The Inquiry Form Welcome · Workflow 001

✦ The Overview ✦

What this workflow actually does.

This is the workflow that fires the moment she submits your inquiry form. It sends her a welcome email, tags her contact record, moves her into your pipeline, notifies you, and follows up automatically.

One form submission... and she enters your entire ecosystem.

✦ The Trigger ✦

What fires the workflow.

✦ Trigger Type · Form Submitted

Inquiry Form Submitted

She fills out your inquiry form. The moment she hits submit, this workflow fires.

✦ The Steps ✦

The full sequence... step by step.

I.
Send Welcome Email
A warm, branded email fires within seconds. She is probably nervous she even reached out. Make her feel like she found the right photographer.
II.
Add Tag Inquiry-Lead
Tags her contact record so every other workflow downstream knows where she is in your process.
III.
Move To Pipeline Stage
Adds her as an opportunity in your inquiry pipeline.
IV.
Internal Notification
Sends YOU a text or email the moment a new lead comes in.
V.
Wait 5-120 Minutes
Do not wait too long. She is still warm right now. I personally send mine within 5 minutes.
VI.
Send Follow-Up Email
A gentle second touch for anyone who got distracted. Runs automatically for every new inquiry forever.

✦ How To Build This In GHL ✦

Click by click... exactly what to do.

Open GHL in another tab and follow these steps. Every button, every field, every click.

I.Create The Workflow — Click Automation → Workflows → + New Workflow → Start From Scratch. Name it Inquiry Form Welcome and click Continue.
II.Set The Trigger — Click Add New Trigger. Search Form Submitted, select your inquiry form, click Save Trigger.
III.Add Send Email — Click +, search Send Email, write your welcome email, click Save Action.
IV.Add Contact Tag — Click +, search Add Contact Tag, type inquiry-lead, hit Enter, click Save Action.
V.Add Internal Notification — Click +, search Internal Notification, enter your phone or email, click Save Action.
VI.Add Wait Then Follow-Up — Click +, add Wait (5 min or your preference), save. Click + again, add Send Email follow-up, click Save Action.
VII.Test Then Publish — Click Test Workflow, find your own contact, click Run Test. Check your inbox. Flip toggle from Draft to Published.

✦ Why This Works ✦

The first impression... that converts.

Most photographers send a generic auto-reply. You send a branded experience. The difference between a 10% and 40% inquiry-to-consultation rate often comes down to how this first email feels and how fast it arrives.

✦ What's Next ✦

What happens after this.

After her consultation, Workflow 003 (The Contract and Retainer) secures her booking automatically.

✦ Common Mistakes ✦

Things that trip people up... and how to avoid them.

✕
Trigger set to wrong form
Make sure you select your specific inquiry form from the dropdown. If you have multiple forms in GHL it is easy to grab the wrong one. Test by submitting your own inquiry form and watching if the workflow fires.
✕
Wait timer set to days instead of minutes
If you set your follow-up wait to 1 day instead of 5 minutes your lead has already gone cold. Double-check the wait unit... GHL defaults to minutes but it is easy to accidentally switch it to days.
✕
Internal notification goes to wrong number
Copy and paste your phone number rather than typing it. One wrong digit means you never get notified when a new lead comes in.
✕
Workflow left in Draft mode
The most common mistake of all. You build the whole thing, close the tab, and it never fires because you forgot to flip the toggle to Published. Always check before you close.
✕
Welcome email has no subject line
Leaving the subject line blank or generic means she may not open it. Write something that makes her feel seen the second it lands in her inbox.

✦ Test Your Workflow ✦

Before you go live... check every box.

Test with your own contact first. Do not consider this workflow done until every box below is checked.

☐I submitted a test inquiry and the workflow fired automatically
☐The welcome email landed in my personal inbox within seconds
☐My contact was tagged inquiry-lead after submission
☐I received the internal notification on my phone or email
☐The follow-up email sent at the time I set (5 minutes to 2 hours)
☐The workflow toggle is set to Published not Draft

✦ Troubleshooting ✦

Something not firing? Start here.

Workflow did not fire at all

Check that the workflow is Published not Draft. Then confirm the trigger is set to Form Submitted with the correct form selected. Check the Execution Logs tab inside the workflow to see if it attempted to run.

Welcome email did not arrive

Check your Spam or Promotions folder first. Then go to Conversations inside GHL and look for your test contact to see if it shows as Sent. If sent but not received your domain authentication (SPF/DKIM) may need to be set up.

Tag was not added to the contact

Open the contact record and check the Activity section. If the workflow ran but the tag is missing, click back into the workflow and make sure the Add Contact Tag action is saved with the correct tag name.

Internal notification never came through

Double check the phone number or email in the Internal Notification action. Also confirm your GHL phone number is active and A2P approved for texts.

The Inquiry Form Welcome.

What this workflow actually does.

What fires the workflow.

Inquiry Form Submitted

The full sequence... step by step.

Send Welcome Email

Add Tag Inquiry-Lead

Move To Pipeline Stage

Internal Notification

Wait 5-120 Minutes

Send Follow-Up Email

Click by click... exactly what to do.

The first impression... that converts.

What happens after this.

Things that trip people up... and how to avoid them.

Trigger set to wrong form

Wait timer set to days instead of minutes

Internal notification goes to wrong number

Workflow left in Draft mode

Welcome email has no subject line