How I’m Building My First AI Sales Agent with n8n.

You know that feeling when you’re juggling a dozen tasks, trying to keep your sales pipeline flowing, but it still feels like you’re running on a hamster wheel?

So, I’ve been there. For years, I managed my sales process manually, sending emails, chasing leads, and hoping something would stick.

I mean, even on LinkedIn Sales Navigator, you have to manually connect with each person, see if they post anything, if they do, then comment on their posts, then build a relationship to eventually close them.

It was exhausting, repetitive, and inefficient.

But recently, I decided to change the game. I’m embarking on a personal journey to automate my entire sales process — starting with building my very first AI-powered sales agent, or what I like to call an AI SDR (Sales Development Representative).

This is going to be a hands-on, step-by-step system I’m building and testing in real time. And I want to take you along for the ride from now till my next few articles (so subscribe if you don’t want to miss anything).

I’ll share exactly how I’m architecting this system, the lessons I’ve learned, and how you can start automating your sales outreach with confidence.

From Content Automation to Sales Automation: My Progress So Far

Before diving into the sales agent, let me give you a quick update on where I’m at with automation.

I’ve already automated my content generation workflow. One article I create manually now becomes 28 pieces of content, following Matt Gray’s content waterfall philosophy. This means I’m maximizing every piece of content for reach and impact without extra effort.

My n8n content repurposer automation - based on Matt Gray's Content Waterfall Framework

On top of that, I built an automated newsletter that scrapes news daily and converts it into fresh articles using n8n workflows. This runs on autopilot, delivering value to my audience every single day.

Now, I’m shifting focus to the front end of the funnel — how to find, nurture, and convert leads automatically. That’s where the AI SDR comes in.

What Exactly Does an AI SDR Do?

Think of a traditional Sales Development Representative (SDR) or Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) as the frontline hunter. Their job is to:

• Find potential clients (cold leads)
• Warm them up by building relationships and trust
• Nurture leads through personalized outreach
• Qualify and close deals or pass them to a closer

Currently, my business captures leads through opt-ins for free n8n automation workflows. These leads enter an automated email nurture sequence that builds trust and eventually guides them to purchase my Corporate Automation Library subscription (CAL Pro).

This backend funnel is solid and mostly automated, but it doesn’t use much AI yet. The missing piece is the front end — how to find and engage the right leads automatically.

Step 1: Define Who Your AI SDR Should Target

Before you start scraping emails or sending outreach messages, you need clarity on who your ideal clients (ICP) are.

For me, that’s mostly entrepreneurs, business owners, and technical founders. I’ve already built a StoryBrand framework using the SB7 method and a one-page marketing plan that clearly defines my audience’s pain points and desires.

This clarity is critical because your AI SDR’s success depends on targeting the right people with the right message.

Step 2: Deep Research to Refine Your Target Audience

Once you know who you want to reach, the next step is deep research to identify where these people hang out, what keywords describe them, and how to find their contact info.

I use AI tools like Gemini Deep Research or ChatGPT-5 to refine my target audience profile. These agents help me:

• Identify relevant industries, job titles, and company sizes
• Discover keywords and phrases to use in lead scraping
• Understand pain points and motivations for personalized messaging.

If you want to get my exact system prompts and n8n workflows for this research phase, click here, to join my community and access the full AI Sales Agent blueprint.

Step 3: Automated Lead Scraping with Apollo and Apify

With a refined target profile, it’s time to scrape leads automatically.

I use Apollo.io (you don’t need to pay for the Apollo subscription) combined with Apify to pull targeted lead lists. For just $1 or $2, I can get 1000 leads that match my criteria. That’s pennies per lead — far cheaper and more precise than Facebook or Google ads.

You can also scrape leads from LinkedIn or Google Search & Maps for local businesses, but Apollo’s API integration with Apify makes it seamless and scalable.

Why targeting matters: If you don’t refine your lead criteria, you’ll flood your CRM with irrelevant contacts, driving up costs and reducing conversion rates. Precision is everything here.

Step 4: Lead Enrichment — Adding Context and Personalization

Now you have thousands of leads, but raw data isn’t enough. You need to enrich those leads with more context:

• What exactly do they do?
• What problems are they facing?
• What language do they use?

Using n8n workflows and GPT-powered agents, I automate this enrichment process. The AI pulls public data, social profiles, and company info to build a detailed profile for each lead.

Why?

Because personalized outreach gets higher open and response rates. When you understand a lead’s pain points, you can craft messages that resonate — even if those messages are generated automatically.

Keep an eye out, since services like Instantly and SmartLead now come with built-in lead enrichment functions.

Step 5: Automated, Personalized Outreach with Instantly

With enriched leads, it’s time to reach out automatically.

You can either use Instantly or SmartLead, which are tools that manages cold email outreach while warming up your email accounts to avoid spam filters. For about $47/month(Instantly) and $39/month(SmartLead), these outreach platforms lets you:

• Send 30–35 personalized emails per day (small enough to stay under spam radar)
• Use multiple email domains for better deliverability
• Automate follow-ups with sequences tailored to responses

You can integrate Instantly and SmartLead with n8n via API or use it natively. The key is to review messages before sending to ensure quality and relevance.

Step 6: Nurture Interested Leads Through Your Sales Funnel

When leads respond positively, they enter your automated sales funnel.

Created this sale funnel simulation in GERU

In my case, I use Kajabi to deliver:

• Value-packed nurture emails
• Low-ticket offers to build trust and commitment
• High-ticket offers for serious buyers

Depending on your sales model, you might add a human-in-the-loop or an AI voice agent to qualify leads further and guide them down the funnel.

Why This System Matters for Corporate Innovators Like You

If you’re still stuck manually hunting leads or buying disconnected AI tools, this approach offers a clear, systematic path to:

• Slash time spent on lead generation and outreach by 80% or more
• Increase lead quality and conversion rates through personalization
• Build a scalable sales engine that grows with your business

Most businesses fail at this because they focus on tools, not strategy. My 5-Level Automation Framework guides you from chaos to control, and this AI SDR system is a Level 3 to 4 automation in action.

What’s Next? Join Me on This Journey

In upcoming articles and videos, I’ll dive deep into each step:

• How to do laser-focused lead research with AI
• Building and refining your scraping workflows
• Automating lead enrichment with GPT-5 and n8n
• Setting up Instantly for cold email outreach
• Designing your sales funnel for maximum conversions

If you want the full workflows, prompts, and systems I’m using to build this AI sales agent, join my community and grab the Corporate Automation Library.

Get the Corporate Automation Library