This document outlines the architecture and automation logic for creating an automated dispositions employee workflow using n8n, integrated with GoHighLevel CRM to send personalized text messages (SMS) and emails to buyers.
1. Workflow Overview
The primary goal of this workflow is to efficiently communicate new wholesale real estate deals to a segmented list of buyers within GoHighLevel. The automation will handle the identification of relevant buyers, personalized message generation, and delivery via SMS and email, while also updating contact records for tracking purposes.
2. Core Components
- n8n: The workflow automation platform that orchestrates the entire process.
- GoHighLevel (GHL): The CRM system that stores buyer contact information, manages tags and custom fields, and serves as the communication channel for SMS and email.
3. Workflow Trigger
The workflow can be initiated by several events within GoHighLevel, depending on the specific business process:
- Webhook Trigger: A webhook from GoHighLevel when a new deal is marked as
‘disposition ready’ or a custom field is updated. This webhook would carry relevant deal information (e.g., property address, price, details).
- Manual Trigger: A manual trigger within n8n for testing or ad-hoc dispositions.
- Scheduled Trigger: A scheduled trigger if deals are processed in batches at specific times.
4. Workflow Steps and Logic
Step 1: Receive Deal Information (Webhook/Trigger Node)
- n8n Node: Webhook or Manual Trigger or Cron
- Configuration: Configure the webhook to listen for incoming data from GoHighLevel. The payload should contain all necessary deal details.
Step 2: Extract Deal Details
- n8n Node: Set or Code
- Configuration: Parse the incoming JSON payload to extract key deal information such as property address, asking price, number of beds/baths, property type, and a link to a deal sheet or photos. This information will be used to personalize messages.
Step 3: Identify Target Buyers
This is a crucial step where we segment buyers based on criteria relevant to the deal. Buyers can be segmented using tags or custom fields in GoHighLevel.
- n8n Node: GoHighLevel node (Operation: Contact, Action: Get Many or Search Contacts via HTTP Request node if Get Many doesn’t support advanced filtering).
- Configuration:
- Filtering by Tags: If buyers are tagged (e.g., ‘Cash Buyer’, ‘Fix and Flip’, ‘Area_Code_XXX’), use the tags parameter in the Get Many Contacts operation or construct a query for the Search Contacts endpoint to retrieve contacts with specific tags matching the deal criteria.
- Filtering by Custom Fields: If custom fields are used (e.g., ‘Preferred Property Type’, ‘Investment Budget’, ‘Target Area’), these can be used to filter contacts. This might require using the HTTP Request node to interact directly with the GoHighLevel API’s Search Contacts endpoint, as the standard GoHighLevel node might have limitations on custom field filtering.
- Example Search Contacts API Payload (via HTTP Request node):
{
“query”: {
“and”: [
{
“field”: “tags”,
“operator”: “in”,
“value”: [“Cash Buyer”, “Fix and Flip”]
},
{
“field”: “customField.preferredPropertyType”,
“operator”: “eq”,
“value”: “Single Family”
}
]
},
“locationId”: “YOUR_LOCATION_ID”
}
Step 4: Prepare Personalized Messages
- n8n Node: Set or Code
- Configuration: Construct the SMS and email content dynamically using the extracted deal details and buyer-specific information. Use placeholders for property address, price, and other relevant data. Ensure the messages are concise for SMS and more detailed for email.
New Deal Alert! [Property Address] – [Beds] bed/[Baths] bath, asking [Price]. View details: [Deal Link]. Reply STOP to unsubscribe.
Subject: Hot New Wholesale Deal: [Property Address]
Hi [Buyer Name],
We have a fantastic new wholesale opportunity for you:
**Property Address**: [Property Address]
**Beds/Baths**: [Beds] bed / [Baths] bath
**Asking Price**: [Price]
**Property Type**: [Property Type]
[Brief description of the property highlights]
View full details and photos here: [Deal Link]
Let us know if you’re interested!
