n8n Lead Qualification: Google Sheets + OpenAI + Twilio WhatsApp

Turn every new lead into a qualified conversation automatically (Google Sheets + OpenAI + Twilio WhatsApp)

This n8n workflow polls your Google Sheets lead intake every 15 minutes, uses OpenAI (GPT-4o-mini) to score and classify enquiries, logs enriched results into your Google Sheets CRM, and instantly notifies the right counsellor—while sending the student a Twilio WhatsApp welcome message.

What this workflow does

• Runs on a 15-minute schedule (schedule trigger).
• Reads rows from the Google Sheets tab “New Leads Input”.
• Skips incomplete entries where “Full Name” is empty.
• Normalizes lead fields (name, phone, email, course, city, source), creates a timestamp-based Lead ID, and captures the source row number.
• Calls OpenAI (GPT-4o-mini) with the lead details to return JSON including: intent score, lead category, course category, and a counsellor note.
• Assigns a counsellor at random from a predefined roster and merges this with the AI outputs.
• Upserts into Google Sheets in the “Leads CRM” tab and marks the intake row as Processed.
• Sends messages/notifications:
  • Student: WhatsApp via Twilio
  • Counsellor: alerts via Telegram and Gmail with lead details and AI talking points
• Error handling: posts an alert to a Slack channel if the workflow fails.

Use cases

• Automate lead qualification for admissions teams using Google Sheets as the intake form.
• Route enquiries with AI intent scoring so counsellors focus on higher-fit leads.
• Instantly confirm WhatsApp follow-ups and notify internal teams (Telegram/Gmail) without manual work.

Technical details

• Google Sheets: OAuth2 connection; reads from “New Leads Input”, writes to “Leads CRM”, updates Processed.
• OpenAI: GPT-4o-mini for JSON-based scoring/classification.
• Messaging: Twilio WhatsApp, Telegram.
• Email & alerts: Gmail notifications to assigned counsellor, Slack error alerts.
• Workflow components include nodes such as if, code, and a sticky note for clarity.