Agency Inbox Triage Blueprint: Leads and Client Requests

Who It's For

• Agencies and studios of 1 to 20 people working from Gmail.
• Owners who answer new enquiries late because client work comes first.

Not for

• Teams that already run a help desk or CRM with assignment rules they are happy with.

The Bot Stack

• Inbox Managerby @mvanhornLabels and prioritises new Gmail and drafts replies for the messages that need you.
• Inbox to Asanaby @lennysanTurns action items in the inbox into Asana tasks.
• Projects Managerby @ericzakariassonKeeps one Notion row per project with tasks on a board.
• Dispatchby @FilippoFonsecaFinds calls people agreed to and drafts the invite.

Full write-up with the flow diagram: Turn an Agency Inbox into Tracked Projects.

The First 10

Who

The last 10 new-business enquiries in your inbox that waited more than a day for a reply, or never got one.

Where to find them

Search Gmail for your contact-form notifications and direct enquiries from the last 60 days.

The first message

Hi {first name}, thanks again for getting in touch about {project} on {date}, and sorry for the slow reply. Is this still on your list? If so, I can share two or three ideas on a 20-minute call. Here are some times: {booking link}. If the timing has passed, no problem at all. Kind regards, {your name}

Then

Let Inbox Manager label the last 30 days so you can see how many enquiries, client requests and admin emails arrive each week. That is your baseline.

• Reply only to people who contacted you. This is not cold outreach.
• Include a clear way to say no thanks.

Costs and Break-Even

Setup

• VRun It With Us setup: $1,500 founding price for the first 3 setups (normally $2,500), one time for one bot setup, starting with a $300 deposit that counts toward it. Source, checked 30 Oct 2026.

Monthly tool bill

• VGrok Bot Premium: $30 a month (runs all four bots). Source, checked 27 Oct 2026.
• VAsana Personal: $0 for up to 2 users. Starter: $10.99 per user a month billed annually, $13.49 billed monthly. Source, checked 27 Oct 2026.
• VNotion Free: $0. Plus: $10 per member a month. Source, checked 27 Oct 2026.
• VGoogle Workspace Business Starter: $7 per user a month list price. Source, checked 27 Oct 2026.
• EExample bill for a 3-person agency on Asana Starter (monthly), Notion Free and Workspace Starter at list price: $30 + 3 x $13.49 + $0 + 3 x $7 = about $91 a month. Basis: Sum of the listed prices; your seat count and plans will differ.

Your time

• EAbout 20 minutes each morning to approve drafts and check new tasks. Basis: Our estimate for an inbox with a few dozen emails a day.

Work out your own break-even

• Hours the bot must save each month to cover its running cost = monthly tool bill / your hourly value.
• Months to recover the setup = setup price ($1,500 founding, normally $2,500) / (hours saved a month x your hourly value - monthly tool bill).
• Measure hours saved in week 1 (before) and week 4 (after) with a simple time log. Use your own numbers, not ours.
• For leads, also track the hours from enquiry to first reply, before and after. Your own number.

Many agencies already pay for Workspace and a task tool; count only what you would add.

Cost to Run

List prices first. Offer prices are shown only with their terms, and they end. Check each vendor page before you buy.

Disclosure: we are a member of the Google Workspace Referral Program, so Google may pay us a referral fee if you sign up through our link. The link alone gives no discount. Try Google Workspace

Weekly Cadence

1. MondayYouApprove weekend drafts; answer the top three new enquiries first (20 minutes).The botsInbox Manager labels everything that came in since Friday and drafts replies. Inbox to Asana files client requests as tasks.
2. TuesdayYouApprove drafts; check new tasks have an owner and a date.The botsProjects Manager updates each project row from the new tasks.
3. WednesdayYouApprove drafts; send any call invites Dispatch prepared.The botsDispatch finds calls people agreed to and drafts invites.
4. ThursdayYouApprove drafts; tidy labels the bot got wrong so it learns your categories.The botsInbox Manager drafts; tasks keep flowing to Asana.
5. FridayYouTen-minute review: enquiries this week, time to first reply, open client requests.The botsProjects Manager writes a short weekly status per project.
6. WeekendYouNothing required.The botsInbox Manager labels and queues drafts for Monday.

When to Stop

Baseline first. Before you start, write down: enquiries per week and the usual time from enquiry to first reply.

E These thresholds are our rules of thumb, not benchmarks.

Rules to Follow

• Email rules (US, CAN-SPAM)Commercial email needs a working opt-out, and people cannot be asked to pay or do more than reply or visit one page to opt out. The rules treat transactional or relationship messages, such as a reminder about an invoice already owed, differently from marketing email. Keep subject lines honest either way. Source.
• Data protection (EU and UK customers)If you hold personal data about people in the EU or UK, GDPR or UK GDPR applies: collect only what the job needs, tell people how you use it, and keep access to the connected accounts to the people who need it. Source.
• Client confidentialityConnect only the inboxes and workspaces you own, give each bot the least access it needs, and check client contracts for rules on where their data may be stored.
• No income claimsNothing on this page promises income, savings or any business result. The value lines are labelled estimates with their basis. Bots draft and you approve. Source.

What Is Typical

• AIn an audit of 2,241 US companies, 37% answered a web lead within an hour, 24% took more than 24 hours and 23% never replied. Firms that tried to contact a lead within an hour were nearly 7 times as likely to qualify it as those that waited even an hour longer. Sample: 2,241 US companies audited; second study of 1.25 million leads at 42 companies (Oldroyd, McElheran and Elkington, HBR) (March 2011). The study authors' published figures. The hbr.org page is paywalled, so we read the numbers in a full-text copy. The data is old; treat it as direction, not a current benchmark. Source, checked 27 Oct 2026.
• Caveat. We have no verified data on agencies using inbox bots. Measure your own reply times.

FAQ