## Introduction
In fast-paced sales environments, delivering pricing information promptly to prospects after they fill out a form is critical for maintaining engagement and increasing conversion rates. Manually sending pricing PDFs after each form submission is time-consuming and prone to errors. Automating this process benefits sales teams by accelerating follow-ups, ensuring consistency, and freeing up time for high-value tasks like closing deals.
This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to build an automation workflow using n8n, an open-source workflow automation tool, to send pricing PDF documents automatically when a lead submits a form. We will cover integration with common form providers (like Typeform or Google Forms), attaching the correct pricing PDF based on user selections or predefined logic, and emailing it directly to the prospect. This solution is scalable and can be adapted to various sales scenarios.
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## Tools and Services Integrated
– **n8n:** Workflow automation platform.
– **Form service:** e.g., Typeform or Google Forms to collect user input.
– **Email provider:** SMTP server or email API service (e.g., Gmail, SendGrid, Mailgun) to send emails.
– **Cloud storage:** Optional, e.g., Google Drive or AWS S3 to host pricing PDFs.
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## Problem Statement and Beneficiaries
**Problem:** Sales teams need to send customized pricing PDFs to prospects immediately after form submissions without manual intervention.
**Who benefits:** Sales representatives, sales operations teams, and potential customers—all benefit from faster, error-free follow-ups.
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## Step-by-Step Technical Tutorial: Automating Pricing PDF Delivery with n8n
### Prerequisites
– An active n8n instance (self-hosted or n8n.cloud).
– Access to your form service (Typeform or Google Forms).
– Pricing PDFs ready and stored in a location accessible to n8n (local, cloud storage, or embedded in workflow).
– SMTP credentials or API keys for your email service.
### Step 1: Capture Form Submission
**Trigger Node:**
– Use the **Webhook** node or a native form integration node.
– For example, if using Typeform, use the **Typeform Trigger** node.
– If Google Forms is used, either connect Google Sheets to n8n to watch form responses or use the **Webhook** node to capture data via Google Apps Script.
**Details:**
– Configure this node to listen for new form submissions.
– Map form fields such as prospect name, email, and any selection criteria that determine which pricing PDF to send.
*Example:* For Typeform, create a form with fields: `Full Name`, `Email Address`, and `Interest Level/Product Type`.
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### Step 2: Determine Pricing PDF to Send
**If you have multiple pricing PDFs based on form input, you will branch the logic here.**
– Add an **IF** node or **Switch** node.
– Use form responses to split the workflow based on criteria like `Product Type` or `Region`.
– Each path corresponds to one pricing PDF.
*Example:* If the user selects “Product A”, send `pricing_product_a.pdf`.
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### Step 3: Load Pricing PDF
There are multiple strategies for loading the PDF:
– **Embed the PDF as a static file:** Upload PDFs to the n8n instance or accessible file system.
– **Retrieve the PDF from Cloud Storage:** Use nodes like Google Drive or AWS S3 to fetch the PDF dynamically.
**Implementation:**
– If PDFs are stored in Google Drive:
– Use the **Google Drive** node to search and download the right PDF.
– Convert it to base64 if necessary for email attachment.
– If PDFs are stored locally:
– Use the **Read Binary File** node to read the file.
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### Step 4: Send Email with Attachment
**Node:** Email Send Node (SMTP or API based)
– Configure your email credentials in n8n.
– Set the sender address.
– Use the email captured from the form submission as the recipient.
– Add personalization in the email body using variables from the form.
– Attach the PDF binary data to the email.
**Example email template:**
“`
Subject: Your Requested Pricing Details
Hi {{$json[“name”]}},
Thank you for your interest! Please find attached the pricing information for {{$json[“productType”]}}.
Best regards,
Sales Team
“`
– Map the PDF binary data field from Step 3 as an attachment in the node settings.
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### Step 5: Confirmation and Logging (Optional but recommended)
– Add a **Set** node or **Database** node to log each sent email with timestamp and recipient.
– Optionally, send a Slack message or alert to a sales rep notifying a pricing PDF was sent.
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## Example Workflow Breakdown
1. **Trigger (Typeform Trigger):** Listens for form submissions.
2. **IF Node:** Checks product type chosen.
3. **Google Drive Node:** Downloads appropriate PDF.
4. **Binary Data Conversion:** Prepares the PDF for attachment.
5. **Email Node:** Sends PDF to prospect.
6. **Logging Node:** Records the action for auditing or analytics.
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## Common Pitfalls and Tips to Enhance Robustness
– **PDF Access:** Ensure n8n has permissions to access PDFs in cloud storage.
– **Binary Data Handling:** PDFs need to be passed as binary data explicitly in n8n for attachments.
– **Email Limits:** Gmail SMTP has sending limits. Use specialized email services like SendGrid or Mailgun for scale.
– **Error Handling:** Use n8n’s error workflows to catch and alert on failures (e.g., missing PDF, SMTP errors).
– **Form Validation:** Validate emails and required fields at the form level to reduce downstream errors.
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## Scaling and Adaptation
– **Multi-language support:** Add language selection in the form and deliver PDFs accordingly.
– **Dynamic Pricing PDFs:** Integrate document generation services (e.g., PDF Generator API) if you want personalized PDF pricing.
– **CRM Integration:** Insert lead data into CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce) as part of the workflow.
– **Follow-up Automations:** Trigger drip-email campaigns after sending the PDF.
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## Summary and Bonus Tip
Automating the delivery of pricing PDFs after form submissions streamlines your sales workflows, improves response times, and enhances the customer experience. Using n8n, you gain the flexibility to integrate multiple services without complex coding, enabling scalable and maintainable automation.
**Bonus Tip:** To increase engagement, personalize the email by including data from the form and follow-up with a calendar invite link for a sales call scheduled automatically via tools like Calendly integrated through n8n.
By implementing this automation, sales teams can focus on closing deals instead of repetitive administrative tasks.