Automation
Intermediate
16 min
The drafts-folder pattern — automating communication safely
The problem
Two hundred leads a month and you follow up with sixty. Full automation would cover all two hundred but would send messages you have not seen to prospects you have not qualified. So you do neither, and 140 leads get nothing.
The workflow
1Define the trigger
2Gather context
3Draft with gaps marked
4Route exceptions
5Land in the review queue
6Approve and send
7Sample weekly
★Tune
What you need
Communication: first follow-up to Indiamart leads. Trigger: a new lead arrives.
The tool
Apps Script writing to Gmail drafts
The prompt
Subscribers. The full prompt is part of the SMEMinds AI Playbook. See plans.
What comes back
1. SIX PARTS — Trigger: new row in the leads sheet.
Verify before you use it
Human review required. Check every line below before this leaves your screen.
- Check the exception rules against a sample of real enquiries. If 40% would be flagged, the automation is not covering enough to be worth it.
- Test approval speed with a real salesperson. If it takes 45 seconds rather than 15, the review queue design needs work.
- Confirm no draft can contain a price. That single rule prevents the most expensive possible failure at this volume.
- Set the sampling reminder. Drift is gradual and nobody notices it without a deliberate check.