How to Create an Automated Workflow to Manage New Client Inquiries with Gravity Flow and Zapier

The best days start with an inbox full of new client inquiries, don’t they? You feel like the world is your oyster, chock full of opportunity, assured that all the work you’ve done making a name for yourself is finally paying off.

How you handle inquiries says a lot about how you operate as a business. Do it well and you’ll make a professional first impression and convert that new lead into a client. Do it wrong and you might have to go back to your old day job. We don’t want that.

One way to get organized so you can impress your client is by designing a workflow to manage your work. Workflows can help you produce consistently high-quality outcomes and once they’re automated, they can save you time. Perfect if you’re wearing more hats than a coat rack.

In this post, I’m going to teach you how to create a workflow for processing new inquiries that are submitted through a contact form on your site. We’ll be using Gravity Flow, a Gravity Forms extension, to manage our workflow in WordPress.

As an added bonus, I’ll teach you how to build Zapier into your workflow so you can automate the process of moving data from place to place. By the end of this post, you’ll have an editable spreadsheet with all of your leads and an organized sales pipeline.

Designing a Workflow

Workflows are complicated. Workflow management software makes managing workflows simple and gives you the ability to automate your workflows. My favorite workflow tool is Gravity Flow because you don’t need to be a developer or rely on IT to build and manage workflows. It’s also an inexpensive solution because you can run it on your WordPress site.

Gravity Flow has over 40 different steps types to help you coordinate a wide variety of tasks. We will create our entire workflow with just five.

The Step Types We Will Be Using in This Workflow

Approval

The approval step functions like an if statement.

• If the step is approved, then the workflow proceeds one way.
• If the step is rejected, then the workflow proceeds a different way.

You’ll use this step for decision making or to coordinate an approval process between two or more people. If a superior or client or multiple team members have to approve work before you are able to proceed, for example, you would use this step type.

Input

Input steps allow you to modify the original form entry or add data to hidden form fields. You’ll use this step to correct information that has been submitted (verify name spelling and contact info) or enter additional information that you obtain as the workflow unfolds.

The inquiry form has several hidden fields. These fields are not visible on the initial inquiry form because you will obtain this information from the prospect when you speak with them for the first time.

For input steps, you choose which fields can be modified. This will help you protect data from being modified accidentally and allow you to focus on collecting relevant information for the step you’re in.

Zapier

Zapier steps trigger a web hook that will be sent to Zapier.

PDF

The PDF step type allows you to take data from your form and enter it into a field that will be converted into a PDF. You can enter the text for invoices or service agreements and use merge tags to enter the client’s information.

Notification

The notification step triggers an email notification, but this isn’t the only way to send an email with Gravity Flow. Some workflow steps also have notifications that will alert you a task has been assigned to you. The approval step can also generate different notifications based on if you approve or reject the task.

The New Client Inquiries Workflow

In the diagram below, notifications are green, Zapier steps are orange, input steps are blue, and the approval steps are diamonds that show how the workflow proceeds depending on whether the step is approved or rejected.

To create this workflow, you’ll need to install the following plugins and plugin extensions:

• Gravity Forms Pro License + Gravity Forms Zapier Extension
• Gravity Flow License + PDF Generator Extension

Before Creating Your Workflow

Before I show you how to actually create the steps above, there are several “building blocks” we need to create first. These aren’t essential to making your workflow function, so you can leave them out if they’re over your head, but they make your workflow super cool.

The first is an Airtable, like the one below, to help you see all your leads in one place if you want to follow up in the future. This works great when you’re launching a new product. You can look through all your leads for the last few months and call up the ones who might be interested.

Google Sheets is another solution for organizing your leads that is compatible with Zapier. Both will allow you to see all your leads together so you can follow up with them once your workflow is complete.

Manage Your Prospect Inquiries

If a spreadsheet and database got together and had a baby, Airtable would be that baby.

Airtable is amazing because…

• it’s free
• it was designed for regular people
• you can display your data in a variety of formats
• it looks neater and is easier to use than a spreadsheet and
• you don’t need to download any tools to start using it.

If you’d like to download your own copy of the free Airtable embedded above, click on the button.

Get the Free Airtable Template

I love knocking the socks off new clients, so I prepare a custom proposal whenever possible. Instead of a PDF, I create a custom web page for the client, with WordPress.

If you would like to create proposals in WordPress, you’ll need to set up a custom post type for proposal or create a separate WordPress install (to avoid having the proposals appear on your main site). I’ve done it both ways and each method works well.

You can also omit this step if you want to manually create PDFs proposals instead.

Here’s an example proposal template:

You can see the whole sample proposal here. Looks fancy, right? You can automate creating this unique proposal so you can leave a lasting impression with hardly any effort.

