What is lead automation? From a Facebook form to a ringing phone, explained

A family fills your Facebook form at 9:07 am. What happens next decides whether they buy from you.

In most businesses, the lead sits in an ads dashboard until someone exports it, forwards it on WhatsApp to a manager, who forwards it to a caller, who calls at 4 pm. By then two competitors have called. Lead automation is the fix, and it is less magic than it sounds.

The chain, minute by minute

9:07 The form is submitted. The lead lands in a Google Sheet (or hits your API).

9:07 SensyConnect picks up the new row and assigns it round robin: it is Ramesh’s turn.

9:08 Ramesh’s phone pings: “New lead assigned: Sharma ji, 3BHK Wakad.” One tap opens the record.

9:12 Between two other calls, the auto dialer surfaces the fresh lead first and dials it from Ramesh’s own SIM. Sharma ji picks up; the number looks normal.

9:16 Call ends. Two taps: “Interested”, “site visit Sunday 11 am”. The reminder sets itself. The brochure goes to Sharma ji on WhatsApp automatically.

9:17 On the owner’s dashboard: assigned 9:07, called 9:12, Interested, visit Sunday. Nobody reported anything.

The five parts

1. Import. A connector reads new rows from a sheet or new records from an API on a schedule. Every source carries a tag, so month-end shows which platform produces buyers.
2. Assign. Round robin per source: lead one to the first person in the rotation, lead two to the second, around it goes. Every lead has exactly one owner from birth.
3. Notify. A push to the employee’s phone with the lead one tap away.
4. Dial. The auto dialer puts fresh leads at the top of the queue.
5. Record. The after-call sheet captures status, remark and follow-up; the WhatsApp goes out by itself; the dashboard updates.

Why sheets and APIs, not fifty integrations

Every platform can export to a Google Sheet or fire a webhook. Building on those two rails means the system works with platforms that did not exist yesterday and with the agency’s spreadsheet from last year. It also means you can start with an Excel of old leads and connect the live sources later.

Rules that keep it fair

• Rotation per source. Senior closers on the IndiaMART sheet, everyone on the Facebook sheet, one person on JustDial.
• Re-assignment. Not called within your window? It moves to the next person, and the miss stays on the report.
• Permissions. Callers work their own queue; only the owner sees everything.

Nights and Sundays

Leads that arrive at 11 pm import and assign at 11 pm, so they are on top of the right queue at 9 am. Overnight leads are usually the least contested, best-converting calls of the day.

See the lead automation page for the sources list and setup, or start the free trial and connect your first sheet.