A working lead capture point connected to your CRM, a basic pipeline with the right stages, and one immediate follow-up trigger. Those three things form the foundation. Everything else, nurture sequences, booking integrations, reminder automations, gets built on top of a foundation that you know works. Start simple and verify each piece before adding complexity.

For a complete setup that includes lead capture, pipeline stages, follow-up sequences, booking integration, and reminder automations, expect four to eight weeks if you are doing it yourself while running your coaching practice. The platform has a learning curve and the setup involves many interdependent pieces. A done-for-you build by someone who has done it before takes less time and usually results in fewer gaps and errors.

Your coaching offer details and how you describe your ideal client's problem. Your existing lead sources, the forms, landing pages, or social integrations you want to connect. Any existing email list you plan to migrate. Your available booking times and preferred consultation format. And the broad strokes of what you want each automation sequence to say, even if the final copy gets refined during the build.

Instagram integration runs through Meta's API and is connected in GHL's settings under the social media integrations tab. Website form connections typically use a GHL embed code or a webhook. Both require some technical setup and occasional troubleshooting as platform integrations change. Testing the connection manually after setup, by going through the lead flow as a test contact yourself, is the only reliable way to confirm it is working.

Building complex sequences before verifying the lead capture works. Not testing automations with a real contact before going live. Using broken or mismatched merge fields in email and SMS templates. Building pipeline stages that do not match your actual conversion process. And not setting up a default pipeline stage so new leads land in an undefined state with no automation triggering. Each of these is easy to miss and consequential when real leads start coming in.

Create a test contact with your own contact information and manually trigger each automation from that contact's record. Go through every lead source as if you were a new lead: submit your own form, DM your own keyword, book a test appointment. At each step, verify in GHL that the contact record updated correctly, the right automation triggered, and the messages sent on schedule. Document what you tested so you have a checklist to return to if something breaks later.