GoHighLevel Stale Opportunity Trigger Guide

If you are documenting automations in ClickUp and building funnels in GoHighLevel, you will often need a reliable way to track when deals stop progressing. This guide explains exactly how to configure the Stale Opportunity workflow trigger so you can automatically follow up, re-engage leads, or clean your pipeline when opportunities become inactive.

The Stale Opportunity trigger monitors how long an opportunity has remained unchanged in a specific pipeline or stage. Once it is considered “stale,” it can fire a workflow to send messages, assign tasks, or update records. The instructions below are based strictly on the official GoHighLevel help documentation.

What the GoHighLevel Stale Opportunity Trigger Does

The Stale Opportunity trigger in GoHighLevel activates when an opportunity has not been updated for a set number of days. It allows you to automate actions when leads or deals sit idle too long in your pipeline.

This trigger is ideal for:

• Re-engaging cold or inactive leads.
• Notifying sales reps when deals stall.
• Moving old opportunities to a different stage.
• Cleaning up long-forgotten deals from your pipeline.

Because GoHighLevel workflows are event-based, the Stale Opportunity trigger becomes a powerful control point for pipeline hygiene and consistent follow-up.

How the GoHighLevel Stale Opportunity Trigger Works

The Stale Opportunity trigger watches an opportunity in a selected pipeline or stage and fires when it meets your conditions. Key behavior from the official GoHighLevel documentation includes:

• The trigger only evaluates opportunities in the pipeline or stages you choose.
• Staleness is calculated based on the last update to the opportunity.
• Once the specified “Days Stale” threshold is met, the opportunity can enter the workflow.
• If the opportunity is updated before reaching the threshold, the stale timer effectively resets.

This gives you granular control over when automations run, ensuring that your GoHighLevel workflows act on truly inactive opportunities.

Setting Up the GoHighLevel Stale Opportunity Trigger

Follow these steps to configure the trigger inside your workflow builder:

Step 1: Open Workflows in GoHighLevel

1. Log in to your GoHighLevel account.
2. Go to the Automation or Workflows section, depending on your interface version.
3. Create a new workflow or open an existing one where you want to add the trigger.

Step 2: Add the Stale Opportunity Trigger

1. Click the option to add a new Workflow Trigger.
2. From the list of available triggers, select Stale Opportunity.
3. Once selected, the configuration panel for the Stale Opportunity trigger will appear.

Step 3: Configure Stale Opportunity Conditions

In the trigger settings, you can precisely define when GoHighLevel should treat an opportunity as stale:

• Pipeline – Choose the specific pipeline where you want to monitor opportunities.
• Stage (Optional) – Restrict the trigger to one or more stages if you only care about certain parts of the pipeline.
• Days Stale – Set the number of days since the opportunity was last updated before it is considered stale.
• Filters (if available) – Apply filters to limit this trigger to specific opportunity types, lead sources, or tags, depending on your setup.

Make sure the selected pipeline and stages reflect the part of your GoHighLevel sales process where inactivity truly matters.

Step 4: Define Workflow Actions After the Trigger

Once the Stale Opportunity trigger fires, you can chain any supported workflow actions, such as:

• Send an email or SMS to the contact.
• Notify the assigned user or team.
• Move the opportunity to another stage or pipeline.
• Update opportunity fields (status, priority, notes).
• Add the contact to another GoHighLevel workflow.

Arrange these actions in the order that best fits your follow-up strategy. For example, you might send a reminder to the sales rep first, and if the deal remains untouched, move it to a “Re-engage Later” stage.

Best Practices for GoHighLevel Stale Opportunity Automation

To get consistent results from this trigger, follow these best practices drawn from typical GoHighLevel use cases:

Choose Meaningful Stale Timeframes

• Short sales cycles may require a low “Days Stale” value (e.g., 2–5 days).
• Longer, consultative sales cycles might use larger timeframes (e.g., 14–30 days).
• Align the threshold with your typical follow-up cadence.

Limit the Trigger to the Right Pipeline Stages

• Apply the Stale Opportunity trigger to mid-funnel or negotiation stages where deals often stall.
• Avoid firing it too early (e.g., right after a new lead is created) unless your process demands fast turnaround.
• Exclude closed-won or closed-lost stages to prevent unnecessary automations.

Design Clear Follow-Up Paths in GoHighLevel

• Use friendly re-engagement messages for contacts whose opportunities are going stale.
• Notify account owners or sales reps so they can add a personal touch.
• Consider creating a separate re-engagement pipeline and moving stale deals there for focused outreach.

Test the Trigger Before Going Live

• Create test opportunities in the selected pipeline.
• Manually adjust the Days Stale value to a low number for testing.
• Confirm that the workflow starts exactly when expected and that all actions run correctly.

Troubleshooting the GoHighLevel Stale Opportunity Trigger

If the Stale Opportunity trigger does not behave as expected, check the following:

• Pipeline and stage selection – Ensure the opportunity actually lives in the configured pipeline and stages.
• Update activity – Any update to the opportunity can reset the stale timer, delaying the trigger.
• Days Stale threshold – Verify that enough time has passed based on your configuration.
• Workflow status – Confirm the workflow is turned on and not in draft mode.

For more details and any interface-specific nuances, always refer to the official GoHighLevel documentation for this feature here: Stale Opportunity Workflow Trigger.

Integrating Stale Opportunity Triggers into a Broader GoHighLevel Strategy

The Stale Opportunity trigger should not exist in isolation. Combine it with other GoHighLevel triggers and actions to create a complete automation system:

• Use Opportunity Status Changed triggers to react instantly when deals move.
• Layer Tag Added or Form Submitted triggers to kick off nurturing sequences.
• Route stale deals into special nurture campaigns or reactivation workflows.

This integrated strategy ensures that no opportunity falls through the cracks and that your GoHighLevel CRM stays up to date with real deal momentum.

Next Steps and Additional Resources

To keep improving your automation and CRM structure around GoHighLevel, you may want strategic guidance or implementation support. You can find more resources and consulting services at Consultevo, which covers CRM optimization and workflow design.

By correctly configuring the Stale Opportunity workflow trigger and aligning it with your sales process, you ensure that inactive deals spark proactive follow-up instead of silently dying in your pipeline. With a well-planned setup, GoHighLevel becomes a central engine for predictable, automated sales operations.

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