Categories / Lead Follow-up & Sales
Revive dormant leads with call workflows
Outsourced dealership sales desk · 85 car sales a month from dormant leads
- Task
- work long-cold dealership leads nobody else touches and answer after-hours inquiries
- Result
- averages 85 vehicle sales/month from dormant leads; 4,000 calls per SDR per month (~3x a dealership salesperson); dealerships typically see 20–30% revenue increase; after ~6 months the BDC drives ~40% of a dealership's deals
- Tools
- Close CRM (workflows, Smart Views, Power Dialer, voicemail drop, call recording + transcripts, Voice Agent); Zapier (100+ automations across Close and Zapier); email + SMS campaigns
- Setup
- confirm every lead opted in to calls/texts → send 2,000–3,000 nurture emails/day plus text campaigns → workflow watches for triggers (e.g., 5 email opens or a link click) and moves the lead into a Smart View → SDR works the Power Dialer list with voicemail drops and auto-logged recordings/transcripts → after hours (~40% of leads) the Close Voice Agent calls immediately, asks qualifying questions and logs the conversation → hand off per dealership preference (live transfer, calendar appointment, or assigned task)
Send this to your AI
A ready-to-send prompt built from this card. Your AI will ask a few questions about your business, then give you a beginner setup plan.
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Help me set this up for my business: "Revive dormant leads with call workflows".
Example business: outsourced business-development center working leads for car dealerships (15+ staff; 1 →…. Task: work long-cold dealership leads nobody else touches and answer after-hours inquiries.
Reported result: averages 85 vehicle sales/month from dormant leads; 4,000 calls per SDR per month (~3x a dealership salesperson); dealerships typically see 20–30% revenue increase;…
Tools: Close CRM (workflows, Smart Views, Power Dialer, voicemail drop, call recording + transcripts, Voice Agent); Zapier (100+…
Setup outline:
1. confirm every lead opted in to calls/texts → send 2,000–3,000 nurture emails/day plus text campaigns →…
Starter prompt from the guide (use it as a base):
Write the qualifying script for an after-hours AI phone agent for [BUSINESS]. It must say it's an AI assistant and that the call is recorded, confirm the caller asked to be contacted, ask 4–5 short qualifying questions ([LIST WHAT YOU NEED]), offer [HAND-OFF: book a time / transfer / callback], and politely end if they're not interested. Friendly, plain, no pressure.
First, ask me up to 5 questions about my business and tools. Then give me a beginner step-by-step setup plan, plus copy-paste prompts/templates I can use. Plain English, and tell me if any step needs a tech helper.
via autopilotbusiness.ai/use-case/dealership-bdc-close-workflows-power-dialer-after-hours-voice-agent-85/Step-by-step setup guide + copy-paste prompt
> Cost: Paid. Close Growth is $99 per user/month (annual) or $109 monthly, plus about $0.02/minute for calls. 14-day free trial, no card.
Honest note: the voice agent ("Chloe") is real AI; the rest is rule-based workflows and a dialer. Results are from a Close-published story about a specialist call center with 15+ staff, so expect smaller numbers for a single business. Two important limits: the story's trigger "after 5 email opens" isn't a built-in Close trigger (the business used Zapier and custom activities), and calling or texting leads needs their prior consent under US rules (TCPA). Chloe always says it's an AI and that the call is recorded, and that can't be switched off. It only calls US and Canadian contacts.
Prerequisites
- Close Growth or higher, admin access, and a Close phone number.
- Leads who have opted in to calls and texts (keep proof).
- Your hand-off rules: live transfer, booked appointment, or a task for a rep.
Step-by-step setup
Step 1. Allow automated sending. Go to Settings > Send As and tick Allow automated Workflows to send on your behalf. Set holidays at Settings > Blackout Dates.
Step 2. Build the nurture workflow. In the left sidebar click Workflows, create one, choose a trigger (for example Lead status = Cold, or Form submission), and add email and SMS steps with waits. Under Recipient & Schedule, set sending hours, and add a Goal (for example "replied") so the lead leaves the sequence.
Step 3. Flag engaged leads. Close has no built-in "opened 5 times" trigger. Simple option: a Smart View of leads who replied or clicked. Advanced option: a Zapier automation that logs a custom activity, which can trigger a Close workflow.
Step 4. Make the call list (Smart View). In Leads, filter by lead status, "no call in the last X days", no incomplete tasks, local time and owner = Me. Save it as a Smart View.
Step 5. Work it with the Power Dialer. Open the Smart View and click Call. In the Dialer dropdown → Manage, consider Reduced Ring Time. Set up a recorded voicemail drop in Settings > Communication > Phone & Voicemail (check the exact path on screen). Calls are recorded and logged to the lead.
Step 6. Set up the after-hours voice agent. Go to Chloe > Voice Agents → + New Agent. Do the guided setup call, then a test call, Review Skills (qualifying questions and hand-off), and Select Settings: pick a phone number or Local Presence. The number must be marked Available to voice agents under Settings > Communication > Phone & Voicemail. Click Complete setup and activate.
Step 7. Trigger it from a workflow. On the voice agent's overview, click + Add Workflow (a calling workflow), triggered by new form submissions. Or add a Call step with Assign to = Chloe in an existing workflow. Chloe calls inside your communication window (default Mon–Fri 9–4; widen it for after hours), up to 3 calls at once.
Step 8. Test with your own number, then switch on.
Easier: let your AI do it
Close has an official MCP server, a secure plug that lets an AI chat like Claude or ChatGPT search and update your Close leads with your permission.
- Claude (free desktop app): click + → Add Connectors → search Close → Connect, and sign in to Close. On paid Claude plans, go via Settings → Connectors. If Close isn't listed, add a custom connector with
https://mcp.close.com/mcp. - ChatGPT: Close has an official ChatGPT app.
- When asked, approve the access level: read, write_safe (create and update) or write_destructive (delete). Start with read.
Try: "List my leads in Smart View 'Hot – engaged' with no call in 7 days, and draft a call note for each."
What success looks like
Reps spend the day on calls with people who've shown interest, after-hours inquiries get a call instead of waiting until morning, and every call is logged with a summary.
Common issues & fixes
- Voice agent didn't call: the number isn't marked Available to voice agents, the contact isn't in the US or Canada, or it's outside the communication window.
- Workflow emails not sending: Allow automated Workflows to send on your behalf isn't ticked.
- Leads complain about calls: stop and check consent records. Remove them and mark them do-not-contact.
Optional: Maintenance
- Weekly: listen to 3 voice-agent calls and adjust its skills.
- Monthly: check AI credit and call-minute use.
Copy-paste prompt
Write the qualifying script for an after-hours AI phone agent for [BUSINESS]. It must say it's an AI assistant and that the call is recorded, confirm the caller asked to be contacted, ask 4–5 short qualifying questions ([LIST WHAT YOU NEED]), offer [HAND-OFF: book a time / transfer / callback], and politely end if they're not interested. Friendly, plain, no pressure.Sources
- Case: Close customer story (dealership business-development center). Credit: the company's leadership (vendor-published).
- Close Help: Voice Agent setup
- Close Help: Using voice agents
- Close Help: Workflows
- Close Help: Using the Power Dialer
- Close Help: Smart Views for calling
- Close Help: MCP server
- Close pricing
Industries: AI automation for Auto Repair & Dealerships
Results as reported by the source; not independently verified. Community-sourced from public sites and attributed to the source platform. Original author? Ask us to correct or remove it. Read the disclaimer.