, you can add them to a workflow all at once.

Follow these steps:

1. Open your Smart List (for example, “Real Estate Agents”).

2. Click the Select All checkbox at the top of the list.

3. Choose Add to Automation.

4. Name your action (e.g., Add Real Estate Agents to Training Invite).

5. Select the workflow you want to use.

6. Choose your sending mode:

   • Send all at once (for small lists)

   • Drip mode (recommended for 500+ contacts)

Why drip mode matters:
Sending thousands of emails at once can hurt your domain reputation. Drip mode sends smaller batches, for example, 15 emails every 1–2 minutes, which keeps your deliverability strong.

You can also:

• Set the days of the week messages should send.

• Adjust time windows (for example, 9 AM–6 PM) to comply with texting and email regulations.

After confirming, your contacts will begin processing through the workflow automatically.

3. Add Contacts Automatically Within Another Workflow

You can also set up workflows that “feed” into other workflows automatically, a great tool for creating seamless customer journeys.

Example:
If a contact completes your “Live Training Announcement” workflow, you can automatically send them into the “Live Training Registration” workflow.

How to set it up:

1. Open the existing workflow.

2. Add a new action step.

3. Choose Add to Workflow.

4. Select the next workflow (for example, Live Training Registration).

5. Click Save Action.

Now, whenever a contact reaches that step, they’ll be enrolled in the next automation automatically.

How to Remove a Contact from a Workflow

If someone asks to stop receiving messages, or you simply added them by mistake, it’s easy to remove them.

Steps to remove a contact:

1. Open the workflow the contact is in.

2. Find the contact within the current step (often displayed as a small person icon).

3. Select the contact.

4. Click Remove Selected Contacts.

5. Refresh the page, and the contact will no longer appear in that workflow.

You can also move them to the next step instead of removing them entirely, depending on your needs.

Quick FAQs

Can I enroll a contact from inside their contact record?
Yes. Just open the contact, click Add to Automation, and follow the manual steps above.

Can I add multiple contacts at once?
Yes. Use a Smart List and the Select All button to add contacts in bulk.

Can I automatically send a contact to another workflow?
Yes. Use the Add to Workflow action inside your current automation.

Final Thoughts

Understanding how to add and remove contacts from workflows gives you greater control over your marketing, follow-up, and compliance processes.

Use manual enrollment for one-offs, bulk adds for larger audiences, and automation-to-automation actions for seamless transitions between workflows. And remember, using drip mode for bulk sends protects your domain reputation and keeps your communications running smoothly.

With these tools, you’ll keep your CRM clean, your automations efficient, and your contacts engaged, all without missing a beat.