Build it yourself

Implementation instructions

Everything here is meant to be genuinely actionable—hand it to yourself, a developer, or your own AI coding tool. Nothing is held back to push you toward hiring us.

Setup checklist

1.Pick where leads actually land today (form, inbox, DMs) and list every source
2.Export 10–20 of your best past replies to use as a voice reference
3.Decide your review policy: auto-send, or approve-before-send
4.Pick a home for lead records if you don't already have a CRM (a spreadsheet is fine to start)

Implementation sequence

1.Connect your form and inbox to a single intake point (n8n or Zapier watching for new submissions/emails)
2.Add a Claude or ChatGPT step that drafts a reply using your voice reference and the lead's message
3.Route the draft to yourself for approval (Slack DM or email) before it sends, at least initially
4.Log the lead into your CRM or spreadsheet with dedupe logic on email/phone
5.Add a scheduled follow-up: if no reply in 3 days, send a second touch; stop after a reply or opt-out

Architecture

Trigger: new form submission or inbound email
Step 1: normalize the lead (name, contact, message) into one record shape
Step 2: AI drafts a reply referencing the lead's actual message
Step 3: human approval gate (can be removed later once trusted)
Step 4: send + log + schedule follow-up

AI instructions

Claude/ChatGPT instructions for the reply-drafting step

Instructions / Skill content

You are drafting the first reply to a new inbound lead for [BUSINESS NAME]. Match the tone and structure of the example replies provided below—warm, direct, no corporate filler. Reference something specific from the lead's message so it doesn't read as generic. End with one clear next step (a question or a scheduling link), not a wall of options. If the message is vague, ask exactly one clarifying question instead of guessing. If the inquiry sounds unusually large, unusual, or outside what we normally do, don't draft a reply—flag it for [OWNER] to handle personally.

Automation logic

Deduplication and follow-up scheduling

1.On new lead: check if email/phone already exists in the log → if yes, append to existing record instead of creating a duplicate
2.If no reply within 72 hours: send follow-up touch #1
3.If no reply within 7 days: send follow-up touch #2, then stop
4.If lead replies at any point: cancel remaining scheduled follow-ups

Integration instructions

1.Gmail: use a 'watch inbox' trigger filtered to your lead-intake label or address
2.Web form: use a webhook or native Zapier/n8n form trigger
3.CRM/spreadsheet: use the native API or a simple 'append row' action

Testing procedures

1.Send yourself 5 test leads with different tones (short, long, vague, urgent, price-focused) and check the drafts
2.Confirm a duplicate lead doesn't create a second record
3.Confirm the follow-up sequence actually stops once someone replies

Failure handling

1.If the AI draft step fails, the lead should still land in your log—never silently drop a lead because a draft failed
2.If an approval sits unanswered for 24 hours, send yourself a reminder instead of letting the lead go cold

Maintenance checklist

1.Re-check your voice reference every few months as your messaging evolves
2.Review a sample of sent replies monthly, especially after loosening the approval gate

Ready-to-use prompts

Paste these into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or Claude Code to get started immediately.

Claude / ChatGPT prompt

Draft a first-reply Claude Skill (or a saved ChatGPT custom instruction) named 'Lead Reply Drafting' using the instructions above. Include 3-5 of your own best past replies as reference examples inside the instructions so tone is grounded in real writing, not a description of your tone.

Cursor / Claude Code prompt

Build an n8n workflow with: (1) a webhook trigger for new leads from [FORM PROVIDER], (2) an HTTP node calling the Claude API with the lead-reply-drafting prompt above, (3) a Slack or email node sending the draft to [OWNER] for approval, (4) on approval, a Gmail send node, and (5) a Google Sheets/Airtable append node that checks for an existing row by email before creating a new one.

n8n workflow design

Webhook/Gmail Trigger → Normalize Lead node (Set) → Claude/OpenAI node (draft reply) → Slack approval node → IF approved → Gmail Send node → Sheets/Airtable Upsert node → Wait 3 days → IF no reply → Follow-up Send node

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Same system, no extra discovery call—we already know the scope.

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