## Introduction
In sales-driven organizations, timely follow-up after product demos is critical to closing deals and maintaining strong customer relationships. However, manual tracking and task creation often lead to missed opportunities, inconsistent follow-ups, and productivity bottlenecks for sales teams. Automating the creation of follow-up tasks right after demos can significantly improve sales efficiency and pipeline velocity.
This article provides a detailed, step-by-step tutorial to build an automation workflow using n8n that generates follow-up tasks automatically after each sales demo. We will integrate popular tools like Google Calendar (to detect demo events), Google Sheets (to store demo metadata and task status), and task management platforms such as Trello or Asana to create actionable follow-up tasks.
The target audience includes startup CTOs, automation engineers, and sales operations specialists seeking to streamline sales workflows using low-code automation tools.
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## Use Case and Problem Statement
**Problem:** Sales representatives conduct multiple demos weekly, but follow-up tasks are manually created or sometimes overlooked, leading to slow response times and lost deals.
**Solution:** An automated system that detects when a sales demo ends (via calendar events), extracts relevant details, logs this information, and instantly creates follow-up tasks in the team’s project management tool. This ensures consistent post-demo actions while freeing reps to focus on selling.
**Who benefits:**
– Sales representatives: have clear, timely follow-up tasks assigned.
– Sales managers: gain visibility into demo outcomes and task completion.
– Operations specialists: reduce manual workload and errors in follow-up process.
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## Tools & Services Integrated
– **n8n:** Open-source workflow automation tool to orchestrate the automation.
– **Google Calendar:** Triggers the workflow when a sales demo event ends.
– **Google Sheets:** Acts as a lightweight CRM/log to record demo details and track follow-ups.
– **Trello or Asana:** Task management platform where follow-up tasks are created.
– **Optional:** Slack or Email notifications when tasks are created.
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## Workflow Overview
1. **Trigger:** Detect when a sales demo event ends in Google Calendar.
2. **Extract Details:** Capture event metadata – client name, email, date/time, demo notes.
3. **Log Event:** Insert a new row in Google Sheets capturing the demo details and task status.
4. **Create Follow-Up Task:** Automatically create a task in Trello or Asana linked to the demo.
5. **Notify Sales Rep:** Optionally send a Slack message or email notification confirming task creation.
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## Step-by-Step Technical Tutorial
### Prerequisites
– Google account with Calendar and Sheets access.
– Trello or Asana account with API access.
– n8n instance (cloud or self-hosted).
### Step 1: Setup Google Calendar Event for Sales Demos
Ensure all sales demo events are tagged consistently in your Google Calendar (e.g., calendar name “Sales Demos” or event keyword “Demo”). This uniform tagging allows the workflow trigger to accurately identify demo events.
### Step 2: Create a Google Sheet to Log Demos and Task Status
Structure the sheet with columns:
– Demo ID (unique identifier)
– Client Name
– Client Email
– Demo Date/Time
– Demo Notes
– Follow-Up Task ID
– Task Status
This sheet acts as a backend database to prevent duplicate tasks and monitor progress.
### Step 3: Configure n8n Trigger Node (Google Calendar Trigger)
– Use the **Google Calendar Trigger** node in n8n.
– Authenticate with your Google account.
– Configure it to trigger on updated or ended events in your “Sales Demos” calendar.
– Filter events where the title or description contains “Demo” (or your chosen keyword).
### Step 4: Extract and Transform Event Details
– Use a **Set** or **Function** node to extract client name, email, and notes from the event summary or description.
– If your event description follows a set format (e.g., “Client: XYZ, Email: client@example.com”), parse these fields using JavaScript in a Function node.
Example JavaScript snippet:
“`javascript
const description = $input.item.json.description || “”;
const clientMatch = description.match(/Client:\s*([^,\n]+)/i);
const emailMatch = description.match(/Email:\s*(\S+)/i);
return [{
clientName: clientMatch ? clientMatch[1].trim() : “Unknown”,
clientEmail: emailMatch ? emailMatch[1].trim() : “”,
demoNotes: description
}];
“`
### Step 5: Check for Existing Demo in Google Sheets
– Add a **Google Sheets node** configured to search the sheet for the demo ID or client email + demo date.
– If the demo exists, halt the workflow to prevent duplicate tasks.
### Step 6: Append New Demo Record to Google Sheets
– If no existing record is found, append a new row with the extracted demo details and mark the follow-up task as “Pending.”
### Step 7: Create Follow-Up Task in Trello or Asana
– Use the respective API node in n8n (Trello or Asana).
– Map fields: task name could be “Follow-up with [Client Name] after demo on [Date]”.
– Include the client email and demo notes in task description.
– Assign the task to the relevant sales rep.
### Step 8: Update Google Sheets with Task ID and Status
– After task creation succeeds, update the Google Sheet row to add the task ID and change status to “Created.”
### Step 9: Optional – Notify Sales Rep via Slack or Email
– Use Slack node or Email node in n8n to send notification with task details and link.
### Step 10: Error Handling and Robustness
– Add error workflows or catch nodes:
– Retry Google API calls on failure.
– Notify admins if task creation fails.
– Validate extracted fields; ensure client email is properly formatted before task creation.
– Use unique Demo IDs (e.g., calendar event IDs) to avoid duplicates.
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## Common Errors and Tips
– **Duplicate Tasks:** Ensure the workflow checks Google Sheets for existing demo records before creating tasks.
– **API Rate Limits:** Space out calendar checks or task creations; implement retries with exponential backoff.
– **Parsing Failures:** Standardize event description formats for reliable data extraction.
– **Access Permissions:** Ensure n8n credentials have read/write access to Calendar, Sheets, and task tools.
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## Scaling and Adaptation
– **Multi-rep Support:** Modify the workflow to assign tasks based on the meeting organizer or a custom calendar field.
– **Multiple Task Management Systems:** Add branching logic to create tasks in different tools based on client or region.
– **Enhanced CRM Integration:** Replace Google Sheets with a CRM system (HubSpot, Salesforce) for richer data handling.
– **Advanced Data Extraction:** Use NLP or more complex parsing if demo details are recorded in notes or voice-to-text.
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## Summary
This tutorial demonstrated how to automate the generation of follow-up tasks after sales demos using n8n and common business tools. By integrating Google Calendar, Google Sheets, and task management platforms, sales teams can ensure every demo results in actionable next steps without manual intervention.
The key benefits are improved follow-up discipline, reduced manual work, and enhanced visibility into the post-demo pipeline.
### Bonus Tip: Use n8n’s Scheduling Capability
If relying solely on calendar event updates is insufficient or too event-driven, consider complementing this workflow with a scheduled n8n job that runs daily, checks demos completed in the last 24 hours, and creates missing follow-up tasks. This redundant check can serve as safety net ensuring no demo slips through.
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Implement this workflow and iteratively enhance it to tailor your sales process automation, driving higher conversion and customer satisfaction.