Build a Sales Outreach Agent with n8n
n8n is an open-source workflow automation tool that pairs exceptionally well with OpenClaw for sales automation. Together, they can run a fully automated outreach pipeline: finding prospects, researching them, writing personalised emails, managing sequences, and logging everything to your CRM — with minimal human touch. This guide covers the full build.
What You'll Need
- ✅n8n installed (self-hosted) or n8n.cloud account
- ✅OpenClaw running locally with the Sales skill pack
- ✅Apollo.io or LinkedIn Sales Navigator for prospecting
- ✅Gmail or SMTP access for sending
- ✅HubSpot or Pipedrive CRM
- ✅Familiarity with basic n8n workflow building
Step-by-Step Guide
Set up the prospect sourcing workflow
In n8n, create a new workflow with an n8n Schedule trigger (runs every weekday at 7am). Connect an Apollo.io node configured with your ICP filters. Set the output limit to 50 new prospects per day. Connect an enrichment step using the HTTP Request node to pull LinkedIn data for each prospect. Store enriched prospects in a Google Sheet or Airtable base as your prospecting pipeline.
Build the OpenClaw research node
Add an HTTP Request node that calls OpenClaw's local API endpoint for each new prospect. Pass the enriched prospect data (company, role, recent activity) and request the agent to research the prospect and generate: (1) a personalised first line for the email, (2) the most likely pain point for this prospect, and (3) a relevance score. OpenClaw returns this as structured JSON that feeds into the next node.
Create the email writing workflow
Add another OpenClaw API call that takes the research output and generates a full personalised email using your template structure. Pass the personalised first line, pain point, and your email template shell. The agent fills the variables and returns a complete email draft. Add a review step: high-scoring prospects (8+/10 relevance) auto-queue for sending; lower-scoring ones route to a human review Google Sheet.
Configure the sequence and sending logic
Build the sequence management workflow: a second n8n workflow checks the prospecting pipeline daily for prospects who haven't replied after 5 days and queues the follow-up email. A third workflow handles the day-12 final touch. All sending goes through the Gmail node with a daily send limit (50/day maximum to protect your domain reputation). Log every send event back to your CRM.
Add CRM sync and reply detection
Configure a Gmail trigger workflow that watches your sent folder for replies to outreach emails. When a reply is detected, n8n automatically updates the deal status in HubSpot/Pipedrive to 'Replied', pauses any remaining sequence steps for that prospect, and sends you a Slack notification. Replied prospects are your hottest leads — make sure they hit your CRM immediately so nothing falls through the cracks.
Start with just 10 prospects through the full workflow before opening the floodgates. Verify that every piece — research quality, email personalisation, CRM logging, sequence management — is working correctly at small scale. A bug in a 10-prospect test costs nothing. A bug in a 500-prospect campaign can damage your domain reputation permanently.
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