Every team building outbound or inbound automation hits the same wall: a new lead arrives and you want to qualify it, route the hot ones to sales and nurture the rest, all without a human babysitting the inbox. This guide shows how to build that exact workflow in n8n, step by step, and then the one-click way to skip the build entirely with PhewDo.
What you are building
The goal is a workflow that runs the second a lead arrives, enriches it, scores it with AI, and routes it based on that score. Here is the shape of it.
New lead arrivesTrigger
A webhook fires when someone submits a form, books a call or replies on a channel.
Enrich the leadHTTP
Call an enrichment API to attach company, role, headcount and tech stack.
Score with AIOpenAI
Ask an LLM to rate intent and fit from 1 to 10 and return a short reason.
Route by scoreIF
Hot leads go to a rep and a sequence, everyone else drops into nurture.
How to build it in n8n
n8n is a great fit for this because every step is a node you can wire visually. Here is the build, node by node.
- Webhook node. Add a Webhook trigger and point your form or channel at its URL. Each new lead becomes a JSON payload with name, email and source.
- HTTP Request node. Send the email or domain to your enrichment provider and merge the company and role data back onto the item.
- OpenAI node. Pass the enriched lead into a prompt like "Score this lead from 1 to 10 for fit and intent, return JSON with score and reason." Parse the result.
- IF node. Branch on the score. Send 8 and above down the "hot" path, the rest down "nurture."
- Action nodes. On the hot path, post to Slack and enroll the lead in your email or LinkedIn sequence. On the nurture path, add to a drip list.
That is a working pipeline. The catch is everything after you press save: you host n8n, rotate the API keys, watch for failed runs, and rebuild a node every time a provider changes its API. And n8n has no concept of safe outreach pacing, so the sequence step is on you.
The n8n build versus one click
Build it in n8n
- You host and monitor the workflow
- Bring your own enrichment and LLM keys
- No built-in safe pacing for outreach
- You patch it when an API changes
One click in PhewDo
- Enrichment and AI scoring built in
- Hot leads auto-routed into a sequence
- Multi-channel outreach with safe pacing
- One AI inbox keeps a human in the loop
Skip the build. PhewDo ships this as a one-click deploy.
Lead scoring, routing and multi-channel follow-up are already wired in. Turn it on and PhewDo qualifies and works every inbound lead for you, on autopilot.
See PhewDoFrequently asked questions
Do I need to code to build this in n8n?
No. Every step is a visual node. You will touch a little JSON in the OpenAI and IF nodes, but there is no custom code required for a basic version.
Which AI model should I use for scoring?
Any modern model works. A smaller, cheaper model is usually enough for a 1 to 10 fit-and-intent score, since you are classifying rather than writing long copy.
How is the PhewDo version different?
PhewDo ships the whole pipeline, enrichment, AI scoring, routing and multi-channel outreach with safe pacing, as a single deploy. You do not host anything, manage keys or rebuild nodes when an API changes.