The Problem
Every marketing team eventually hits the same wall: leads come in from multiple channels — paid ads, organic content, referrals — but the data stays siloed. Sales doesn't know what marketing sent. Marketing doesn't know what converted.
The fix isn't a new tool. It's a system.
What I Built
A fully automated pipeline that:
- Captures leads from Meta Ads and Google Ads
- Qualifies them based on form responses
- Routes qualified leads to the right sales rep in the CRM
- Sends a personalized follow-up sequence
All of this runs on n8n — a self-hostable workflow automation tool.
The Architecture
The system has three layers:
Capture — Webhook nodes receive lead data from ad platforms in real time. No polling, no delays.
Qualification — A simple scoring function evaluates budget, company size, and intent signals from the form. Leads below a threshold go into a nurture sequence. Leads above go straight to sales.
Routing — Qualified leads are created in HubSpot with the appropriate owner assigned based on territory. A Slack notification fires so the rep can respond within the first 5 minutes.
The Outcome
- Response time dropped from 4 hours to under 8 minutes
- Lead-to-meeting conversion increased by 34%
- Zero manual data entry from the team
What I Learned
The hardest part wasn't the automation — it was designing the qualification logic. Spend more time there than anywhere else.