Turn Smartlead replies into CRM leads
SalesCrew connects to Smartlead via webhooks. An n8n, Make or Zapier flow carries each reply and bounce into your client's instance.
- Via webhooks
- Bounces become suppressions
- One database per client
The short answer
- SalesCrew connects to Smartlead via webhooks, with n8n, Make or Zapier in the middle. Smartlead's own webhooks cover new replies, bounces, link clicks and lead status changes, as documented on smartlead.ai in September 2026.
- A reply becomes a SalesCrew lead through an inbound webhook, with an owner assigned, so interested prospects get worked in a pipeline instead of a sending tool's inbox.
- A bounce becomes a suppression. Once an address is on the SalesCrew list, suppression is checked when an audience freezes and again at send time.
- For agencies, the split is clean: Smartlead sends, and each client's leads, deals and history sit in that client's own SalesCrew database.
Mechanism
Smartlead events in, SalesCrew leads and suppressions out of them.
| What | Mechanism | Direction | Objects | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Replies to leads | Smartlead reply webhook, then a flow posting to a SalesCrew inbound webhook | Inbound | Leads, contacts | Available |
| Bounces to suppression | Smartlead bounce webhook, then suppression_add over MCP | Inbound | Suppression list | Available |
| Status changes | Smartlead lead status webhook, then lead_update over MCP | Inbound | Leads | Available |
| Leads to a campaign | lead.created webhook, then Smartlead's API adds the lead | Outbound | Smartlead campaign leads | Available |
| Bulk hand-off | CSV export of a SalesCrew segment | Outbound | Segments | Available |
| Signed deliveries | X-SalesCrew-Signature, delivery log, retries with backoff | Outbound | Deliveries | Available |
SalesCrew mechanisms read from the SalesCrew integration table, September 2026. Smartlead's API and webhook events checked on api.smartlead.ai and smartlead.ai, September 2026.
Setup
One flow per client, and the reply path first because it pays first.
- 1
Create an inbound webhook in SalesCrew
Settings → Other keys → Inbound webhooks → Add. Name it after the client's Smartlead account and copy the endpoint and signing secret.
- 2
Build the reply flow
In n8n, Make or Zapier, start with a webhook trigger, then POST JSON to the SalesCrew endpoint with Authorization: Bearer and the secret.
- 3
Point Smartlead at the flow
Add the flow's URL as a Smartlead webhook for new replies. Name the fields name, email, company and message where you can, and map the rest in Field mapping.
- 4
Add bounces
Send Smartlead's bounce events to a second branch that adds each address to the SalesCrew suppression list.
- 5
Test with your own address
Reply to a test campaign from your own inbox and check a lead appears in SalesCrew with the right owner.
Set a default owner before the first reply
Questions
- How do Smartlead replies reach SalesCrew?
- Smartlead fires a webhook on new replies. Your n8n, Make or Zapier flow catches it and posts the sender's name, email, company and message to a SalesCrew inbound webhook, which creates the lead and assigns a default owner.
- What happens to a Smartlead bounce?
- Smartlead's webhooks cover bounces too. Send those to the flow and add the address to the SalesCrew suppression list with suppression_add, so no cadence or campaign in that instance emails it again.
- Can I push leads from SalesCrew into a Smartlead campaign?
- Yes. Export the segment as a CSV, or fire a lead.created webhook and let the flow add the lead through Smartlead's API, which uses an API key and a base URL of server.smartlead.ai/api.
- I run cold email for several clients. How does that fit?
- Give each client their own SalesCrew instance and their own flow. Replies from that client's Smartlead campaigns land only in that client's database, and the client can take a full export whenever they want it.
Every Smartlead reply, in the right client's CRM
Replies become leads, bounces become suppressions, and each client keeps their own database.