Hello and welcome to Day 1 of our 14 Days of Automation series! My name is Zac, and today, we’re kicking off with a straightforward but powerful workflow that can save you time and improve client onboarding. This guide will walk you through automating the process from capturing client information to setting up the necessary workspaces and communications.
The Goal: Automate Client Onboarding in 5 Simple Steps
Our automation today will focus on five essential components:
- Google Form – Collect client data effortlessly.
- Google Sheets – Store and monitor the data.
- Gmail – Automatically send a personalized welcome email.
- Google Drive – Create a workspace folder for collaboration.
- Slack – Set up a communication channel for easy interaction.
Before diving into the technical details, let’s quickly cover the setup basics to ensure you’re ready to follow along.
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Pre-requisites and Setup
This automation will be built using Make.com, an intuitive platform perfect for automating repetitive tasks. Make offers a free tier with up to 1,000 operations per month, which is ideal for getting started.
Key Modules We’ll Use:
- Google Sheets: Monitor for new data entries.
- Gmail: Send automated, customized emails.
- Google Drive: Dynamically create folders based on client details.
- Slack: Automate the creation of communication channels.
Ensure your modules are connected to their respective services before beginning. You’ll need to grant permissions to your Google and Slack accounts, which is straightforward—just follow the on-screen prompts.
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Step 1: Creating the Google Form
First, let’s create a Google Form to collect client information. This form will automatically generate the Google Sheet we’ll use later in the automation. Here’s what your form might include:
- Client Name
- Email Address
- Project Budget
- Workspace Name (This will name the Google Drive folder and Slack channel.)
After submitting a test entry, check your Google Sheet to ensure the data is being captured correctly.
Step 2: Configuring Google Sheets
In Make.com, set up a scenario to monitor your Google Sheet for new rows. This will trigger the automation whenever new data is added. Quick tip: Always save your progress regularly in Make.com. Since it doesn’t auto-save, you don’t want to risk losing your work!
Step 3: Automating the Welcome Email
With data in hand, the next step is sending an automated welcome email. Using the Gmail module, we’ll personalize the email content based on the client’s details, ensuring a professional and engaging first impression.
Step 4: Creating a Google Drive Folder
Next, let’s create a workspace for the client in Google Drive. The folder name is generated from the client’s workspace name, ensuring consistency across your platforms.
Step 5: Setting Up a Slack Channel
Finally, automate the creation of a Slack channel for client communication. The channel name is also generated from the workspace name, keeping everything organized and easy to manage.
Testing the Automation
Now it’s time to test your automation. Run it manually to check that each module is working correctly. If everything runs smoothly, your inbox should have a welcome email, Google Drive should have a new folder, and Slack should have a new channel.
If something doesn’t work as expected, don’t worry! Debugging is part of the process. Review each module’s settings and outputs to identify any issues. Once you’re satisfied, schedule the automation to run automatically at your desired intervals.
Extend and Customize
For today’s homework, think about how you can modify this automation to fit your specific needs. Perhaps you want to add Trello to automatically create tasks, or maybe integrate ClickUp to set up a project board. The possibilities are vast—explore them!
Final Thoughts and Next Steps
This concludes Day 1 of our automation series. I hope you found it useful and are excited to continue building powerful automations. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more tutorials like this, and stay tuned for Day 2, where we’ll dive into another valuable automation.
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