If you’re in sales or run a team, you know that speed kills—or rather, slow kills. If a hot lead lands on your site, you want to know fast, and you want the right people to jump on it. Qualified ([qualified.html]) promises to make that real-time handoff easy, but their alerts and notifications can be a bit much (or not enough) if you don’t set them up right. This guide gets straight to the point: how to configure Qualified so your team gets the right alerts, at the right time, and actually responds.
1. Understand What Qualified Alerts Can—and Can’t—Do
Qualified offers a bunch of ways to notify you: browser pop-ups, email, mobile push, Slack, and even Salesforce notifications. You can set triggers for things like:
- A VIP account hitting your site
- A lead matching a specific Salesforce record
- Someone requesting a live chat
- Activity on a high-value landing page
But here’s the thing: if you just turn all this on, you’ll drown in noise. And if you get too picky, you might miss actual buying signals. Start simple, tune as you go.
What doesn’t work? Qualified won’t read your mind. If your routing rules or lead scoring are off, even the best alerts won’t save you. Garbage in, garbage out.
2. Map Out Who Needs to Know What—and When
Before you touch any settings, sketch out:
- Who really needs an instant alert? (Usually, not everyone.)
- What kind of visitors deserve a real-time nudge?
- What channels actually get your team’s attention? (Spoiler: Email rarely does.)
This isn’t busywork—it stops you from spamming your team and burning them out.
Pro tip
If you’re not sure, ask your reps: “When do you want to be interrupted?” Their answers might surprise you (and save you from being tuned out).
3. Set Up Your Core Notification Channels
Qualified lets you pick where alerts land. Here’s the rundown:
Slack
If your sales team lives in Slack, this is your best bet for real-time. To connect:
- In Qualified, go to Settings > Integrations > Slack.
- Click Connect Slack and follow the prompts.
- Choose which Slack channel or users get notifications.
What works: Slack is fast and can be tailored to specific channels or reps.
What doesn’t: If your Slack is already noisy, alerts can get buried. Set up a dedicated channel if you can.
You can send alerts to any email address.
- Go to Settings > Alerts & Notifications.
- Add the email addresses you want to notify.
What works: Good for backup, but not for real-time.
What doesn’t: Most reps ignore email alerts when they’re on calls or in the zone.
Mobile Push
Qualified’s mobile app can send push notifications.
- Have your reps download the Qualified mobile app.
- Enable push notifications in-app and in phone settings.
What works: Great if your team is out and about.
What doesn’t: If users have Do Not Disturb on, alerts can be delayed or missed.
Browser Notifications
For reps glued to their browser, these pop-ups can work.
- Make sure browser notifications are enabled for Qualified.
- Reps need to allow notifications in their browser settings.
What works: Immediate if the browser is open.
What doesn’t: Easy to ignore or miss if the browser is minimized.
Salesforce Notifications
If you’re deeply tied into Salesforce, you can push alerts there.
- In Settings > Integrations > Salesforce, connect your Salesforce account.
- Configure which events trigger Salesforce tasks or alerts.
What works: Good for record-keeping, not for real-time pings.
What doesn’t: Don’t expect your team to jump on these instantly—Salesforce is rarely their first stop.
4. Build (or Edit) Your Alert Rules
This is where you decide what triggers an alert.
- In Qualified, go to Settings > Alerts & Notifications > Rules.
- Click Create Rule (or edit an existing one).
Here’s what you can do:
- Set conditions: e.g., “If visitor matches Salesforce field ‘Account Tier = Enterprise’”
- Pick actions: e.g., send Slack alert to
#sales-hot-leads - Add filters: Limit based on page URL, time of day, or lead score
Common alert rules that actually work
- VIP leads: Notify the assigned rep (and maybe a manager) when a target account hits the site
- Demo requests: Ping the team instantly for any hand-raiser forms
- Re-engagement: Alert if a previously cold lead returns
What doesn’t work: Blanket rules like “notify on every new visitor.” You’ll get ignored, guaranteed.
Pro tip
Start with just one or two core rules. Too many, and people will start tuning out.
5. Test Your Alerts—Really
Don’t just set it and forget it. After configuring:
- Use an incognito window or test account to trigger your alerts.
- Make sure the right people get notified, on the right device, within seconds.
- Double-check: Did the alert go to Slack, but not email? Did the mobile push actually arrive?
If something’s off, tweak the rule or notification channel. It’s normal to need a few rounds to get this right.
6. Fine-Tune: Reduce Noise, Increase Relevance
After a week or two, ask your team:
- Are you getting spammed?
- Did you miss anything important?
- Which notifications actually helped you respond faster?
Turn off or tighten up any rule that isn’t useful. Don’t be afraid to kill alerts that nobody wants—less is more.
How to reduce noise
- Add more filters (e.g., only notify on high-value pages)
- Route notifications to individuals, not broad channels
- Use time-based restrictions (only during business hours)
7. Handling Escalations and Backups
Even with good alerts, someone will be out sick or miss a ping. Build backup into your system:
- Use round-robin or fallback routing in Qualified so leads aren’t lost if someone doesn’t respond
- Set up escalation rules: If no action in X minutes, alert a manager or a group
This isn’t about micromanaging—it’s about making sure no lead falls through the cracks.
8. What to Ignore (For Now)
Qualified is adding new features all the time—sometimes they’re not worth the fuss unless you have a big team or complex workflow.
- Overly complex routing: If you’re a small team, keep it simple.
- Custom webhooks: Only mess with these if you have dev resources and a real use case.
- Multi-step automation: Don’t automate everything. Manual follow-up still matters.
Focus on getting the basics right before you try to build a Rube Goldberg machine of sales alerts.
Summary: Start Simple, Iterate Fast
You want your team to jump on real leads, not get numb to alerts. Start with just a couple of highly targeted notification rules in Qualified, test them, and ask your team what’s actually helping. Don’t be afraid to trim the fat—noise kills speed. The best setup is the one your team actually uses, not the fanciest one you can build. Keep it simple, and tweak as you go.