Best regards,
[Your Company Name]
Step 5: Send SMS to Buyers
- n8n Node: GoHighLevel node (Operation: Message, Action: Send a new message) or HTTP Request node.
- Configuration (GoHighLevel Node):
- Type: SMS
- Contact ID: Map to the id of each buyer contact retrieved in Step 3.
- Message: Map to the personalized SMS content from Step 4.
- From Number: Your GoHighLevel sending number.
- To Number: Map to the phone number of each buyer contact.
- Configuration (HTTP Request Node – if GoHighLevel node limitations):
- Method: POST
- URL: https://services.leadconnectorhq.com/conversations/messages
- Headers:
- Content-Type: application/json
- Authorization: Bearer YOUR_GOHIGHLEVEL_API_KEY
- Body (JSON):
{
“type”: “SMS”,
“contactId”: “{{ $json.contactId }}”,
“message”: “{{ $json.smsContent }}”,
“fromNumber”: “+1XXXXXXXXXX”,
“toNumber”: “{{ $json.phoneNumber }}”
}
Step 6: Send Email to Buyers
- n8n Node: GoHighLevel node (Operation: Message, Action: Send a new message) or HTTP Request node.
- Configuration (GoHighLevel Node):
- Type: Email
- Contact ID: Map to the id of each buyer contact retrieved in Step 3.
- Subject: Map to the personalized email subject from Step 4.
- HTML: Map to the personalized email HTML content from Step 4.
- Email From: Your sending email address configured in GoHighLevel.
- Email To: Map to the email address of each buyer contact.
- Configuration (HTTP Request Node – if GoHighLevel node limitations):
- Method: POST
- URL: https://services.leadconnectorhq.com/conversations/messages
- Headers:
- Content-Type: application/json
- Authorization: Bearer YOUR_GOHIGHLEVEL_API_KEY
- Body (JSON):
{
“type”: “Email”,
“contactId”: “{{ $json.contactId }}”,
“subject”: “{{ $json.emailSubject }}”,
“html”: “{{ $json.emailHtmlContent }}”,
“emailFrom”: “[email protected]”,
“emailTo”: “{{ $json.emailAddress }}”
}
Step 7: Update Contact Records (Optional)
- n8n Node: GoHighLevel node (Operation: Contact, Action: Update)
- Configuration: Update the buyer’s contact record in GoHighLevel to reflect that they have been sent a disposition. This could involve adding a tag (e.g., ‘Dispo Sent – [Deal ID]’) or updating a custom field (e.g., ‘Last Dispo Sent Date’).
5. Error Handling and Logging
- Implement error handling branches in n8n to catch failed API calls or message deliveries.
- Log successful and failed dispatches to a spreadsheet, database, or a notification service (e.g., Slack, email) for monitoring and auditing.
6. GoHighLevel API Key and Authentication
To interact with the GoHighLevel API, you will need a Private Integration Token or an OAuth Access Token. For n8n, the Private Integration Token is generally easier to set up for server-to-server communication. Ensure this token has the necessary conversations/message.write and contacts.readonly (or contacts.write if updating contacts) scopes.
7. n8n Credentials
Configure your GoHighLevel credentials within n8n. This typically involves providing the API key. For the HTTP Request node, you would include the API key directly in the Authorization header as a Bearer token.
8. Next Steps
This design provides a comprehensive overview. The next phase will involve creating the actual n8n workflow based on this design, including detailed node configurations and testing.
References
[1] GoHighLevel API Documentation. (n.d.). Send a new message. Retrieved from https://marketplace.gohighlevel.com/docs/ghl/conversations/send-a-new-message/index.html
[2] GoHighLevel API Documentation. (n.d.). Search Contacts. Retrieved from https://marketplace.gohighlevel.com/docs/ghl/contacts/search-contacts-advanced/index.html
[3] n8n Docs. (n.d.). HighLevel node documentation. Retrieved from https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/app-nodes/n8n-nodes-base.highlevel/
