What Conditions and Triggers Can I Use in Rules?

Rules in Propel use natural language to define when and how your AI agent should respond. Understanding the available conditions and triggers helps you create effective rules that handle different scenarios accurately. This guide explains the types of conditions and triggers you can use when writing rules.

What Are Conditions and Triggers?

Conditions are criteria that determine when a rule should apply. They check specific aspects of incoming emails, such as content, sender, or context.

Triggers are events or situations that activate a rule. They define what must happen for the rule to be evaluated.

Together, conditions and triggers let you create precise rules that respond appropriately to different situations.

Understanding Rule Structure

Rules in Propel follow a natural language format:

When [condition/trigger], [action]. [Additional requirements].

The condition or trigger defines when the rule applies, and the action defines what Propel should do.

Available Trigger Types

Content-Based Triggers

Content-based triggers check what the email says or contains.

Keywords and phrases:

• Specific words or phrases in the email
• Examples: "urgent", "asap", "available", "interested", "tour", "showing"

Example rule:

When a prospect mentions "urgent" or "asap" in their email, respond immediately with available times and hand off to the leasing manager.

Property information:

• Property addresses
• Property types (apartment, house, commercial)
• Price ranges or thresholds

Example rule:

When a prospect inquires about a property priced over $3000/month, respond with property details and require approval before sending.

Inquiry types:

• Tour requests
• Showing requests
• Booking inquiries
• Application questions
• General information requests

Example rule:

When a prospect requests a tour, respond with available times and offer to schedule immediately.

Sender-Based Triggers

Sender-based triggers check who sent the email.

Lead sources:

• Specific domains (e.g., zillow.com, apartments.com)
• Email addresses
• Recognized lead source patterns

Example rule:

When an inquiry comes from a Zillow lead, respond with property information and ask about move-in date.

Contact types:

• New prospects
• Existing contacts
• Returning customers

Example rule:

When a returning customer emails, respond with personalized information and offer priority scheduling.

Context-Based Triggers

Context-based triggers check the situation or context of the conversation.

Engagement status:

• New conversations
• Ongoing conversations
• Follow-up situations

Example rule:

When a prospect hasn't responded in 3 days, send a follow-up email with updated availability.

Time-based:

• Time of day
• Day of week
• Business hours

Example rule:

When an inquiry arrives outside business hours, respond with available times and note that someone will follow up during business hours.

Property availability:

• Available properties
• Unavailable properties
• Pending properties

Example rule:

When a prospect asks about an unavailable property, respond with similar available properties and offer to schedule a tour.

Available Conditions

Property Conditions

Price thresholds:

• Above or below specific amounts
• Within price ranges
• Examples: "over $3000/month", "under $500k", "between $2000-$4000"

Property types:

• Rental properties
• Properties for sale
• Commercial properties
• Short-term rentals

Property features:

• Number of bedrooms
• Location
• Amenities

Example rule:

When a prospect inquires about a 3-bedroom property over $2500/month, respond with property details and require approval.

Prospect Conditions

Qualification status:

• Qualified prospects
• Unqualified prospects
• Pre-qualified leads

Budget or income:

• Budget ranges
• Income verification status

Timeline:

• Move-in dates
• Purchase timelines
• Urgency indicators

Example rule:

When a qualified prospect with a budget over $3000 requests a tour, respond immediately and hand off to the senior leasing agent.

Lead Source Conditions

Portal sources:

• Zillow
• Apartments.com
• Realtor.com
• Other listing sites

Direct inquiries:

• Website forms
• Phone inquiries
• Walk-ins

Example rule:

When an inquiry comes from Apartments.com and mentions a specific property, respond with detailed property information and offer to schedule a tour.

Conversation Conditions

Email content:

• Subject line keywords
• Body content
• Attachments
• Links

Conversation history:

• Previous interactions
• Follow-up situations
• Escalation needs

Example rule:

When a prospect mentions "urgent" in the subject line and the property is over $3000/month, respond immediately and require approval.

Combining Conditions

You can combine multiple conditions to create precise rules.

AND Conditions

All conditions must be true for the rule to apply.

Example:

When a prospect inquires about a property AND the property is priced over $3000/month AND the inquiry mentions "urgent", respond immediately and require approval.

OR Conditions

Any condition can be true for the rule to apply.

Example:

When a prospect mentions "urgent" OR "asap" OR "immediately", respond with available times and hand off to the leasing manager.

Complex Combinations

You can combine AND and OR conditions for sophisticated rules.

Example:

When (a prospect inquires about a property over $3000/month OR mentions "luxury") AND (the inquiry comes from Zillow OR Apartments.com), respond with property details and require approval.

Condition Types by Use Case

Property Management Conditions

Rental-specific:

• Move-in date requirements
• Lease term preferences
• Pet policies
• Income verification
• Credit check status

Example rule:

When a rental prospect inquires about a property and mentions a move-in date within 30 days, respond with property details and ask about income and credit status.

