This project was designed and built independently, using a realistic business scenario and sample data, not live client work. It's here to show how I think through a problem and build the solution end to end.
The Problem
Leads sat in a shared inbox until an agent had time, often 6 to 40 hours later. By then, most had already talked to a competitor. There was no way to tell a serious buyer from someone just browsing, so agents worked leads in whatever order they happened to open them.
The Solution
A Jotform captures the lead along with a few qualifying questions. Make.com reads the answers the moment they're submitted and automatically tags the lead Hot, Warm, or Nurture in Airtable, fires off a personalized email, and, for Hot leads specifically, alerts the agent immediately so a serious buyer never waits more than a few minutes.
The Result
Figures below are illustrative estimates based on a typical real estate brokerage, not measured client data. This is a portfolio build, not a live deployment.
Response time dropped from an average of 6–40 hours to under 5 minutes for every incoming lead, with Hot leads reaching the agent's inbox within seconds and zero manual inbox monitoring required.
For a brokerage getting 60 leads a week, at roughly 4 minutes previously spent reviewing and assigning each one, that's about 16 hours of admin work eliminated monthly, time agents get back for actual appointments and sales conversations.
Architecture
Watch a sample lead get qualified and routed. Hover or select a step to see what happens there.
Incoming Lead
SubmittedEmily Park
- Phone
- (555) 214-7788
- Timeline
- ASAP
- Financing
- Pre-approved
- Budget
- $450,000–$500,000
How It Works
- 1
The website embeds a Jotform asking for name, phone, email, timeline, and financing status.
- 2
Make.com's native Jotform trigger fires instantly via webhook the moment someone submits: no linked spreadsheet, no polling delay.
- 3
A router in Make splits the lead into three paths based on the "timeline" answer: ASAP → Hot, Few Months → Warm, Just Browsing → Nurture.
- 4
Each path creates or updates a record in Airtable with the right tag and a timestamp.
- 5
Each path sends a matching Gmail auto-reply, and the Hot path sends a second email straight to the agent's inbox, flagged "ACTION NEEDED: Hot Lead."
- 6
The auto-reply includes a Calendly link so the lead can book a call immediately, closing the loop without anyone picking up a phone.
Engineering Decisions
The choices that mattered most, and the reasoning behind them.
Webhook over polling
A polling integration checks on a schedule, so a lead could sit for minutes before anything happens. A webhook fires the moment the form is submitted, which matters most for the leads that convert fastest.
Routing by timeline, not by lead score
A numeric lead score needs tuning and second-guessing. Timeline is a direct answer the lead already gave, so the Hot, Warm, and Nurture split reflects stated intent instead of a model's guess at it.
One extra email for Hot leads, not a different pipeline
Every lead gets the same auto-reply and Airtable record. A Hot lead just adds one more email, straight to the agent, so urgency doesn't require a separate system to maintain.
Three branches, not one workflow with conditionals
Each timeline path runs as its own branch, so an issue in the Nurture branch can't affect how a Hot lead gets handled.
A Calendly link in the first reply, not a follow-up
The auto-reply includes a booking link immediately, so a lead can act on their own timeline instead of waiting for someone to call.
Reliability, Security & Scale
Error Handling
The webhook-based trigger avoids the reliability gaps of polling integrations, like a linked-spreadsheet sync delay. It fires instantly and consistently. The three-branch router structure means an issue in one branch doesn't touch the other two.
Logging & Monitoring
Every lead is timestamped and tagged in Airtable the moment it comes in, building a running record of volume and classification over time. The Hot-lead alert email also works as a lightweight monitoring signal: if those alerts stop showing up unexpectedly, that's an early sign something broke.
Security & Data Handling
Lead contact info flows directly from Jotform to Airtable through Make's native integration, with no intermediate storage or manual handling. Credentials are managed within Make's connection system, not hardcoded into the scenario.
Scalability
The router-based structure scales cleanly to more categories (a "Cold" or "Referral" path, say) without touching the existing branches. Beyond a single brokerage, the same pattern extends to multiple agents by adding an agent-assignment field early in the flow.
Skills Demonstrated
The technical capabilities this build required, at a glance.
Why I Built It This Way
Speed mattered more than sophistication here, so I kept the logic simple on purpose. A router branching on one direct answer beats a scoring model agents have to trust blindly, and a webhook beats a schedule for anything time-sensitive. The best system for a five-minute response window is the one with the fewest places to break.
Appendix
Supporting reference material for this build.
Sample Email Scripts Used
Subject: Great news, {{first_name}}, let's find your next home
Hi {{first_name}},
Thanks for reaching out! Since you're looking to move quickly, I want to
make sure you get matched with the right listings right away. Grab a time
that works for you here and we'll dive in: {{calendly_link}}
Talk soon,
{{agent_name}}Subject: Thanks for your interest, {{first_name}}
Hi {{first_name}},
Thanks for filling out the form! Since you're planning a few months out,
I'll send over some listings that match what you're looking for over the
next few weeks. In the meantime, feel free to grab time on my calendar
whenever you'd like to chat: {{calendly_link}}
Best,
{{agent_name}}Subject: Here to help whenever you're ready, {{first_name}}
Hi {{first_name}},
No pressure at all. I'll keep you posted on new listings that match your
interests. Whenever you're ready to explore further, I'm a click
away: {{calendly_link}}
Best,
{{agent_name}}Screenshots
Got a process like this?
If any of this sounds like a bottleneck you're living with, tell me about it. I'll be straight about whether automation is worth it.