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How we automated our own lead qualification with n8n and GPT-4

How we automated our own lead qualification and first-touch messaging with n8n and GPT-4, and cut a 2–3 hour batch of leads to five minutes.

client
Giant Nerd Automations (internal)
industry
Automation consultancy
result
25+ hours a week
Our lead qualification. Before: six manual steps per lead, from reading the form to logging it. After: a batch runs through n8n, GPT-4 and Google Sheets, triggered from Telegram.before: 6 manual stepsRead the formCheck company sizeCheck authorityDecide if it fitsWrite the messageLog the resultafter: one automated pathBatch of leadsn8nGPT-4SheetsTelegramQualified and draftedOur lead qualification. Before: six manual steps per lead, from reading the form to logging it. After: a batch runs through n8n, GPT-4 and Google Sheets, triggered from Telegram.before: 6 manual stepsRead the formCheck company sizeCheck authorityDecide if it fitsWrite the messageLog the resultafter: one automated pathBatch of leadsn8nGPT-4SheetsTelegramQualified and drafted
ai lead qualification, before and after

A batch of inbound leads used to take us two to three hours to work through. It now takes five minutes.

This is our own pipeline, not a client’s. Leads from our contact forms were read one at a time: does the company fit, can this person buy, and what should the first message say? Replies went out late, and the time came out of work that needed a person.

Before After
A batch of leads 2–3 hours 5 minutes
Qualification work 15–20 hours a week Automated
First message per qualified lead About 30 minutes Drafted automatically

In total, that’s more than 25 hours a week back.

The rules

Two checks decide whether a lead qualifies: the company has fewer than 60 employees, and the contact has the authority to buy. GPT-4 applies them and writes down its reasoning for every lead, so when a decision looks wrong we can see why and adjust the rule.

The message

For qualified leads, GPT-4 drafts a first message that mentions the prospect’s industry, the process they told us they want automated, and how they prefer to be contacted, written in our voice.

Running it

Someone on the team sends a command to a Telegram bot. n8n works through the batch in sequence and posts progress back to the chat, so there’s no dashboard to open.

n8n workflow for AI lead qualification: a Telegram trigger and filter feed an AI agent that uses an OpenAI chat model, memory, and lead qualification and messaging tools, then replies in Telegram.
The live n8n workflow. The sales team triggers it from Telegram; the AI agent calls the qualification and messaging workflows as tools.

Stack used

  • n8n
  • OpenAI GPT-4
  • Google Sheets
  • Telegram

Related: custom ai solutions, n8n consulting and ai for small business

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