Automation Kit
Small Business Lead Machine
Stop losing leads to a form that nobody checks. One n8n workflow takes an enquiry from 'just submitted' to 'validated, qualified, stored, and acknowledged', automatically.
Not ready for the full kit? Start with the free Lead Catcher workflow, real capture + owner notification, no qualification/acknowledgement yet. Upgrade here when you need those.
The problem this solves
Most small businesses lose momentum in the gap between a lead submitting a form and someone actually following up. A lead that arrives at 9pm, over a weekend, or while the owner is on a job site sits unread, and a lead contacted within minutes converts at several times the rate of one contacted an hour later.
This kit closes that gap with a system, not a reminder to check email more often.
Who it's for
- Local service businesses (trades, studios, clinics, hospitality) getting enquiries through a website form, booking widget, or any tool that can send a webhook
- Anyone currently relying on "someone checks the inbox" as their entire lead process
- Businesses comfortable self-installing an n8n workflow, or buying the installation service below
What the workflow does
Below is the exact nodes from workflow/lead-machine.json, in the order they run. Pick a scenario: the path a lead takes is decided by the kit's real qualification code, not by the animation.
A complete enquiry with a real message, qualified, stored, acknowledged, owner notified.
Step by step
- Receives the lead via webhook, works with any form, booking tool, or app that can POST JSON.
- Validates it, rejects incomplete/malformed submissions instantly with a clear error, before anything else runs.
- Qualifies it against your own plain-JavaScript rules, no AI call, no per-lead cost, fully auditable.
- Stores it in Google Sheets, with automatic retries if the write fails.
- Acknowledges the lead by email within seconds, and notifies the owner with the full enquiry and qualification verdict, in parallel, independently.
- Never drops the visitor's response: even if storage fails, the visitor still gets a success response, and the failure is flagged for the owner, not silently swallowed.
What's included
The workflow
An importable n8n workflow file: webhook intake, validation, rule-based qualification, Google Sheets storage, acknowledgement + owner notification emails, bounded retries.
Setup guide
Step-by-step import, credential wiring, and go-live checklist.
Configuration checklist
Every placeholder you must edit before this is production-ready, nothing silently left on example values.
Credential instructions
How to create the two accounts it needs (Google Sheets, SMTP), both free at small-business volume.
Architecture diagram
Every node and branch explained, including why each design choice was made.
Sample test data + a runnable test
Seven realistic test leads and a zero-dependency script that proves the validation/qualification logic before you touch n8n at all.
Troubleshooting guide
Common import and runtime issues, with fixes.
Prerequisites
- An n8n instance (self-hosted or n8n Cloud)
- A Google account for Sheets storage (free tier)
- An SMTP-capable email account for sending notifications (your existing business email works)
- No paid API calls required, qualification is rule-based logic, not an AI call
What you configure
This kit ships generic by design. Before going live, you (or Radiance, if you buy installation) edit:
- Qualification rules (what counts as a good lead for your business)
- Google Sheet destination and column layout
- Acknowledgement and owner-notification email copy
- Required form fields and validation rules
- Owner notification address(es)
Demo vs. production: the honest version
The workflow, the validation logic, and the documentation are real and tested: structurally validated against n8n's own node schemas, and the qualification/validation logic has a runnable test (test/run-logic-test.cjs) that checks seven realistic sample leads against expected outcomes. All seven pass.
What hasn't happened yet: it hasn't processed a real paying client's live traffic, and it ships with placeholder credentials and example qualification rules that you must replace (see the configuration checklist) before it's actually yours. Treat it as a proven reference implementation, not a finished, branded product, same honesty standard as every other Radiance Impact work sample.
Get the kit, or have it installed
Want to self-install? Request the kit and we'll send the full package. Want it installed, configured against your actual stack, and extended with appointment reminders, review-request automation, or reporting? That's the Speed-to-Lead / Full Automation Stack service tiers on the Technology page, or pair it with the Quotation Follow-Up and Customer Review & Reputation Follow-Up kits for the full lead-to-close-to-reputation system.