## Introduction
For sales teams attending trade shows, swiftly following up with leads is crucial to capitalize on momentum and convert prospects into customers. However, manually importing and organizing lead data collected from multiple sources such as mobile apps, spreadsheets, and CRM systems is time-consuming and prone to errors. Automating the import of trade show leads streamlines this process, ensures accuracy, and accelerates sales cycles.
This article provides a detailed, step-by-step technical guide on how to build an automated workflow using n8n — an open-source workflow automation tool — to automatically import trade show leads after an event and funnel them into your CRM and communication channels. By integrating tools such as Google Sheets, Gmail, Slack, and HubSpot (as an example CRM), you will learn how to build a resilient, scalable workflow tailored to sales teams.
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## Problem Statement and Audience
**Problem:** Manually collecting, cleaning, and inputting trade show leads into CRM and follow-up systems is inefficient and error-prone. Delays cause missed opportunities and disjointed sales communication.
**Who benefits:** Sales teams, operations specialists managing data flow, and automation engineers designing sales workflows.
**Goal:** Automate the import of trade show leads immediately post-event, enrich and validate data, and route leads directly into CRM and communication platforms to accelerate follow-up.
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## Tools and Services Integrated
– **n8n:** Core automation platform to orchestrate workflows.
– **Google Sheets:** Source of exported lead data (e.g., CSV upload from lead capture apps).
– **HubSpot CRM:** Destination for enriched lead information.
– **Slack:** Alerts/notifications for incoming leads.
– **Gmail:** Optionally send personalized follow-up emails.
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## Automation Workflow Overview
### Trigger:
– Workflow initiated manually by sales operations (or scheduled after trade show).
### Steps:
1. Read new leads from a Google Sheet (trade show export).
2. Data validation and normalization.
3. Enrich leads (optional – e.g., verify email format, add lead scoring).
4. Check if lead already exists in HubSpot to prevent duplicates.
5. Upsert (create/update) leads in HubSpot CRM.
6. Send notification to Slack sales channel with batch summary.
7. Optionally send a personalized introductory email via Gmail.
### Output:
– Clean, deduplicated trade show leads in HubSpot.
– Notifications to sales teams.
– Ready for immediate outreach.
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## Step-by-Step Technical Tutorial
### Prerequisites:
– Access to an n8n instance (self-hosted or cloud).
– Google account with Sheets containing exported leads.
– HubSpot account with API key.
– Slack workspace and webhook URL or Slack app credentials.
– Gmail account with OAuth setup in n8n.
### Step 1: Setting up the Trigger Node
– Use the **Schedule Trigger** node if you want the workflow to run automatically after the event (e.g., daily at 8 AM).
– Alternatively, use the **Manual Trigger** for on-demand executions.
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### Step 2: Reading Trade Show Leads from Google Sheets
– Add **Google Sheets** node.
– Configure node:
– Operation: Get All Rows
– Spreadsheet ID: Your trade show leads sheet ID
– Sheet Name: Specific tab where leads are stored
– Ensure the lead export format contains consistent columns (e.g., First Name, Last Name, Email, Company, Phone).
– Output: JSON array of lead records.
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### Step 3: Data Validation and Normalization
– Add a **Function** node to iterate over leads.
– For each lead:
– Check for mandatory fields (e.g., Email, First Name).
– Normalize phone numbers (e.g., remove spaces, format international).
– Trim whitespace from text fields.
– Validate email format with a Regex.
– Drop leads missing mandatory fields or invalid emails.
– Example function snippet:
“`javascript
return items.map(item => {
const lead = item.json;
if(!lead.email || !/^\S+@\S+\.\S+$/.test(lead.email.trim())){
// Skip lead
return null;
}
// Normalize phone
if(lead.phone) {
lead.phone = lead.phone.replace(/\s+/g, ”);
}
lead.firstName = lead.firstName.trim();
lead.lastName = lead.lastName.trim();
lead.email = lead.email.trim().toLowerCase();
return {json: lead};
}).filter(item => item !== null);
“`
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### Step 4: Enrich Leads (Optional)
– You can integrate services like Clearbit or Hunter to enrich company data or verify emails.
– Alternatively, add lead scoring rules here (e.g., assign numeric scores based on company size or job title).
– Add another **Function** node or HTTP Request nodes for enrichment APIs.
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### Step 5: Deduplication and Upsert to HubSpot
– Add **HubSpot** node with credentials.
– For each lead:
– Use the “Get Contact by Email” operation to check existence.
– If exists, update contact with new information.
– If not, create a new contact.
– Use the **IF** node to branch logic based on lookup result.
– To make the workflow more efficient:
– Batch leads into groups.
– Use the n8n’s **SplitInBatches** node to process in manageable chunks to avoid API rate limits.
– Respect HubSpot API rate limits to prevent throttling.
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### Step 6: Slack Notification
– Add **Slack** node.
– Configure to send a message to the sales channel summarizing:
– Number of leads imported.
– Any errors encountered.
– Link to HubSpot view with new leads.
– Example message template:
> “🚀 Successfully imported {{ $json[‘leadCount’] }} leads from the trade show. Check HubSpot for details.”
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### Step 7 (Optional): Gmail Follow-up Email
– Add a **Gmail** node to send a templated introductory email to new leads.
– This step is optional but useful for immediate outreach.
– Use dynamic substitution to personalize email with lead data (e.g., first name, company).
– Be mindful of sending limits and avoid spamming.
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## Common Errors and Tips for Robustness
– **API Rate Limits:** HubSpot and Google APIs have limits. Use batch processing and delays where necessary.
– **Authentication Failures:** Ensure OAuth tokens and API keys are valid and refreshed.
– **Data Formatting Issues:** Always validate and sanitize input data to avoid failures.
– **Error Handling:** Add error trigger nodes and notifications to monitor failures.
– **Duplicate Leads:** Use HubSpot’s search API to avoid duplicate entries.
– **Security:** Secure API credentials and restrict access to the n8n instance.
– **Scalability:** Use triggers like webhooks for real-time lead capture or queue-based processing for large data sets.
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## Adaptation and Scaling
– To scale beyond Google Sheets, connect directly to lead capture platforms used at trade shows (e.g., Lead Retrieval apps with APIs).
– Add advanced enrichment tools to improve lead quality.
– Integrate with analytics platforms to track lead conversion rates.
– Deploy workflows to cloud-hosted n8n with high availability for uninterrupted service.
– Implement logging and dashboards for end-to-end visibility.
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## Summary
Automating the import of trade show leads using n8n empowers sales teams to rapidly transition from prospecting to engagement, reducing manual errors and delays. By integrating Google Sheets exports, HubSpot CRM, Slack notifications, and optional Gmail outreach, this workflow centralizes lead management and accelerates sales velocity.
Remember to validate and normalize data, handle API limits gracefully, and continuously monitor for errors to maintain reliability. With scalability in mind, you can adapt this workflow to incorporate additional services and real-time lead ingestion.
**Bonus Tip:**
Implement a webhook trigger connected to your trade show lead capture app (if available) to eliminate the manual step of exporting and uploading sheets. This real-time ingestion further reduces lag and increases the chances of lead conversion.
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This guide arms you with the practical know-how to implement a robust, production-ready automated lead import pipeline that delivers measurable sales team impact.