How to Post Lost Deal Alerts to Slack with Make

make.com > Scenarios > Create a new scenario

Create a new Make scenario

Log into Make at make.com and click the blue 'Create a new scenario' button in the top right of your Scenarios dashboard. You'll land on the visual scenario canvas — a dark grid where you drag and connect modules. Click the large '+' circle in the center of the canvas to open the app picker. Search for 'Zoho CRM' and select it.

1. 1Click 'Create a new scenario' in the top right
2. 2Click the large '+' circle on the canvas
3. 3Type 'Zoho CRM' in the search box
4. 4Click 'Zoho CRM' from the results

Canvas > Zoho CRM > Watch Records

Set Zoho CRM webhook trigger

From the Zoho CRM module list, select 'Watch Records' — this is the webhook-based trigger that fires the moment a record changes in Zoho. You'll be prompted to connect your Zoho CRM account or select an existing connection. Once connected, set the Module to 'Deals'. Leave the trigger type as 'Watch Records (Instant)' to ensure real-time delivery rather than polling.

1. 1Select 'Watch Records' from the Zoho CRM trigger list
2. 2Click 'Add' next to the Connection field to authorize Zoho CRM
3. 3Complete the Zoho OAuth flow in the popup window
4. 4Set the 'Module' dropdown to 'Deals'
5. 5Confirm 'Trigger Type' is set to 'Watch Records (Instant)'

Zoho CRM > Setup > Automation > Webhooks

Register the webhook in Zoho CRM

Copy the webhook URL shown in the Make module. In a new browser tab, open your Zoho CRM account and navigate to Setup > Automation > Webhooks. Click 'New Webhook', paste the Make URL into the Notify URL field, and set the method to POST. Under 'Parameters', add the fields you want Make to receive: Deal Name, Stage, Loss Reason, Competitor, Deal Amount, and Owner. Save the webhook, then create a Workflow Rule in Zoho (Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules) that fires this webhook when Stage changes to 'Lost'.

1. 1Copy the webhook URL from the Make module panel
2. 2In Zoho CRM, go to Setup > Automation > Webhooks
3. 3Click 'New Webhook' and paste the URL into the 'Notify URL' field
4. 4Set method to POST and add Deal Name, Stage, Loss Reason, Competitor, Amount, Owner as parameters
5. 5Save the webhook, then go to Setup > Automation > Workflow Rules
6. 6Create a new Workflow Rule for Deals triggered on 'Edit', with condition Stage equals 'Lost', and attach the webhook as the action

Canvas > Run once button (bottom left)

Test the trigger with a sample deal

Back in Make, click 'Run once' at the bottom of the scenario canvas to put the scenario in listening mode. Switch to Zoho CRM, open any test deal, change the Stage field to 'Lost', fill in a Loss Reason and Competitor, and save the record. Return to Make within 30 seconds — you should see a data bubble appear on the trigger module showing the incoming payload.

1. 1Click 'Run once' in Make to start listening
2. 2In Zoho CRM, open a test deal
3. 3Set Stage to 'Lost', fill in Loss Reason and Competitor fields, click Save
4. 4Return to Make and watch for the data bubble to appear on the trigger module
5. 5Click the bubble to inspect the incoming data structure

Canvas > Right-click trigger module > Add Router

Add a Router for conditional routing

Click the small wrench icon to the right of the trigger module, then click 'Add a router'. A Router module appears with two empty branches. This lets you send high-value lost deals to a different channel — for example, deals over $20,000 to #exec-alerts and all others to #sales-losses. If you only need one channel, you can skip the router and connect directly to Slack, but the router adds almost no complexity and future-proofs the scenario.

1. 1Right-click (or hover and click the dot-menu) on the Zoho CRM trigger module
2. 2Select 'Add a router'
3. 3Click the first router branch to open its filter settings
4. 4Set filter: Deal Amount greater than 20000
5. 5Leave the second branch with no filter (catches everything else)

Canvas > Router Branch 1 > + > Slack > Create a Message

Add Slack module to the high-value branch

Click the '+' at the end of the first router branch (high-value deals). Search for 'Slack' and select it. Choose the 'Create a Message' action. Connect your Slack account via OAuth — you'll need to authorize Make's Slack app in your workspace. Set the Channel to your management channel (e.g., #exec-alerts). This branch handles deals above your threshold with elevated visibility.

1. 1Click '+' at the end of the first router branch
2. 2Search for 'Slack' and select it
3. 3Choose 'Create a Message'
4. 4Click 'Add' next to Connection and authorize Slack via OAuth
5. 5Set Channel to '#exec-alerts' (or type the channel ID directly)

Slack module > Text field > Variable picker

Build the Slack message for high-value losses

In the Slack 'Create a Message' module, click into the 'Text' field. Use Make's variable picker (the small rectangle icon) to pull in deal fields from the Zoho CRM trigger. Build a message that includes deal name, amount, loss reason, competitor, and deal owner. Use Slack's mrkdwn formatting — bold with *asterisks*, newlines with actual line breaks in the field. A clear, structured message takes less than 2 minutes to read and act on.

