## Introduction
HubSpot’s follow-up reminders are a crucial feature for sales and support teams to maintain timely engagement with leads and customers. However, HubSpot’s pricing for these premium features can be expensive for startups and small teams. Automating follow-up tasks using open-source tools like N8N not only reduces costs but also offers greater flexibility to customize workflows.
In this guide, we will show you how to build an automation workflow in N8N that replaces HubSpot’s follow-up reminders by creating scheduled follow-up tasks in Trello and Google Tasks. This workflow benefits sales teams, customer success managers, and operations specialists by ensuring no lead or customer engagement falls through the cracks—without additional software costs.
—
## Use Case and Problem Statement
Teams often rely on CRM tools like HubSpot to set reminders for following up with contacts. Missing timely follow-ups can lead to lost sales opportunities or poor customer satisfaction. HubSpot bundles this feature in paid tiers that might not fit early-stage startups’ budgets.
This automation solves the problem of managing follow-up reminders externally and cost-effectively by leveraging:
– Trello: for task management and collaborative tracking
– Google Tasks: for personal task reminders synced with Google Calendar/Inbox
– N8N: an extensible, open-source workflow automation tool
By automating the creation of follow-up tasks in these tools triggered by new CRM entries or status changes, you can maintain prompt engagement without HubSpot’s follow-up feature.
—
## Tools and Services Integrated
1. **N8N** – The automation platform to build and orchestrate workflows.
2. **Trello** – A visual project management tool for collaborative task tracking.
3. **Google Tasks** – Personal task and reminder service integrated with Google Calendar.
4. **HubSpot (optional)** – Source of contact or deal events triggering follow-ups (can be replaced with any CRM or data source).
—
## Workflow Overview
The workflow triggers when a new contact or deal requiring follow-up is created or updated in HubSpot (or any data source). N8N then:
1. Parses the contact data to identify the follow-up requirements.
2. Creates a card in Trello on a designated follow-up board/list.
3. Creates a task in Google Tasks for personal tracking.
4. Optionally sends a Slack notification to alert the sales or support team.
This setup promotes accountability at both personal and team levels.
—
## Step-by-Step Technical Tutorial
### Prerequisites
– N8N instance running (self-hosted or cloud).
– Trello account with an API key and token.
– Google account with enabled Google Tasks API and OAuth credentials for N8N.
– Optional: HubSpot API access or alternate trigger source.
### Step 1: Set Up Your Trigger Node
If using HubSpot:
– Use the **HubSpot Trigger** node configured to watch for new deals or contact property changes.
Alternatively:
– Use HTTP Webhook or Polling nodes if integrating with other data sources.
Example:
– Configure the trigger to fire when a deal stage changes to “Needs Follow-up”.
### Step 2: Parse and Prepare Data
Use the **Set** or **Function** node to extract important fields such as:
– Contact name
– Email
– Follow-up due date
– Notes or next steps
Make sure to form a consistent data object that downstream nodes can consume.
### Step 3: Create Trello Follow-up Card
Add a **Trello** node configured with your API credentials.
– Select “Create Card” action.
– Specify Board ID and List ID representing your follow-up task board and list.
– Set the card name to something informative, e.g., “Follow-up with {{contact_name}}”.
– In the card description, include important details such as contact email, next steps, and due date.
– Set the due date field using the parsed follow-up date.
Tips:
– Use labels or members assignment for priority or accountability.
### Step 4: Create Google Task
Add the **Google Tasks** node:
– Authenticate via OAuth2 (configure credentials beforehand in N8N).
– Select the appropriate task list (e.g., “Personal” or “Sales Follow-ups”).
– Create a new task with the same title and note information.
– Set the due date.
### Step 5 (Optional): Send Slack Notification
Add a **Slack** node to notify the responsible team or channel:
– Set a message template with follow-up details and links to Trello card or contact.
### Step 6: Error Handling and Retries
– Configure error workflow or use the **Error Workflow** feature in N8N to capture any failures.
– Use retries with backoff on Trello or Google API calls to handle transient API issues.
### Step 7: Test the Workflow
– Create a sample HubSpot deal/contact that triggers the workflow.
– Confirm Trello card and Google Task creation.
– Validate that due dates and details are accurate.
### Step 8: Deploy and Monitor
– Activate the workflow in N8N.
– Monitor executions initially to ensure stability.
– Optimize node settings or add logging as needed.
—
## Common Pitfalls and Tips
– **Authentication:** Ensure API credentials are up to date and have sufficient permissions.
– **Date Formatting:** Trello and Google Tasks require ISO 8601 date format; convert dates appropriately in the Function node.
– **Rate Limits:** Be aware of API rate limits especially if automating follow-ups for large teams or many contacts.
– **Duplicate Tasks:** Add logic to check for existing tasks/cards for a contact to prevent duplicates.
– **Timezone Handling:** Normalize dates/times to avoid confusion on follow-up scheduling.
—
## How to Adapt and Scale This Workflow
– **Additional CRMs:** Replace HubSpot trigger with triggers for Salesforce, Pipedrive, or Airtable.
– **Multiple Task Boards:** Route follow-ups to different Trello boards or task lists based on region, product line, or priority.
– **Conditional Logic:** Use IF nodes to customize follow-up tasks for different contact segments.
– **Integration with Calendars:** Extend workflow to create calendar events for follow-ups.
– **Batch Processing:** Handle bulk imports of contacts needing follow-ups.
– **Analytics:** Add nodes to log workflow runs or export follow-up metrics.
—
## Summary
By leveraging N8N to automate follow-up reminders into Trello and Google Tasks, startups can eliminate the cost of HubSpot’s paid reminder features while gaining full control over task management. This customized, scalable workflow ensures consistent engagement without vendor lock-in.
Bonus Tip: Incorporate Slack or email notifications within the same workflow to instantly alert your team of new follow-up tasks—boosting visibility and response times.
Building your own automation with N8N opens numerous possibilities for extending CRM capabilities tailored to your team’s needs—all while saving on subscription fees.