n8n workflow · Chapter 1 of 5
High-Quality Leads Generator
Updated · Tested on n8n 1.x · Part of the n8n Real Estate ebook
Captures every buyer lead from your ads or website, scores it with AI and alerts you on Telegram in seconds — so you know which leads are hot.
How this n8n workflow works
- 1Lead arrives from your ad or website form
- 2Details are cleaned and checked for duplicates
- 3AI scores the lead: Hot, Warm or Cold
- 4Lead is saved to your Google Sheets CRM
Who this workflow is for
- Real-estate agents & brokerages — capture every portal/ad/website lead, ranked by quality, without a data-entry person.
- Property developers & project sales teams — funnel launch-campaign leads straight into a scored CRM.
- Mortgage/loan advisors, interior & realty service businesses — any business that buys leads and needs to know which to call first.
Why it matters: Studies of online leads consistently show that contacting a lead in the first few minutes dramatically raises the odds of converting it — and that most leads are never followed up at all. A machine that captures, de-duplicates, scores and routes every lead in seconds means your agents spend their time calling the hottest leads first instead of sorting a messy spreadsheet. Even one extra closed deal a month pays for the few cents of AI this uses per lead.
Inside the workflow: node by node
Every one of these nodes is explained in the ebook, with each setting, prompt and expression printed so you can copy it.
- 1. Buyer Lead Webhook — The Front Door
- 2. Manual Test Trigger + Sample Lead — Build & Test Without a Real Ad
- 3. Normalize Lead — One Clean Shape for Every Source
- 4. Read Existing RE Leads — Load the CRM to Compare Against
- 5. Check Duplicate — Have We Seen This Person Before?
- 6. Is New Lead? — The Fork
- 7. Send Duplicate Notice — "Heads up, a repeat came in"
- 8. Score Buyer Lead — The AI Quality Judge
- 9. Attach Score — Merge the Score Back Onto the Lead
- 10. Prepare RE Lead Row — Shape the Exact CRM Row
- 11. Save RE Lead — Write (or Update) the CRM Row
- 12. Save Failed Alert — Tell Me If the Save Breaks
- 13. Prepare Activity Row — Build the Audit-Log Entry
- 14. Log RE Activity — Append to the Audit Trail
- 15. Build Lead Confirm — Write the Human-Friendly Ping
- 16. Send Lead Confirm — The "New Lead!" Telegram Alert
- 17. On Workflow Error → Send Workflow Error Alert — The Global Safety Net
Before you start
- An n8n account (Cloud or self-hosted) — hosts this workflow and its webhook URL.
- A Google Sheets credential — your real estate CRM lives in a Google Sheet.
- An OpenAI (or OpenRouter) API key — powers the lead-scoring AI.
- A Telegram bot + your chat ID — the instant new-lead / duplicate / error alerts.
- A lead source to connect to the webhook — a Facebook/Instagram Lead Ad form or a website form (optional while testing; the workflow has a built-in test trigger).
- RE Leads — one row per lead. Suggested column headers (the workflow writes these): Lead ID, Date Added, Name, Phone, WhatsApp, Email, Source, Buy/Rent, Property Type, BHK, Budget, Location, City, Timeline, Loan Needed, Score, Temperature, Stage, Assigned Agent, Last Contact, Last Channel, Next Action, Next Action Date, Property Matched, Viewing Date, Call Outcome, Conversation Log, Notes, Status.
- RE Activity — your audit log. Headers: Timestamp, Lead ID, Channel, Action, Detail, Outcome, Agent.
Quick setup guide
- 1Credentials: Add Google Sheets, OpenAI/OpenRouter, and Telegram (see the video table). Do these once.
- 2Make your CRM Google Sheet: With two tabs, RE Leads and RE Activity, using the headers listed in Prerequisites. Copy the spreadsheet's Sheet ID (the long code in its URL).
- 3Import the workflow: (see the JSON link below) and reconnect every red credential node. Put your Sheet ID into all three Google Sheets nodes (Read, Save, Log), and your Telegram chat ID into all four Telegram nodes.
- 4Test with the sample: Click Test workflow — the Manual Test Trigger → Sample Lead runs the whole chain. Check that a scored row appears in RE Leads, an entry in RE Activity, and a "✅ new lead" Telegram arrives.
- 5Connect your real lead source: Activate the workflow, copy the Production webhook URL, and paste it into your Facebook/Instagram Lead Ads form (see the video) or your website form's POST action.
What success looks like: A messy incoming lead becomes a clean, AI-scored CRM row, an audit entry, and an instant phone alert — completely hands-free.
Common problems and fixes
No row appears in the sheet
Why: Wrong Sheet ID, or tab not named RE Leads
Fix: Use the exact Sheet ID; name the tab RE Leads; check the Save node's error alert
Every run makes a new row
Why: "Column to match on" not set to Phone, or phones formatted differently
Fix: Keep match = Phone; the Normalize/Check code already strips formatting
Score is always 0 / Cold
Why: AI credential missing, or output parser not attached
Fix: Reconnect the OpenAI credential; ensure the Output Parser is wired to the agent
Duplicates not caught
Why: Existing rows have differently-formatted phones/emails
Fix: The code keeps the last 10 digits + lowercases email — make sure the sheet columns are Phone, WhatsApp, Email
No Telegram messages
Why: Bot token / chat ID wrong
Fix: Re-check the Telegram credential and that YOURCHATID is your real chat ID
Phone shows as an error in Sheets
Why: A +-leading number read as a formula
Fix: Keep the Prepare RE Lead Row phone expression that prefixes a '
Setup time
- With Claude Code30–45 minutes
Give the ebook to Claude Code and it builds the workflow for you.
- Import the JSON yourselfAbout 2 hours
Import the ready workflow JSON and connect your accounts.
- Build it by reading the ebookAbout 1 day
Follow every node and setting step by step to learn it fully.
Get this workflow
- Ready-to-import n8n workflow JSON
- Step-by-step PDF: every node and setting explained
- Copy-paste prompts and expressions — no coding
Frequently asked questions
Will this work on free n8n?
Yes. n8n itself can be free (the self-hosted Community edition) or you can use n8n Cloud. The workflow runs on both. You only pay for the outside services it uses, such as AI tokens, and many of them have free tiers to start.
How do I get the API keys (WhatsApp, OpenAI and others)?
The ebook includes a setup video for every API and account this workflow needs, so you can get each key step by step without any coding.
Do I need to know coding?
No. Every node, setting, prompt and expression is printed in the ebook, ready to copy-paste, and the workflow JSON can be imported in one click.
Can I use this Real Estate workflow for my clients?
Yes. Once it works for you, you can set it up for your own business or for clients and charge for the setup.
No row appears in the sheet: how do I fix it?
Wrong Sheet ID, or tab not named RE Leads. Fix: Use the exact Sheet ID; name the tab RE Leads; check the Save node's error alert.
Every run makes a new row: how do I fix it?
"Column to match on" not set to Phone, or phones formatted differently. Fix: Keep match = Phone; the Normalize/Check code already strips formatting.
Score is always 0 / Cold: how do I fix it?
AI credential missing, or output parser not attached. Fix: Reconnect the OpenAI credential; ensure the Output Parser is wired to the agent.