Best Practices for Setting Up Intent Based Alerts in Intentsify to Drive Faster Sales Responses

If you're tired of seeing "intent data" hyped up as the magic bullet for sales—and then watching your team ignore half the alerts—they're not alone. This guide is for sales and marketing folks who want to actually make Intentsify work for them, not just check a box. We'll cut the fluff and focus on what matters: setting up intent-based alerts that get noticed and actually drive faster responses.

Why Intent-Based Alerts Usually Flop (and How to Avoid That)

Before jumping into setup, let’s get real about why intent alerts often end up ignored:

  • Too many false positives: Sales gets flooded with noise, tunes it out, and the whole thing is a waste.
  • Poor timing: Alerts come in days late, or so frequently they’re background noise.
  • No context: Reps get a company name and a “high intent” score—then what?
  • No action plan: People don’t know what to do next, so nothing happens.

If you want your alerts to actually drive faster sales responses, you need to set them up with these problems in mind.


Step 1: Define What “Intent” Actually Means for You

Not all intent is equal—and not all “high intent” is worth jumping on. Start by answering:

  • What are you tracking? Is it research on your exact solutions, or just vague industry topics?
  • Who cares? Is this something sales actually wants to know about, or just marketing?
  • How fast do you really need to respond? If a prospect reads an article today, is tomorrow soon enough? Or is this a “call within 5 minutes” thing?

Pro tip: Talk to your sales team before you set up a single alert. Ask them what’s useful—and what they’ll ignore.


Step 2: Build Focused, Actionable Segments

Don’t just turn on alerts for every topic under the sun. You’ll end up with noise. Instead:

  • Pick a handful of truly sales-ready topics. Go narrow and be specific.
    • Example: Instead of “cloud computing,” try “cloud data warehouse comparison.”
  • Layer on firmographics. Target accounts by company size, industry, or region.
  • Use exclusions. Filter out current customers, competitors, and anyone you definitely don’t want in the pipeline.

What to skip: Don’t feel pressured to track every broad “awareness” term. Most of those won’t lead to actual conversations.


Step 3: Set Up Alerts That Won’t Get Ignored

This is where most setups fall apart. Here’s how to avoid that:

  • Keep it simple. Send alerts only when something actually changes—a spike in intent, a new account surges, or an existing target moves up a tier.
  • Batch if you can. Instead of 50 one-off alerts a day, consider a daily digest or a prioritized top 10. Sales reps can’t process a firehose.
  • Give context. Include details like the actual topics, recent activities (e.g., “researched pricing”), and any history with your company.

Honest take: If you can’t explain why an alert matters in a sentence or two, don’t send it.


Step 4: Deliver Alerts Where Sales Actually Works

If your reps live in email, send alerts there. If they’re glued to Salesforce or Slack, get the alerts into those tools. Don’t make them hunt for intent data in a new portal.

  • Integrate with CRM or sales engagement platforms if possible.
  • Use Slack or Teams for real-time nudges—but keep it targeted.
  • Avoid “yet another dashboard” syndrome. Unless your team loves dashboards (most don’t), don’t force them to log in.

Pro tip: Test with one or two reps before rolling out alerts company-wide. Find out what gets read and what gets ignored.


Step 5: Make Alerts Actionable, Not Just Informational

A company showing intent doesn’t mean “call them now” by default. Set clear next steps:

  • Template the follow-up. Suggest specific actions—e.g., “Send this one-pager,” or “Reference their recent research in your outreach.”
  • Score or prioritize. Not all intent surges are equal. Flag the hottest accounts so reps know where to focus first.
  • Connect to plays or cadences. If you use sales engagement tools, tie intent alerts to specific sequences or outreach templates.

What doesn’t work: Just dumping data on reps and hoping they figure it out. If you want action, spell it out.


Step 6: Review and Tune Regularly

Don’t set and forget. Intent data can go stale, topics change, and what’s “high intent” today might be noise next quarter.

  • Check in with sales every month. Are alerts driving real conversations? What’s getting ignored?
  • Trim topics and segments that aren’t producing results.
  • Adjust frequency and format if sales says they’re overwhelmed (or underwhelmed).
  • Test new ideas—but one at a time. It’s tempting to add more, but more isn’t always better.

Reality check: Most teams need to simplify, not add complexity.


What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore

What works: - Tight, focused alerts built with sales input - Delivering actionable insights right where reps already work - Keeping things simple and trimming noise

What doesn’t: - Overly broad topics (“IT infrastructure”) - Alert fatigue (too many, too often) - Vague “intent” with no next step

What to ignore: - Fancy dashboards nobody uses - Tracking every possible topic “just in case” - Overcomplicating your scoring model


Simple, Useful, and Worth Your Time

Intent-based alerts in Intentsify can be powerful—if you keep it simple and focus on what actually drives action. Start small, get feedback from sales, and don’t be afraid to kill what’s not working. The real goal isn’t more alerts; it’s more conversations with buyers who are actually interested. Iterate, trim the noise, and make sure your team knows exactly what to do next—then watch what happens.