The client & summary
McSeal LLC is a US company that wanted to automate its outbound lead generation. The core objective was a press-a-button system: the team enters search parameters, and the system finds and qualifies prospects with AI, enriches them and enrols them into email sequences.
The challenge
It all had to run self-hosted and cost-effectively, with as few paid APIs as possible.
Our solution
Our team built the engine between January and February 2026.
Architecture
After researching the most cost-effective workflow, our team developed it in an internal n8n environment first and then deployed it to the client's dedicated server running Docker, an Nginx reverse proxy and SSL.
Workflows
The lead generation workflow is triggered by a webhook or form, scrapes prospects, sends the data to AI for qualification and enriches qualified leads. A second workflow detects new qualified leads and starts an email sequence in Metanow CRM, with a welcome email, a wait period and follow-ups.
Scope of the build
The infrastructure was set up so the environment is persistent and secure, with n8n running in Docker Compose, the domain pointing to the server with SSL certificates, and full root ownership handed to the client. Qualified, enriched leads are saved to a clean table so the team always has an overview of who entered the pipeline.
Keeping costs down
To use as few paid services as possible, scraping, qualification and email finding were streamlined into fewer steps, and the search was extended from the German-speaking region to a global locations database. The nurturing sequence starts with a welcome email, waits a set number of days and then sends follow-ups, pushing leads through Metanow CRM.
Technology stack
- n8n (self-hosted)
- Docker
- Nginx reverse proxy
- SSL (Let's Encrypt)
- VPS
- OpenAI (lead qualification)
- Scraping API
- Metanow CRM
Results
- Self-hosted n8n engine on the client's server.
- Lead generation triggered by webhook or form.
- AI qualification and enrichment.
- Email sequences started automatically in the CRM.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the McSeal automation run?
On the client's own server, with self-hosted n8n in Docker behind an Nginx reverse proxy.
How are leads qualified?
Scraped data is sent to AI, which checks each company against the defined criteria.
What happens to qualified leads?
They are enriched and enrolled into an email sequence in Metanow CRM.
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