Turning Manual Inbound Into a Fully Autonomous System

Case Study

How Connective helped a marketing agency's team save 50+ hours a month and cut speed-to-lead to minutes through an AI-powered automation system

The Challenge

A well-known DTC-focused marketing agency's inbound workflow was dependent on manual efforts and handoffs. Multiple people were involved to not only research new leads, but qualify them and route them. This resulted in hours of effort each week, taking time away from pitches, discovery, and follow-ups.

As the agency was actively growing they put significant investment into demand generation for the first time. This led to an exponential influx in inbound leads. The problem? They didn't have the personal bandwidth to handle the influx. They desperately needed a more autonomous system to help bridge the gap

With a small team and limited "free time" we scoped an AI-assisted, autonomous inbound engine that would allow the GTM team to focus on revenue driving activities versus operational tasks. Our goal was to help mitigate the following pain points:

Missed or delayed follow-ups when multiple leads arrived in short timeframes
Inconsistent or misunderstood qualification standards
Hours of repetitive research and email drafting
Ad conversion signals being delayed, resulting in less optimized campaigns
No single, accurate view of inbound performance or attribution

The Solution

Connective designed and deployed a fully autonomous inbound system that handled every step - from capture to contact - with a "human in the loop" only needed in extreme edge cases. The new system unified multiple tools and added intelligence at every stage to create a seamless and accurate inbound lead system.

Tools Used

ActiveCampaign: For lead capture, intro email sequences, and email list management.
Clay: For AI-assisted company research, enrichment, and lead qualification.
SalesForce: For Robust CRM for prospect and deal management.
n8n: AI agents for automated campaign and pipeline analysis and sending offline conversion signals to ad platforms.
Funnel: For adaptable, integrated dashboards

System Highlights

Lead Capture & CRM Integration: Leads submitted via web forms were instantly synced and routed into connected enrichment workflows.
Company & Contact Enrichment: AI agents in Clay and n8n researched firmographic and company data seconds after submission.
AI Qualification & Scoring: Enriched data was analyzed to determine lead quality, fit, and likelihood to convert.
Automated Routing: Qualified leads were assigned to the correct rep automatically; unqualified leads were referred to a partner agency.
Instant Outreach: Qualified leads triggered a multi-step, introductory email sequence via ActiveCampaign from the assigned rep.
AI Insights Agent: A reporting agent provided ongoing updates on inbound lead volume, revenue attribution, and funnel health on a weekly basis.
Instantaneous Conversion Signals: Once leads were qualified, if they came from attributed ad campaigns, we automated conversion events back to the ad platforms so campaigns could optimize in near real-time. We also set up workflows for additional conversion signals if lead became an Opportunity or Closed Won.

Together, this workflow created a connected inbound system that turned what used to take hours - and rife with error - into a fully automated, accurate, AI-assisted process.

The Outcomes

The agency's inbound lead volume increased nearly 5-7x once they began investing in demand generation activities. They went from getting a handful of inbound leads a week to several dozen or more. The newly integrated, autonomous inbound system created:

5-minute Avg. Speed to Lead: Leads were automatically captured, qualified, and contacted within minutes instead of hours or days.
Time savings across the team: The sales team saved a minimum of 10 hours weekly by eliminating manual routing, research, and outreach tasks.
Consistency in qualification: Every inbound lead was scored against the same criteria, improving lead quality and eliminating human bias.
Unified, real-time reporting: Lead, revenue, and pipeline data were automatically synced across systems, giving the team a single, trustworthy view of performance.
Predictable pipeline visibility: Marketing and sales gained accurate, ongoing insight into lead flow and conversion trends through the AI insights agent.
Faster pipeline velocity: The entire inbound cycle - from submission to first contact - was compressed, accelerating qualified opportunities and revenue growth.
Instant conversion feedback to ad platforms: Qualified leads and key sales milestones automatically triggered conversion signals back to platforms like Meta and Google, enabling campaigns to optimize in real time without manual updates.

What once required multiple manual steps now runs end-to-end automatically and autonomously with minimal "human-in-the-loop" requirements. After working with Connective, they now have a faster, smarter holistic system that allows the team to focus on what they do best - run awesome campaigns and pitch new clients.

Why It Matters