Real Estate Conditions

Buyer-specific:

• Budget ranges
• Pre-approval status
• Timeline preferences
• Location preferences

Example rule:

When a buyer lead inquires about a property and mentions pre-approval, respond with property information and offer to schedule a showing.

Seller-specific:

• Listing inquiries
• Market analysis requests
• Property valuation requests

Example rule:

When a seller inquiry mentions "listing" or "selling", respond with market analysis information and hand off to the listing specialist.

Short-Term Rental Conditions

Booking-specific:

• Check-in dates
• Stay duration
• Guest count
• Special requests

Example rule:

When a booking inquiry is for a stay over 30 days, respond with pricing and policies and hand off to the property manager.

Best Practices for Conditions and Triggers

Be Specific

Use specific conditions rather than vague ones.

Good:

When a prospect inquires about a property priced over $3000/month and mentions "urgent" in the subject line, respond immediately.

Less effective:

When someone emails about a property, respond.

Use Multiple Conditions

Combine conditions to create more precise rules.

Example:

When a prospect inquires about a property AND the property is over $3000/month AND the inquiry comes from a recognized lead source AND the prospect mentions "urgent", respond immediately and require approval.

Test Conditions

Test your conditions to ensure they work as expected.

1. Create test scenarios
2. Verify conditions match correctly
3. Check that rules trigger appropriately
4. Adjust conditions based on results

Document Complex Conditions

For complex rules with multiple conditions, document what each condition does.

Example:

Rule: High-Value Urgent Inquiries
Conditions:
- Property price over $3000/month
- Inquiry mentions "urgent" or "asap"
- Lead source is recognized portal
Action: Respond immediately, require approval, hand off to manager

Start Simple, Add Complexity

Begin with simple conditions and add complexity gradually.

1. Start with basic keyword triggers
2. Add property conditions
3. Combine with sender conditions
4. Add approval or handoff requirements

Common Condition Patterns

Pattern 1: High-Value Property Handling

Conditions:

• Property price above threshold
• Lead source is recognized
• Prospect is qualified

Example:

When a qualified prospect inquires about a property over $3000/month from a recognized lead source, respond with property details and require approval.

Pattern 2: Urgent Request Detection

Conditions:

• Keywords: "urgent", "asap", "immediately"
• Time-sensitive indicators
• High-value context

Example:

When a prospect mentions "urgent" or "asap" and the property is over $2500/month, respond immediately and hand off to the leasing manager.

Pattern 3: Lead Source Routing

Conditions:

• Specific lead source domain
• Property type or price range
• Prospect qualification status

Example:

When an inquiry comes from Zillow and is about a rental property under $2000/month, respond with property information and ask about move-in date.

Pattern 4: Qualification Workflow

Conditions:

• Prospect inquiry type
• Property details
• Qualification criteria

Example:

When a prospect inquires about a property, respond with property details and ask about move-in date, budget, and number of occupants. If qualified, offer to schedule a tour.

Testing Conditions and Triggers

Method 1: Test with Sample Emails

1. Create sample emails that match your conditions
2. Send them to your monitored mailbox
3. Verify rules trigger correctly
4. Check that actions are taken as expected

Method 2: Use Rule Testing Tools

If available in your Propel interface:

1. Navigate to Settings > Rules
2. Find testing options
3. Enter test conditions
4. Review how rules would be evaluated

Method 3: Monitor Real Conversations

1. Enable rules with your conditions
2. Monitor engagements that match conditions
3. Verify rules trigger appropriately
4. Adjust conditions based on real-world performance

Troubleshooting Conditions

Rule Not Triggering

If your rule doesn't trigger:

1. Check condition specificity - Ensure conditions are specific enough
2. Verify condition syntax - Ensure conditions are written clearly
3. Test conditions individually - Isolate which condition isn't working
4. Review email content - Ensure emails actually match your conditions
5. Check mailbox settings - Ensure response rules aren't preventing responses

Rule Triggering Too Often

If your rule triggers when it shouldn't:

1. Add more specific conditions - Make conditions more precise
2. Use AND conditions - Require multiple conditions to be true
3. Exclude unwanted scenarios - Add conditions that exclude certain cases
4. Review condition logic - Ensure OR conditions aren't too broad

Conflicting Conditions

If multiple rules conflict:

1. Review rule order - Understand how rules are evaluated
2. Make conditions more specific - Ensure rules don't overlap unnecessarily
3. Use ignore rules - Create rules that explicitly ignore certain scenarios
4. Test rule combinations - Verify rules work together correctly

Next Steps

Now that you understand conditions and triggers:

• Create your first rule using conditions and triggers
• Set up approval workflows to require review for specific conditions
• Configure response rules to control when emails are handled
• Monitor conversations to see your rules in action

Related Articles

• Creating Your First Rule - How to create rules with conditions and triggers
• Approval Workflows - Require approvals based on conditions
• Setting Up Handoffs - Hand off based on trigger conditions
• Response Rules Configuration - Control when emails are handled
• Configuring Mailbox Settings - Set up mailbox-level response rules