How to Automate Sending Pricing PDF After Form Submission with n8n

Automation in sales workflows is pivotal for increasing efficiency and enhancing customer experience. 🤖 One common requirement is to automatically send a pricing PDF to prospects immediately after they submit a form on your website. Using n8n, an open-source workflow automation tool, this process becomes seamless and fully customizable. In this article, you’ll learn a practical, step-by-step guide on how to automate sending pricing PDFs after form submission with n8n, tailored specifically for the sales department.

We’ll cover the entire workflow from the trigger event (form submission) to generating and sending the pricing PDF via email, integrating popular services like Gmail, Google Sheets, and HubSpot. Whether you’re a startup CTO, an automation engineer, or an operations specialist, you’ll gain actionable insights and technical details to implement this automation effectively.

Why Automate Sending Pricing PDFs? The Problem and Benefit

Sales teams often handle numerous leads daily, manually responding to pricing inquiries. This manual process leads to delayed replies, inconsistent follow-up, and lost opportunities. Automating the delivery of pricing PDFs post form submission addresses these issues by:

• Instantly responding to prospects 24/7
• Reducing manual workload and human error
• Improving customer experience through instant, personalized communication
• Capturing detailed lead information for sales qualification

With an automated workflow, sales reps can focus on high-value interactions while nurturing happens automatically.

Tools and Services Integrated in This Workflow

This automation uses n8n for orchestrating the workflow, integrating these services:

• Google Forms + Google Sheets: Collect and store lead data from form submissions.
• Gmail: Send pricing PDFs via personalized emails.
• HubSpot CRM: Optional – to log leads and interactions automatically.
• Slack: Optional – notify sales team about new submissions.

This combination ensures you capture, process, and act on leads efficiently.

Overview of the Automation Workflow

The workflow from end to end works as follows:

1. Trigger: New form submission on Google Forms triggers the workflow via webhook or polling.
2. Data Capture: Submitted data is stored or retrieved from Google Sheets.
3. Data Transformation: Validate and map fields for personalized communication.
4. Send Email: Use Gmail node to send pricing PDF attached email to the prospect.
5. CRM and Notifications: Optionally create lead in HubSpot and notify via Slack.
6. Logging and Error Handling: Log successes/failures and retry on errors.

Building the Automation in n8n: Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Set Up the Trigger with Google Forms Submission

While Google Forms doesn’t natively support webhooks, you can connect it through Google Sheets. Configure a Google Form to save responses in a Google Sheet. In n8n, use the “Google Sheets Trigger” node or a polling setup to watch for new rows:

• Node: Google Sheets Trigger
• Credentials: Link Google account with correct scopes (read-only access to your spreadsheet)
• Action: Watch new rows added
• Sheet ID: Use the ID of the spreadsheet storing form responses
• Worksheet Name: The tab where form responses are saved (usually ‘Form Responses 1’)

This node listens for new submissions and fires the workflow.

Step 2: Retrieve Relevant Lead Data for Personalization

The data from Google Sheets includes prospect name, email, and other responses. Map these fields using the Expression Editor in n8n, for example:

• {{ $json[“Email Address”] }} for email
• {{ $json[“Full Name”] }} for name
• {{ $json[“Company”] }} if available

Step 3: Attach the Pricing PDF

Store your pricing PDF in a publicly accessible place (e.g., Google Drive, AWS S3, or as static binary data in n8n). For better manageability:

• Upload the PDF to Google Drive and set sharing permissions to anyone with the link.
• Alternatively, use the ‘Read Binary File’ node in n8n if running locally or on a server with file access.

Use the ‘Set’ node to configure email content and attach the PDF as a binary property. For example, if using ‘Read Binary File’ node:

• Property: data (this property name is important for Gmail node to detect attachments)

Step 4: Configure Gmail Node to Send Email

Use the Gmail node to send a personalized email with the pricing PDF attached.

• Set Resource: Message
• Set Operation: Send
• Set To: {{ $json[“Email Address”] }}
• Subject and Body: Personalize with expressions, e.g., “Hello {{ $json[“Full Name”] }}, here is your pricing info.”
• Attach the PDF binary property as file attachment

Example Expression for email body:

Hello {{ $json["Full Name"] }},

Thank you for your interest. Please find attached the pricing details as requested.

Best regards,
Sales Team

Step 5 (Optional): Create/Update Lead in HubSpot CRM

Adding leads to your CRM helps track engagement. Use the HubSpot node as follows:

• Operation: Create or update contact
• Map email, name, company fields to HubSpot contact properties
• Ensure you use OAuth credentials with appropriate scopes for CRM access

Step 6 (Optional): Notify Sales Team on Slack

Stay informed by sending Slack notifications when a new lead submits the form.