All of your users who will be assigned tasks in the workflow must have a user account in WordPress, so be sure those are created.

Building the Workflow

Once we have our workflow design laid out and we have our building blocks ready to put into place, we’re ready to start building the workflow.

Building the Inquiry Form

When building a workflow, you always start with the form. We’re going to use Gravity Forms to create a form for inquiries with the following 11 fields:

For services interested in, enter the services you provide in the checkboxes.

For how did you find me, enter the various marketing channels you use, such as social media, blog, Google, etc. Be sure to leave a space for other.

Prospects who fill out the form, will only see 6 of these fields.

Creating the Zaps

Create your zaps before the workflow, it’s less confusing and you don’t have to stop as you’re building the workflow and well, interrupt your flow.

All the zaps start with the same trigger so the first part is the same for all three. For trigger, select Gravity Forms (notice I said forms, not flow), then select New Form Submission.

Copy the webhook to your clipboard and go to the Zapier settings in your form.

Push the Add New button to create a new feed. Every time you create a new zap, you’ll add a new feed. Once you push the Add New button, you’ll see this screen below.

Use the same name for your Zapier feed in Gravity Flow that you use to name your Zap in Zapier to stay organized. Then paste in your webhook URL and push the Update Zapier Feed button.

Go back to Zapier and continue by testing the step. Zapier will notify you that your zap needs an action step. Here’s where each zap will be different.

Start by setting up the Airtable zap. Then go through all the steps above to set up the Gravity Form trigger again and create a new feed for the proposal action. Then you’ll go through the steps above one last time to create the action that generates the invoice.

Open the dropdowns below to see how to set up each action in detail.

Send Data to Leads Spreadsheet

To set up Airtable, select it from the apps, then choose the create record radio button and push the continue button.

Push the connect an account button and a box will open that will ask you to sign in to Airtable.

You’ll map your fields like so:

Then you’ll push continue, test your zap, name it and activate it.

Generate Proposal

To set up Airtable, select it from the apps, then choose the create post radio button and push the continue button.

Push the connect an account button and a box will open that will ask you for your WordPress site URL and login.

Set up your WordPress post like this:

• Post Type: Select post if you’re using a different WordPress install for your proposals or the custom post type if you created a custom post type for your main site.
• Title: Use the client name or project name merge tags
• Content: Use the HTML code that you used for the body of your proposal. You can use merge tags in this field to customize the text.
• Status: Draft or Published if you don’t want to have a chance to modify it before publishing.
• Comment Status: Closed
• Sticky: No
• Tags: Select services interest in

Author, Excerpt, Post Date, Post Format, Post Name and Category can all be left blank

Then you’ll push continue, test your zap, name it and activate it.

Generate Invoice

For Freshbooks, we’ll use the Freshbooks New app. This needs to be a two step zap because we need to create the client and then create the invoice.

Connect your account like you did with the other two zaps.

For the select Freshbooks new action step, select the create client radio button.

Then select your Freshbooks account. Map the email, phone number and first and last name to the proper fields in Freshbooks.

Then you’ll push continue, test the step and add another action.

Select Freshbooks New again, only this time for the select Freshbooks new action step, select the create invoice radio button. Select the account you connected in the previous step.

To set up the Freshbooks New Invoice, for client select Use a Custom Value and populate it by using the client ID merge tag you created in the previous step.

Then you’ll push continue, test your zap, name it and activate it.

Note, you’ll need a premium Zapier account to create a zap with 3 or more steps.

Personally, I only use the zap to create the client, since there isn’t fields in this sample form for the different invoice lines, you’re still going to have to go into Freshbooks to create that anyway.

Creating the Workflow Steps

Open the dropdowns below for detailed information on how to set up each step.

I’ve only included the settings I’ve modified. For the rest of the fields, the default setting is the correct one.

Step Name: Schedule Time to Talk Email

Prospect will receive an automated email from you asking when they are available for a phone call

• Step Type: Notification
• Schedule this step: Delay (choose a random number of minutes so it looks like the email is coming from a real person)
• Workflow notification: Enabled
• Send To: Fields Email
• From Name: Your Business Name
• From Email: Your Email
• BCC: Your Email (so you see the email went out)
• Subject: Let’s Schedule a Time to Talk
• Message: Enter Your Message
• Next Step: Next step in List

Step Name: Send Lead Data to Airtable

Send data to leads Airtable spreadsheet. You can use this to reach out to prospects in the future.

• Step Type: Zapier
• Feeds: Send Lead Data to Airtable
• Next Step: Next step in list

Step Name: Accept Project?

