Restflow.io

## Introduction

For sales teams, one perennial challenge is reducing no-shows for product demos or introductory calls. Automated SMS reminders are an effective way to boost attendance rates by providing timely, personal nudges. They help keep prospects engaged without manual intervention. However, building an automated SMS reminder system that integrates with your existing CRM or calendar tools can feel daunting.

This article walks you through how to build a robust, scalable automation workflow using n8n that automatically sends SMS reminders for scheduled demos. By the end, you’ll have a fully functional system integrating your CRM or calendar, capable of delivering personalized SMS reminders ahead of demo calls.

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## What Problem Does This Solve and Who Benefits?

**Problem:** Manual follow-ups and reminders are time-consuming and error-prone. Missed demos waste valuable sales resources.

**Solution:** Use n8n to automate SMS reminders triggered by demo scheduling events. SMS is chosen for its high open and response rates compared to email.

**Beneficiaries:**
– Sales representatives who save time and reduce no-show rates
– Sales operations teams who gain reliable tracking and reporting
– Prospects/customers who receive timely reminders and clear instructions

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## Tools and Services Integrated

– **n8n:** Open-source workflow automation tool to build the entire pipeline
– **Google Calendar / CRM (e.g., HubSpot or Salesforce):** Source of scheduled demo events
– **Twilio:** SMS provider to send messages
– **Google Sheets (optional):** For logging sent reminders and tracking status
– **Slack (optional):** For notifying sales reps of upcoming demos or issues

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## Overview of the Workflow

1. **Trigger:** Detect a new demo event in your calendar or CRM with a scheduled datetime
2. **Wait / Schedule:** Calculate the reminder time, e.g., 24 hours and/or 1 hour before the demo
3. **Send SMS:** Use Twilio to send a reminder SMS to the prospect’s phone number
4. **Log / Notify:** Record the reminder in Google Sheets and send internal notifications via Slack

This approach can be triggered immediately after a demo is scheduled or periodically query upcoming demos, depending on your source tools’ capabilities.

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## Step-By-Step Technical Tutorial

### Prerequisites
– An n8n instance set up (cloud or self-hosted)
– Twilio account with SMS enabled and phone number purchased
– Access to your CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce) or Google Calendar
– Optional: Google account with Google Sheets and Slack workspace with webhook

### Step 1: Configure the Trigger Node

#### Option A: Using the CRM’s Webhook
– Use the CRM’s webhook feature to notify n8n when a new demo is created or updated
– In n8n, create a **Webhook** node to receive incoming demo scheduling data
– Example payload should include prospect’s name, phone number, demo date-time

#### Option B: Polling Google Calendar
– Use n8n’s **Google Calendar Trigger** node to poll for new calendar events with a specific tag or calendar dedicated to demos

**Tips:**
– Ensure timezone consistency by normalizing all datetime fields in UTC

### Step 2: Extract and Transform Data

– Add a **Set** or **Function** node to parse prospective client info: name, phone, demo datetime
– Validate phone number format for Twilio compatibility (`E.164` format, e.g., +14155552671)
– Compute reminder times; for example, 24 hours before the demo:
“`javascript
const demoDate = new Date(items[0].json.demoDateTime);
const reminderDate = new Date(demoDate.getTime() – 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000);
return [{ json: { …items[0].json, reminderDate } }];
“`

### Step 3: Schedule the Reminder

– Use n8n’s **Wait** node or the new **Delay Until** functionality to pause the workflow until the reminderDate
– Alternatively, design the workflow to run periodically and query for demos happening soon, sending reminders immediately for any within the target window

### Step 4: Send SMS via Twilio

– Add a **Twilio** node:
– Select **’Send SMS’** operation
– Set **From** phone number (your Twilio number)
– Set **To** as the prospect’s phone number
– Compose the message using variables:

“`
Hi {{ $json.name }}, this is a reminder for your product demo scheduled at {{ $json.demoDateTime }}. Looking forward to speaking with you!
“`

– Test the node to confirm SMS delivery

### Step 5: Log or Notify

#### Logging in Google Sheets
– Add a **Google Sheets** node to append a row logging:
– Prospect name
– Phone number
– Demo datetime
– Reminder sent timestamp

#### Slack Notification (Optional)
– Add a **Slack** node to send a channel message or direct message to the sales rep
– Message example:

“SMS reminder sent to {{ $json.name }} for demo at {{ $json.demoDateTime }}”

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## Common Errors and How to Fix Them

– **Invalid phone number format:** Ensure E.164 format; use a function node to sanitize numbers
– **Timezone mismatches:** Normalize all datetime stamps to UTC; display in local timezone only in messages
– **Twilio limits / errors:** Monitor Twilio account limits and error responses; implement retries with exponential backoff
– **Webhook timeouts:** Ensure webhook responses return quickly to prevent retries
– **Permission issues:** Ensure n8n OAuth credentials for Google or Slack have proper scopes

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## Scaling and Adaptations

– **Multi-channel reminders:** Add email or Slack reminders alongside SMS
– **Multiple reminders:** Set up additional wait nodes to send reminders 24 hours, 1 hour, and 15 minutes before
– **Personalization:** Pull additional CRM data to customize messages
– **Reporting dashboards:** Feed logs into BI tools for conversion analysis
– **Load handling:** Use n8n’s queue or concurrency controls when scaling to thousands of reminders

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## Summary

Automating SMS reminders for product demos using n8n drastically reduces manual work and demo no-shows. By hooking into your CRM or calendar, scheduling reminder timings, and leveraging Twilio’s reliable SMS delivery, your sales team stays informed and engaged effortlessly.

This workflow is adaptable and extensible, allowing you to integrate additional communication channels and monitoring tools as your operations evolve.

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## Bonus Tip: Testing and Monitoring

Before deploying to production, test each node individually with sample data. Use n8n’s execution logs to troubleshoot failures. Enable error workflows or Slack alerts for failures in sending SMS to catch and fix issues quickly.

Set up usage monitoring in Twilio to keep costs under control and avoid unexpected charges. Consider adding a suppression list to avoid sending reminders to opted-out contacts, complying with SMS regulations.

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By following this guide, your sales team will enjoy a seamless, automated reminder system that ensures your demos are not just scheduled but actually attended.