If you’re tired of chasing down leads after every call, or if you’ve ever dropped the ball on a follow-up, you’re not alone. Keeping up with callbacks and timely responses is a pain—especially if you’re doing it by hand. The good news: automating follow-ups isn’t just for huge sales teams or tech wizards. With Callroot and Zapier, you can set up a dead-simple workflow that’ll handle the grunt work for you.
This guide is for anyone who’s juggling sales calls, running a small agency, or just wants to squeeze more value out of every inbound call—without more busywork.
Why bother automating call follow ups?
Let’s be honest: most follow-up tasks are boring, repetitive, and easy to screw up. Forgetting to follow up means lost business, but doing it all manually is a drain. Automating your call follow-ups:
- Saves time and sanity
- Makes sure no lead falls through the cracks
- Lets you focus on real conversations, not reminders
The catch? You need tools that actually talk to each other. That’s where Callroot (for tracking and logging calls) and Zapier (for connecting apps) come in.
What you’ll need
Before you dive in, here’s what you’ll need on hand:
- A Callroot account (any plan with Zapier integration)
- A Zapier account (the free plan is usually enough to get started)
- A CRM or email tool you want to automate (think HubSpot, Salesforce, Gmail, Mailchimp, etc.)
- 10–20 minutes to set up your first workflow
If you’ve got those, you’re good to go.
Step 1: Get Callroot ready to send data
First, make sure your Callroot account is logging calls and that you can see call data (caller number, time, etc.) in your dashboard.
- If you’re not tracking calls yet, set up a tracking number in Callroot and test it.
- Double-check that your plan includes Zapier integration—most do, but it’s worth confirming.
- Head to the Callroot dashboard and look for the “Integrations” section. You’ll need your API key or to connect Zapier directly.
Pro tip: If you’re just testing, use your own number and make a dummy call to see how it shows up.
Step 2: Connect Callroot to Zapier
Zapier is the glue here. It connects Callroot to whatever app you want to use for follow-ups.
- In Zapier, click “Create Zap.”
- Choose Callroot as your Trigger app.
- Search for "Callroot" and select it.
- Choose the trigger event—usually something like “New Call” or “Missed Call.”
- Connect your Callroot account.
- Zapier will prompt you to log in and authorize access.
- You may need an API key from Callroot’s integration page.
- Test the trigger.
- Zapier will pull in recent call data. Make sure it sees your test call.
Heads up: If Callroot doesn’t show up in Zapier’s app list, you might need to use a webhook instead (a little more advanced, but doable). Most people won’t need this.
Step 3: Choose your follow-up action
What do you actually want to happen after a call? This is where you pick your “Action” app in Zapier. Here are the most common options:
- Send a follow-up email (via Gmail, Outlook, Mailchimp, etc.)
- Create a new CRM task or contact (HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, etc.)
- Send a Slack or Teams notification to yourself or your team
- Add to a Google Sheet for tracking
Let’s run through the most popular setup: sending a follow-up email automatically after a new inbound call.
Example: Send an email follow-up after every new call
- Add an Action step in Zapier.
- Choose your email app (e.g., Gmail).
- Set the action (e.g., “Send Email”).
- Customize the email.
- Use the caller’s number or name in the subject/body.
- Write a template message (e.g., “Thanks for calling! Here’s more info about our services…”).
- Include dynamic fields from Callroot (like call time, caller ID, etc.).
- Test the action.
- Zapier will send a test email. Make sure it looks right.
- Turn on the Zap.
- That’s it. Now every new call will trigger an automatic follow-up email.
Step 4: Tune your workflow (don’t overcomplicate it)
This is where most people get stuck. Zapier has a million options, and it’s tempting to build a Rube Goldberg machine of triggers and filters.
Keep it simple at first: - Start with one basic workflow (e.g., new call → email follow-up). - Make sure it’s working reliably. - Only add extras (filters, delays, branching) after you’ve seen it work in the real world.
Common tweaks that actually help:
- Filter out spam calls: Use Zapier’s filters to ignore calls from known spam numbers or extremely short calls.
- Delay follow-ups: Want a more “human” touch? Add a delay step (say, 10 minutes) so the email doesn’t go out instantly.
- Assign leads: If you have a team, use Zapier to rotate or assign leads based on rules (e.g., round robin, source, etc.).
Stuff you can skip (for now):
- Fancy multi-step Zaps with complex logic—unless you’re already comfortable with Zapier
- Integrating every single app you use (start with the one that matters most)
- Worrying about “perfect” automation—the goal is to save time, not build a spaceship
Step 5: Test, monitor, and adjust
No automation is set-it-and-forget-it. You’ll want to:
- Test with real data: Try a few real calls and see what happens.
- Check for errors: Zapier will email you if something breaks. Don’t ignore those emails.
- Review logs: Both Callroot and Zapier keep logs of what happened. Look for missing data, failed emails, or anything weird.
- Ask for feedback: If your team or clients are involved, check if the follow-ups are actually useful (or just noise).
If something’s off, tweak your Zap. Don’t be afraid to delete and start over—sometimes that’s faster than endless troubleshooting.
Honest takes: What works, what doesn’t
What actually works:
- Automating routine follow-ups: Huge time-saver, especially if you get a lot of calls.
- Catching missed calls: You can make sure nobody slips through the cracks, even after hours.
- Simple notifications: Getting a Slack ping or email summary just works.
What doesn’t (usually):
- Trying to automate everything: You’ll spend more time fixing stuff than you save.
- Ignoring messy data: If your call data is full of spam or incomplete numbers, your follow-ups won’t land right.
- Over-personalizing: Automated emails aren’t fooling anyone—keep them helpful and to the point.
Wrapping up: Start simple, then iterate
Automating call follow-ups with Callroot and Zapier isn’t rocket science. Start with something basic that saves you time, make sure it works, and build from there. Don’t get sucked into endless tweaking or chasing “perfect” automation. The real win is freeing up headspace so you can focus on actual conversations—not just chasing reminders.
If you hit a snag, keep it simple and try again. Automation is supposed to make your life easier—not give you another thing to babysit.