How to auto-reply to Rightmove and Zoopla leads in minutes and log them in your CRM

Who it’s for

UK sales and lettings agents handling portal enquiries by email

Time to set up

60–90 minutes

Difficulty

Intermediate

Monthly cost

£0–£11

What does this automation do?

When a portal enquiry hits your inbox, this automation:

1. Reads the email and pulls out the applicant’s name, email, phone, the property and what they’re asking for.
2. Creates or updates the applicant in a free CRM so nothing lives only in someone’s inbox.
3. Sends a short, personal reply from your branch address with the next step (a booking link, the brochure, or “we’ll call you within the hour”).
4. Pings a named person straight away if it’s a valuation request, because those are worth a phone call, not an email.

It runs evenings and weekends, when applicants are browsing and branches are shut.

What do you need before you start?

• A free Make account
• A free HubSpot CRM account (or your existing CRM if it has a Make app)
• Access to the inbox where portal enquiries arrive, with permission to set up forwarding
• A viewing booking link (Calendly, Microsoft Bookings, Google Calendar appointment schedule, or your CRM’s own)

How do I set it up?

Step 1: Check whether your agency CRM already does this

Many property CRMs already import portal leads and send auto-responses. If yours does, turn that on first; it is the cheapest and most reliable option. Use this guide if you don’t have one, or if you want smarter, personalised replies than your CRM’s fixed template.

Step 2: Write the reply templates for each enquiry type

Decide what each type of applicant should get. Keep each reply under 120 words:

• Viewing request (sales or lettings): thanks, confirm the property, booking link, one question (e.g. “Are you in a position to proceed? Do you have a property to sell?”).
• General question: thanks, “a member of the team will reply by [time]”, link to the full listing.
• Valuation request: thanks, “[Name] will call you today”, and an instant alert to that person.

Step 3: Create a Make scenario with a custom mailhook

In Make, create a scenario and add Webhooks › Custom mailhook as the first module. Make gives you a unique email address. Anything sent to it starts the scenario instantly, even on the Free plan.

Step 4: Forward portal enquiry emails to the mailhook

In Gmail, go to Settings › Forwarding and POP/IMAP › Add a forwarding address and enter the mailhook address. Gmail sends a confirmation email to it; open the mailhook’s history in Make to find the confirmation code or link. Then create a filter for emails from the portals’ enquiry addresses (check the “From” on a few recent leads) and choose Forward to the mailhook. In Microsoft 365, use an inbox rule that forwards matching emails (your IT admin may need to allow external forwarding).

Step 5: Use AI to extract the lead details as structured data

Add an AI module (OpenAI › Generate a response, or Make’s built-in AI module) with the extraction prompt below. Ask for JSON, then add JSON › Parse JSON so each field becomes something you can map.

Step 6: Create or update the contact in HubSpot

Add HubSpot CRM › Create or Update a Contact, matched on email. Map name, phone, the property address into a custom property such as “Enquired property”, and set the lead status. Paste the original email text into a note so the full context is kept.

Step 7: Send the personalised reply and alert a person for valuations

Add a Router with three routes, filtered on the enquiry_type field:

• viewing or question: Gmail › Send an email to the applicant, using the AI-written reply.
• valuation: send the reply and also notify the valuer (email, Slack, Microsoft Teams or a text).
• unclear or confidence below 0.7 or no email: send an internal alert only, with no automatic reply.

Step 8: Test with ten real enquiries before going live

Forward ten recent enquiries (from different portals and types) to the mailhook while the reply step sends to your own address. Check every extracted field. Only switch the reply to the real applicant once all ten are right.

The copy-paste prompts

Extraction prompt (Step 5):

You read property portal enquiry emails for a UK estate agent.
Return ONLY valid JSON with these keys:
{
 "first_name": "", "last_name": "", "email": "", "phone": "",
 "portal": "Rightmove | Zoopla | OnTheMarket | Other",
 "property_address": "", "property_ref": "",
 "enquiry_type": "viewing | question | valuation | unclear",
 "applicant_message": "",
 "position": "e.g. first-time buyer, property to sell, renting; or empty",
 "confidence": 0.0
}
Rules: copy details exactly as written; never invent missing values (use "");
"confidence" is how sure you are about email and enquiry_type (0 to 1).
Email:
{{email text}}

Reply prompt (Step 7):

Write a reply email from [NEGOTIATOR NAME] at [AGENCY], [TOWN].
Applicant: {{first_name}}. Property: {{property_address}}.
Enquiry type: {{enquiry_type}}. Their message: {{applicant_message}}.
- Under 110 words, British English, warm and professional, no exclamation marks.
- Thank them and name the property.
- Viewing: give this booking link [LINK] and ask ONE qualifying question.
- Question: say the team will reply by [TIME RULE, e.g. "10am tomorrow"]; do not
  answer questions about price, offers, chain or condition yourself.
- Valuation: say [VALUER NAME] will call them today during office hours.
- Never promise availability, prices or outcomes.
Sign off: [NAME], [AGENCY], [PHONE].

Make template outline

What UK rules apply?

• UK GDPR. Replying to an enquiry and logging it in a CRM is normally fine under legitimate interests or as a step before a contract. Mention the CRM and any AI processing in your privacy notice, keep only what you need, and set a retention period for leads that go nowhere (ICO).
• Marketing needs consent. The reply to their enquiry isn’t marketing. Adding them to your “new instructions” newsletter is, so PECR applies: get consent, or meet every condition of the soft opt-in (ICO PECR guidance).
• Don’t answer material questions automatically. Questions about price, tenure, lease terms or problems with the property should get a human reply, so the AI can’t give a wrong or incomplete answer.
• Processors. Make, HubSpot and your AI provider process applicant data for you. Check their data processing terms and where they store data.

What can go wrong?

• Portal email formats change. That’s why the extraction uses AI rather than fixed text rules, but check the CRM weekly for blank fields.
• Reply loops. If an applicant’s auto-reply (“I’m out of office”) comes back to the same inbox, make sure your Gmail filter only forwards emails from the portal addresses.
• Duplicate contacts. Always “create or update” matched on email, not “create”.
• Gmail sending limits. Normal Gmail and Google Workspace accounts have daily sending limits; a branch won’t hit them with enquiry replies, but don’t reuse this scenario for bulk mailing.
• Free plan limits. Make Free allows two active scenarios. If this is your third, you’ll need Core.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Make pricing
2. Make Help: Credits
3. HubSpot free CRM
4. Zapier: What’s included in the Free plan
5. ICO: Legitimate interests
6. ICO: Electronic mail marketing rules (PECR)

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Tool prices and screens change; we re-check every guide regularly. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we’ll fix it.