1. 1Click into the 'Text' field in the Slack module
2. 2Type ':red_circle: *Lost Deal Alert* (High Value)'
3. 3Press Enter, then use the variable picker to insert Deal_Name
4. 4Add each field on its own line: Amount, Loss Reason, Competitor, Owner
5. 5Set 'Bot Name' to 'CRM Bot' and optionally add an emoji icon

📬 New entry: {{1.name}}
Email: {{1.email}}
Details: {{1.description}}

Canvas > Router Branch 2 > + > Slack > Create a Message

Add Slack module to the standard branch

Click the '+' at the end of the second router branch (all other lost deals). Add another Slack 'Create a Message' module. Reuse the same Slack connection. Set the channel to #sales-losses or your standard sales notification channel. The message structure can be identical to branch 1, or you can simplify it — standard losses don't need the same urgency formatting.

1. 1Click '+' at the end of the second router branch
2. 2Select Slack > Create a Message
3. 3Choose the same Slack connection from the dropdown
4. 4Set Channel to '#sales-losses'
5. 5Build the message text using the same variable tokens as branch 1

Slack module > Right-click > Add error handler > Ignore

Add error handling to the scenario

Click the small wrench icon on each Slack module and select 'Add error handler'. Choose the 'Ignore' handler for now — this prevents one failed Slack post from breaking the entire scenario. For production, consider adding a second Slack module in the error handler that pings a #make-errors channel with the raw error text. Right-click anywhere on the canvas and enable 'Auto-commit' to make sure partial successes are saved.

1. 1Right-click the first Slack module on the canvas
2. 2Select 'Add error handler'
3. 3Choose 'Ignore' from the handler type list
4. 4Repeat for the second Slack module
5. 5Right-click the canvas background and confirm 'Auto-commit' is enabled

Canvas > Run once > Execution History

Test end-to-end with a real deal

Click 'Run once' in Make, then go to Zoho CRM and mark a real test deal as Lost with populated Loss Reason and Competitor fields. Watch Make's execution log — the green checkmarks on each module confirm successful data flow. Check both Slack channels to confirm the message posted correctly. Verify the deal amount routing worked by testing one deal above and one below your threshold.

1. 1Click 'Run once' to start listening
2. 2In Zoho CRM, open a test deal worth more than $20,000 and mark it Lost
3. 3Check Make's execution log for green checkmarks on all modules
4. 4Verify the message posted to #exec-alerts
5. 5Repeat with a deal under $20,000 and verify it posts to #sales-losses

Canvas > Toggle (bottom left) > Scenario Settings > Gear icon

Activate the scenario

Click the toggle in the bottom left of the canvas to switch the scenario from OFF to ON. Make will now run this scenario automatically whenever Zoho CRM sends a webhook. Set the scenario name to something descriptive like 'Zoho Lost Deal → Slack Alert' by clicking the name at the top of the canvas. Check the Scenario Settings (gear icon) and confirm the maximum number of cycles is set to 1 — this is a per-record trigger and should process one deal per execution.

1. 1Click the ON/OFF toggle at the bottom left of the canvas
2. 2Confirm the toggle turns blue and shows 'ON'
3. 3Click the scenario name at the top and rename it to 'Zoho Lost Deal → Slack Alert'
4. 4Click the gear icon > confirm Max Cycles = 1
5. 5Click Save

Paste this formula into a Make 'Set Variable' module placed between the Router and the Slack modules. It generates a formatted amount string and a severity label based on deal size, so your Slack message shows '$28,500 — HIGH VALUE' instead of a raw number. Add a Set Variable module, name it 'Format Deal Data', and paste the expressions into two separate variable fields named formatted_amount and severity_label.

// Variable 1: formatted_amount
// Paste into a Set Variable module → Variable Value field
if(

// Variable 1: formatted_amount
// Paste into a Set Variable module → Variable Value field
if(
  {{1.Amount}} >= 1000,
  join(
    ["$", formatNumber({{1.Amount}}, 2, ".", ",")],
    ""
  ),
  join(["$", {{1.Amount}}], "")
)

// Variable 2: severity_label
// Add a second variable in the same Set Variable module
if(
  toNumber({{1.Amount}}) >= 20000,
  "🔴 HIGH VALUE",
  if(
    toNumber({{1.Amount}}) >= 5000,
    "🟡 MID-TIER",
    "⚪ STANDARD"
  )
)

// Variable 3: loss_summary
// Combines reason + competitor into one clean line for the Slack message
if(
  {{1.Competitor}} != "",
  join([{{1.Loss_Reason}}, " (Lost to ", {{1.Competitor}}, ")"], ""),
  {{1.Loss_Reason}}
)