n8n Templates for Lead Generation: 8 Workflows That Actually Fill Pipelines

The foundational lead gen workflow. Fires the moment a lead submits a form — routes to CRM, sends a personalized first-touch email or SMS within 90 seconds, and notifies the sales owner. This alone closes the gap that loses most inbound leads.

Key config: Use the Set node to normalize field names (different form tools return different key names). The OpenAI node should take first name, business type, and inquiry type as inputs and generate a personalized 3-sentence email. Keep the prompt tight — generic AI follow-ups are detectable and convert poorly.

When to use: Any business with an inbound contact form and a response time problem. Almost universal. Highest ROI of any automation in the lead gen stack.

Runs automatically when a new contact is added to HubSpot (or any CRM via webhook). Uses GPT-4o to score the lead 1–10 based on defined criteria (company size, job title, expressed urgency, inquiry type) and writes the score + reasoning back to a custom CRM property. Sales team sees a prioritized queue instead of a flat list.

Key config: The scoring prompt is the critical piece. Define your ICP clearly in the system prompt: industry, company size range, role seniority, urgency signals. Give GPT-4o a scoring rubric (e.g., "10 = enterprise, immediate budget, decision-maker; 5 = small biz, no stated timeline; 1 = student or job seeker"). Have it return a JSON object with score and one-line reasoning.

When to use: Teams with high inbound volume who need prioritization. Especially useful for agencies running lead gen for B2B clients with diverse inbound sources.

Triggers when a call is missed (via Twilio or a business phone system with webhook support). Sends an automatic SMS within 60 seconds: "Hey [Name], sorry we missed your call — we want to make sure we connect. [Book a time: link] or reply here and we'll call you back." Captures callers who won't call again or leave a voicemail.

Key config: SMS copy matters more than most people expect. Short, personal, action-oriented. Include the booking link (Calendly or equivalent) so the prospect can self-schedule without waiting for a callback. Log every missed call to Airtable for weekly review.

When to use: Dental offices, real estate agents, law firms, home services — any business where inbound phone calls are a primary lead source. The missed call problem is endemic.

Enrolls leads in a time-based email sequence from the moment they enter the CRM. Checks days since enrollment, sends the appropriate touchpoint, marks sent in a tracker to prevent duplicates, and exits when the lead books a call or converts. 8 touchpoints over 90 days: Day 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, 30, 60, 90.

Key config: Use the Switch node to branch to different email templates per touchpoint. The Day 1 email is a value add (a tip, a resource, something useful). Days 7 and 14 are soft CTAs. Days 21 and 30 are case study or social proof. Days 60 and 90 are re-engagement / last-chance. Build the email content in a Google Sheet so clients can edit it without touching n8n.

When to use: Any business with a longer sales cycle where leads don't convert on first contact. B2B services, high-ticket offerings, complex products.

Captures leads from real estate portals (via email parsing or direct webhook integration), extracts key fields (name, phone, property of interest, timeline), routes to the right agent based on territory or round-robin rules, and sends the lead a personalized first-touch text + email within 90 seconds.

Key config: The OpenAI extraction step is the reliability key. Use a structured extraction prompt that returns JSON regardless of how the portal formats the lead email. Test against 20 real lead email formats before deploying. The routing logic (Switch node) uses zip code or neighborhood to match agent.

When to use: Real estate teams. Delivers the single highest-ROI automation in the residential real estate space — first-to-respond wins the deal. Build this first for any real estate client.

Fires 24–48 hours after a service appointment or transaction is marked complete in the CRM. Sends a review request via SMS: personalized, short, with a direct link to the Google review page. No friction. Response rate 3–5x higher than asking at the point of service.

Key config: The Wait node in n8n handles delayed execution cleanly. Check the "Already reviewed" flag first to avoid duplicate requests (store this as a CRM property). The SMS message should be under 160 characters, first-name only, and include the direct review URL (bit.ly shortened for clean display).

When to use: Any service business — dental, real estate, legal, home services. Google review volume directly affects local search ranking. This workflow compounds in value over time.

Uses LinkedIn Sales Navigator activity (via Phantombuster or native webhook) to detect when a target prospect visits your profile or engages with your content. Triggers a personalized outreach sequence — a LinkedIn connection request + note, followed by a value-add message if they connect. Turns passive signal into active outreach without manual monitoring.

Key config: LinkedIn automation sits in a gray area — use this carefully and within LinkedIn's rate limits (no more than 20–30 connection requests/day). The connection note must be personalized and reference the context (content they engaged with, mutual connections). Generic notes get ignored. Build a prospect list in Airtable to gate who enters the workflow.

When to use: B2B agencies and consultants doing targeted outbound. Highest-intent signal on LinkedIn is profile visit — intercepting it with relevant outreach converts disproportionately well.

Runs weekly. Pulls contacts who haven't been touched in 60+ days and haven't converted. AI generates a personalized re-engagement message based on their original inquiry topic and current date context. Sends via email or SMS. Reactivates 5–10% of dormant leads on average — pipeline that would otherwise be written off.

Key config: The AI prompt for re-engagement should reference the original inquiry ("You reached out a couple months ago about [topic]") and include a low-friction CTA (not "book a call" — something easier like "still thinking about this?" or a useful resource link). Keep the tone casual. Limit to 50–100 contacts per week to maintain quality and avoid spam signals.

When to use: Any business with a CRM full of leads that went quiet. Usually uncovers 10–20% of missed revenue opportunity sitting in existing data.