Phase 1: Foundation Setup (Day 1)

Step 1: n8n Installation

Option A: n8n Cloud (Recommended for Beginners)

1. Go to n8n.cloud
2. Sign up for account
3. Choose "Starter" plan ($20/month)
4. Complete email verification

Option B: Self-Hosted (Advanced Users)

bash

*# Docker installation*
docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 n8nio/n8n

*# Or npm installation*  
npm install n8n -g
n8n start

Step 2: Import the Workflow

1. Download the workflow JSON file from above
2. Open your n8n instance
3. Click "Import from File"
4. Select the downloaded JSON file
5. Import and verify all nodes appear

Step 3: Database Setup

sql

*- PostgreSQL setup*
CREATE DATABASE competitor_leads_db;

*- Connect to the database*
\\c competitor_leads_db;

*- Create the main table*
CREATE TABLE competitor_leads ( id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY, name VARCHAR(255), email VARCHAR(255), company VARCHAR(255), role VARCHAR(255), linkedin_profile TEXT, comment_text TEXT, lead_score INTEGER, pain_points TEXT, source_post VARCHAR(500), created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()
);

*- Create indexes for performance*
CREATE INDEX idx_email ON competitor_leads(email);
CREATE INDEX idx_created_at ON competitor_leads(created_at);
CREATE INDEX idx_lead_score ON competitor_leads(lead_score);

Phase 2: API Integrations (Day 2-3)