After the client discovery call you decide if the project is a good fit and approve or reject the assignment

• Reject: If you reject the project, the prospect will receive an email declining the project and the workflow will end.
• Expire: If you do not make a decision or do not want to send a rejection email, the workflow will expire if no action is taken after 7 days.
• Accept: If you accept the project, the workflow continues

• Step Type: Approval
• Assign To: Select
• Select Assignees: select the person who will decide whether to accept the project
• Emails:
  • Assignee Email: Go to the Assignee Email tab and tick the box that says Send an email to the assignee. 
    • From Name: Gravity Flow (any name will do)
    • From Email: Your Email
    • Subject: Accept Project?
    • Message: Accept project: {workflow_approve_link}, Send rejection email: {workflow_reject_link}
  • Rejection Email: Go to the Rejection Email tab and tick the box that says Send email when entry is rejected. 
    • Send To: Select
    • Select: Fields Email
    • From Name: Your Name
    • From Email: Your Email
    • Subject: About Your Project
    • Message: Hi {Name (First):1.3}, Thanks for taking the time to talk with me. After further consideration, I’ve come to the conclusion that I will not be able to take on your project.
• Expiration: check schedule expiration box
  • Delay radio button
  • This step will expire 7 days after the workflow has started
  • Status after expiration: Expired
  • Next step if expired: Workflow Complete
• Next Step if Rejected: Workflow Complete
• Next Step if Approved: Next step in list

Step Name: Edit Proposal and Publish

You will be assigned a task prompting you to complete and publish the proposal. When the proposal is complete, you’ll copy the URL and enter it in the form field for the task. When the task is marked complete, the prospect will receive an email with a link to their proposal

• Step Type: User Input
• Assign To: Select
• Select Assignees: select the person who will complete the proposal
• Editable Fields: Select the Proposal URL field
• Emails: Go to the Complete Email tab and tick the box that says Send email when the step is complete. 
  • Send To: Select
  • Select: Fields Email
  • From Name: Your Name
  • From Email: Your Email
  • Subject: Your Project Proposal
  • Message: Your Message (be sure to include the {Proposal URL:00} merge tag in the body of the email)
• Next Step: Next step in list

Workflow Complete

After you complete the final step, your workflow will stop and be complete. You can then start new workflows based on the services you will be providing for the client or you could always build on the existing workflow.

How to Complete Workflow Tasks

What I love about workflows, because I get easily overwhelmed, is the way the workflow manager dispenses tasks one by one. You don’t have to complete everything at once, you get to go task by task, and check things off. This helps me feel like I’m making progress.

Here’s how tasks work in Gravity Flow.

Workflow Inbox

When tasks are assigned to you, they appear in your workflow inbox. If you’re working on more than one inquiry (congrats!) you’ll see each entry listed, but each one will be at a different point in the workflow.

Here is what an input task will look like when you open it. Notice how you can edit the data in the fields?

While you’re on the initial discovery call with the client, you can enter your notes and correct the information they submitted. Then you’ll push the submit button to complete the workflow step and move on to the next.

Assignee Emails

If you forget to check your workflow inbox (it happens), you can create assignee emails that go out when a task is assigned to you. This is one of the options available when you create a step.

Customizing Your Workflow

Every business gets things done differently. Maybe you prefer Google Sheets to Airtable, or you use PayPal instead of Freshbooks. Workflows work best when you tailor them to your unique way of working.

I wrote this introduction to workflows post that will help you get started if you want to design your own workflow. It helps you figure out where to begin. Once you get the hang of it, creating workflows becomes addicting. You start recognizing patterns everywhere.

When you want to start creating workflows for all the things, be careful to not invest too much time in workflows that you will rarely use. Sometimes creating the workflow will take more time than it will save you.

If you receive 10-20 inquiries a year, this workflow may feel like overkill and may not be worth it for you. But the ability to design workflows is a valuable service that you can offer if you design WordPress websites.

When I designed this workflow, it was for a company that processed 900-1200 inquiries a month! The amount of time my workflows saved was incredible and it made it easy for me to negotiate several five-figure raises based on the value my workflows provided. I wish that this workflow will help you find similar success.

Downloads

If you wish to recreate this exact workflow and want to save time so you don’t have to recreate everything from scratch, visit the downloads page to obtain your own copy of the following:

• How to Organize Potential Clients Using Airtable – This is a free template you can import into Airtable. Creating an Airtable account is free also.
• How to Manage Potential New Clients Using Gravity Flow – This is a Gravity Forms import file with all the demo data. It includes all the form fields, email templates and Gravity Flow workflow so you don’t have to build everything from scratch. All you need to do is assign tasks and fill in the placeholder text.