• Use ‘Slack’ node
• Set channel, e.g., #sales-leads
• Message: “New lead from {{ $json[“Full Name”] }} – {{ $json[“Email Address”] }}”

Step 7: Monitoring, Error Handling, and Retries

• Error Handling: Use ‘Error Workflow’ in n8n to catch failed Gmail sends or API issues.
• Retries: Enable exponential backoff retries on transient errors like rate-limits.
• Logging: Log successful submissions and failures to a Google Sheet or external logging service for audit.

Setting up alerts (e.g., email or Slack) upon repeated failures ensures quick resolution.

Step 8: Performance and Scalability Tips

• Webhooks vs Polling: If possible, use webhook triggers for lower latency and better scale; Google Forms workaround with Sheets may require polling.
• Concurrency: Adjust workflow concurrency to handle peak loads without overwhelming Gmail (watch Gmail sending limits).
• Deduplication: Prevent duplicate emails by storing processed submission IDs in a database or sheet and checking before sending.
• Modularization: Break workflow into reusable sub-workflows for easier maintenance and versioning.

To discover pre-built automation workflows that can accelerate your setup, consider exploring this resource: Explore the Automation Template Marketplace.

Step 9: Security and Compliance Considerations

• Restrict API credentials with least privilege, e.g., limit OAuth scopes only to necessary Gmail and Google Sheets permissions.
• Encrypt sensitive data in transit and at rest where possible.
• Ensure compliance with data protection regulations (GDPR, CCPA) when handling personal lead data.
• Log minimal PII and remove logs periodically.

Comparing Popular Automation Platforms for This Workflow

Platform	Cost	Pros	Cons
n8n	Free (self-hosted), Paid Cloud ($20+/mo)	Highly customizable, code-free/low-code, open source, supports complex workflows	Requires setup and hosting knowledge if self-hosted
Make (formerly Integromat)	Starts free (up to 1,000 ops), paid plans from $9/month	Visual interface, many app modules, easy to use for beginners	Pricing scales steeply, limited control over complex logic
Zapier	Free tier (100 tasks/month), paid from $19.99/mo	Extensive app integrations, easy one-step triggers, no hosting needed	Limited multi-step workflow complexity and control

Webhooks vs Polling Trigger Methods 🕒

Trigger Type	Performance	Pros	Cons
Webhook	Immediate	Real-time, reduces API calls, scales well	Requires service support and setup complexity
Polling	Delayed by polling interval	Easier to implement universally	Increases API calls, possible rate limiting, latency

Depending on your form tool and API support, polling Google Sheets might be the simplest integration for Google Forms.

You can also create your free RestFlow account to test webhook workflows and explore templates.

Google Sheets vs Database Storage for Lead Info

Storage Option	Cost	Pros	Cons
Google Sheets	Free (with Google account)	Simple setup, integrates natively with Google Forms & Sheets Trigger	Potential performance issues at scale, limited query capabilities
Database (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL)	Varies (hosting and licensing)	Scalable, supports complex queries, better data integrity and security	Requires technical setup and maintenance, learning curve

Testing and Monitoring Your Workflow

Ensure your automation works without hiccups by:

• Testing with sandbox or test form data
• Monitoring n8n’s run history to observe success/failure
• Setting up alerts on error workflows (via Slack or Email)
• Conducting periodic reviews to handle API changes or deprecated nodes

A well-monitored workflow maintains system health and protects your sales funnel reliability.

Common Errors and Troubleshooting Tips

• Authentication failures: Re-check OAuth tokens if Gmail or Google APIs reject requests.
• Rate limiting by Gmail: Respect sending quotas, space out emails or use retry logic.
• Invalid email or missing fields: Add validation nodes before sending to prevent failures.
• Attachment errors: Ensure PDF is accessible and binary attached correctly with the right property name.

Documenting your workflow and error handling improves maintainability and troubleshooting.

Conclusion: Empower Your Sales Team With Automation

Automating sending of pricing PDFs after form submissions saves time, reduces errors, and creates a more responsive sales process. Using n8n combined with tools like Gmail, Google Sheets, and HubSpot provides a flexible, scalable solution for startups and growing teams. Follow the detailed steps in this guide to build, test, and monitor your own automation workflow, and customize it to your organizational needs.

Embrace automation today to accelerate your sales cycle and improve lead engagement.