How to Automatically Reply to Thumbtack Leads Using Zapier and Twilio

Thumbtack leads are expensive, and if you don't respond fast, the customer is usually already talking to two or three other companies. Manual reply time is where a lot of that lead spend gets wasted.

To help businesses respond faster, Bryan Shankman, CEO and co-founder of LeadTruffle, created a full walkthrough showing how to automatically reply to new Thumbtack leads using Zapier and Twilio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qbH9d-Njng

Here's a workflow that fixes it:

• Thumbtack sends a webhook every time a new lead comes in (set this up in your Pro account under Apps > Manage Webhooks)

• Zapier catches that webhook and pulls the lead details

• A filter step only lets it continue if the event is a new negotiation (a new lead), so you're not re-triggering on every message or review

• Zapier sends a text through Twilio (or whatever SMS system you use) to the Thumbtack-provided phone number for that lead, kicking off the conversation instantly

To set this up you'll need:

• A Thumbtack Pro account

• A Zapier account on a paid plan (needed for webhooks)

• A way to send SMS, like a Twilio number connected to Zapier

One important thing to know: Thumbtack does not give you the customer’s actual phone number. It provides a forwarding number that routes your text into the customer’s Thumbtack conversation.

Before using the automation, add your calling and texting numbers under Registered Phone Numbers in Thumbtack. Otherwise, Thumbtack may ask for a verification code, which can delay the reply.

Is anyone else's team still manually replying to Thumbtack leads, or have you already got something automated for this?