Client Retention

Referral Request Loop

Referrals are the cheapest client acquisition there is and almost nobody asks systematically. This workflow waits until a project has been paid and settled, asks a specific rather than vague question, and keeps a log of who was asked and what came back.

6 stepsRequires Zapier Starter or higher10–15 minEasy

Google SheetsGmailTodoistFilter by ZapierDelay by Zapier

What you get

Every completed project produces a referral ask.

The ask is specific, which is why it works.

You can see your referral conversion rate rather than assume it.

Workflow blueprint

When this happens

Google SheetsNew or Updated Spreadsheet Row

1FI

Filter by ZapierOnly continue if

2DE

Delay by ZapierDelay For

3GM

GmailSend Email

4TO

TodoistCreate Task

5GS

Google SheetsUpdate Spreadsheet Row

The full blueprint — every field mapping, example value and the written copy for each message — is included with purchase.

Getting it into Zapier

Build this one from the recipe. The blueprint gives you the exact trigger, action events and field mapping for all 6 steps, so it is a copy-and-paste job rather than a design job.

You need your own Zapier account. Zapier’s Free plan runs single-step Zaps only; multi-step Zaps need a paid plan, and Paths and Webhooks need Professional. How this works →

Not on Zapier?

n8n — import and go

An n8n workflow JSON ships with this template. Import it and all 6 steps arrive on the canvas wired in order, and 5 of the 6 nodes arrive with their fields already filled in — the subject lines, the message copy, the delays, the column names. Every step maps to a native n8n node.

What an import cannot carry is your credentials, and the IDs that only exist inside your own account — which spreadsheet, which channel, which board. Those stay in a sticky note under the node, listing what is already done so you do not retype it, and what is left so you can see it.

Make — build guide

A Make-specific guide ships with this template: every module in order, every field value, and the concept translations that catch people out — filters live on the links between modules, and the schedule lives on the scenario rather than in a trigger module.

Self-hosted n8n has no per-task fee, which is worth knowing if this workflow runs at volume. Platform coverage →