Auto-Qualify Google Sheets Leads with OpenAI GPT-4

Overview

This workflow automatically qualifies new leads submitted via Google Forms (or directly entered) into a Google Sheet. Using OpenAI's GPT-4, it evaluates each lead against custom criteria (e.g., decision-maker role, team size, email domain) and updates the sheet with a qualification rating and explanation. This saves manual review time and ensures consistent lead scoring for sales teams or community managers.

Node-by-Node Breakdown

1. Check for new entries (Google Sheets Trigger – OAuth2)

   • Listens for new rows added to a specific Google Sheet (connected to a Google Form or standalone).
   • Configured to poll every minute (adjustable).
   • Requires: A Google Sheet document ID and sheet name.

2. Qualify leads with GPT (OpenAI – API Key auth)

   • Uses the gpt-4-turbo-preview chat model.
   • A system message defines qualification rules (decision-maker, team size, corporate email).
   • A user message injects the lead's name, email, business area, and team size from the trigger output.
   • Temperature set to 0.3 for consistent, deterministic responses.
   • Instructed to reply with a JSON object: {"rating": "qualified/not qualified", "explanation": "..."}.

3. Extract JSON reply (Set Node – no auth)

   • Parses the message.content from OpenAI's response using JSON.parse.
   • Stores the resulting object in a new field reply for downstream nodes.

4. Merge (Merge Node – no auth)

   • Combines the original lead data (from the trigger) with the parsed GPT reply.
   • Uses “Combine” mode with “Merge by position” to join the two inputs horizontally.
   • Input 0 (from trigger) holds the row data; Input 1 (from Extract JSON reply) holds the GPT rating.

5. Update lead status (Google Sheets – OAuth2)

   • Updates the same Google Sheet with the GPT's rating and explanation.
   • Matches rows by the Timestamp column (to avoid updating the wrong row).
   • Writes the rating into a Rating column (and optionally the explanation if you extend the schema).

Setup Instructions

1. Google Cloud / Sheets API
   • Create a Google Cloud project, enable the Google Sheets API, and create OAuth2 credentials (Desktop app or Web application).
   • In n8n, add a new Google Sheets credential (OAuth2) using your client ID and secret.
2. OpenAI API Key
   • Sign up at OpenAI and create an API key.
   • In n8n, add a new OpenAI credential with your API key.
3. Google Sheet
   • Use the provided template or create your own with columns: Timestamp, Email Address, Your name, Your business area, Your team size, Rating.
   • If using Google Forms, submissions will automatically populate the sheet.
4. Configure the workflow
   • After importing, select each Google Sheets node and choose your credential and the correct sheet/document.
   • Adjust the polling interval if needed (default: every minute).
   • Modify the GPT system message to fit your own lead qualification criteria.

Use Cases & Adaptations

• Sales lead scoring: Replace the criteria with your ICP (ideal customer profile) – e.g., industry, company size, budget.
• Community membership approval: Automatically accept or reject join requests based on responses.
• Event registration filtering: Qualify attendees for VIP access or follow-up.
• Extend output: Store the explanation in a separate column by adding it to the Update node's column mapping.
• Add notifications: Insert a Slack or email node after the Merge to alert your team when a high-quality lead is detected.
• Use a different model: Switch to gpt-3.5-turbo for lower cost or gpt-4o for faster responses.

This template is a starting point – tweak the prompt, polling frequency, and output columns to match your exact process.

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  "meta": {
    "instanceId": "fb924c73af8f703905bc09c9ee8076f48c17b596ed05b18c0ff86915ef8a7c4a"
  },
  "name": "Qualify new leads in Google Sheets via OpenAI's GPT-4",
  "tags": [
    {
      "id": "y9tvM3hISJKT2jeo",
      "name": "Ted's Tech Talks",
      "createdAt": "2023-08-15T22:12:34.260Z",
      "updatedAt": "2023-08-15T22:12:34.260Z"
    }
  ],
  "nodes": [
    {
      "id": "1f179325-0bec-4e5c-8ebd-0a2bb3ebefaa",
      "name": "Merge",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.merge",
      "position": [
        1440,
        340
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "mode": "combine",
        "options": {},
        "combinationMode": "mergeByPosition"
      },
      "typeVersion": 2.1
    },
    {
      "id": "7b548661-2b32-451f-ba52-91ca86728f1e",
      "name": "Sticky Note",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
      "position": [
        358,
        136.3642172523962
      ],
      "parameters": {
        "width": 442,
        "height": 360.6357827476038,
        "content": "### 1. Create a Google Sheet document\n* This template uses Google Sheet document connected to Google Forms, but a standalone Sheet document will work too\n* Adapt initial trigger to your needs: check for new entries periodically or add a manual trigger\n\n[Link to the Google Sheet template](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jk8ZbfOMObvHGGImc0sBJTZB_hracO4jRqfbryMgzEs)"
      },
      "typeVersion": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "308b4dce-4656-47bd-b217-69565b1c34f6",
      "name": "Sticky Note1",
      "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
      "position": [
// ... truncated (copy to see full JSON)