We are looking for a highly experienced automation expert who can design and implement a robust sales automation system using Zoho CRM + OpenAI + ZoHO FLOW, with existing input from Smartlead and Zoho Flow. This is not a beginner setup. We already have part of the infrastructure working. We now need someone who can understand the full business logic, think in systems, and build the next layer properly. Our company runs outbound at scale and we need to automate repetitive sales work without losing context or quality. The goal is to make Zoho CRM the operational brain of the process and use n8n plus AI to handle the follow-up and qualification work that is currently done manually. About us: We operate across two connected brands: Brand #1 A web and growth company with two major offer areas: - Create: branding, content, websites, maintenance - Grow: SEO, Google Ads, outbound / GTM services Brand #2 Our outbound / go-to-market service, which is part of the growth side of the business. Most of our core revenue historically comes from web development. We now have two website motions: - Enterprise / high-touch websites with strategy, content, branding, revisions, inner pages, launch, and longer delivery cycles - AI-powered websites that can be delivered much faster and much cheaper, depending on the project fit Current setup: We already built the bridge from Smartlead to Zoho CRM via Zoho Flow. We have the categorization, we have the automated emails already. Today, when a positive response comes in from Smartlead, our current system can already: - receive the webhook - parse some lead data from the email body - create or update Campaigns - create Contacts - create Accounts - create Leads - create follow-up Tasks in Zoho CRM - create emails to reply (based on our SSOT doc) When a prospect replies positively, especially with a Meeting Request, we want the system to: 1. detect the lead inside Zoho CRM 2. understand the context of the reply 3. send the correct follow-up email automatically 4. include the correct Zoho Bookings link 5. continue following up until the person books or clearly declines 6. use AI-generated email copy, not static templates 7. convert the lead into a Deal / Qualified Opportunity once the person is properly qualified and books a call Critical requirement: This system must not rely on static templates. We want the email logic to be generated dynamically via AI based on: - the inbound message - the lead status / category - campaign context - whether the lead belongs to dartera or Acquire - prior conversation state The current pain is simple: someone requests a meeting, we manually send a booking link, they do not book, and then the lead dies because no one follows up consistently enough. We want to remove that bottleneck. What done looks like: For phase 1, a successful implementation should do this: A lead replies positively in Smartlead and gets pushed into Zoho CRM. The lead is categorized properly. n8n picks up the event. OpenAI generates the first reply with the correct booking link. The system keeps following up automatically until: - the lead books a call - the lead declines - the lead unsubscribes / becomes invalid Once the lead has booked and passed basic qualification, the system converts the lead into a deal and places it in the proper deal stage in Zoho CRM, such as Qualified Opportunity. Please do not pitch this project back to us as a Zoho Creator / proposal PDF / Zoho Sign build. Core tools involved: You should be comfortable with: - Zoho CRM - Zoho Flow - Zoho Bookings - Smartlead - OpenAI API - webhook-based integrations - field mapping and CRM data structures - lead / contact / account / deal logic - follow-up sequencing based on CRM state - building automations that are reliable, clean, and easy to extend Experience with Clay, GTM workflows, or high-volume outbound systems is a plus, but not required for the automation itself. Clay is used on the lead generation side, not as the main orchestration layer for this task. Requirements: We are looking for someone who: - has real hands-on experience with Zoho CRM + ZOHO FLOW - understands CRM architecture and stage logic deeply - can think through messy sales processes and turn them into clean automations - can design around edge cases, not just happy paths - knows how to build AI-assisted workflows in a practical, production-ready way - can work with existing infrastructure instead of rebuilding everything from scratch - can communicate clearly and ask sharp implementation questions - can document the workflow well enough for future expansion Big plus if you understand: - outbound sales operations - qualification workflows - lead vs deal logic - SDR / AE handoff logic - AI-generated email workflows - how to build systems that sales teams can actually use, not just technical demos What we will provide: We can provide: - the existing flow and business logic - current Smartlead to Zoho setup - CRM structure and deal stages - examples of categories and responses - access to the current process - direct feedback during implementation This project is detail-heavy. We care a lot that the freelancer understands the logic, not just the tools. The minor details matter here. How to apply: Please apply only if you have actually built systems involving + Zoho CRM + AI / LLM logic. In your application, include: 1. a short summary of the most similar automation you built 2. which parts you personally implemented 3. how you would structure the logic for: Meeting Request then AI email then booking link then repeated follow-ups -then booked call then qualified opportunity 4. your experience with Zoho CRM modules such as Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Deals, Tasks, and Campaigns 5. your experience with AI-generated outbound or sales follow-up flows 6. whether you are comfortable improving an existing setup instead of rebuilding from scratch Please do not send a generic AI answer. We will ignore copy-paste applications immediately.