Looking for new business leads shouldn’t feel like playing whack-a-mole. If you’re in sales, business development, or just someone tired of hearing about opportunities too late, this guide’s for you. I’ll show you how to set up real-time alerts in Echobot so you can spot new business opportunities as soon as they pop up—without drowning in pointless notifications.
Let’s cut through the noise, set up what actually works, and skip what doesn’t.
Why Real-Time Alerts Matter (and Where They Go Wrong)
Before we get into the how-to, let’s be honest: Most alert systems are either too noisy or too narrow. You either get pinged for every minor blip or miss the stuff that actually matters. The trick with Echobot is to set up alerts that flag real leads—without blowing up your inbox.
Here’s what you want: - Speed: Find out fast, before competitors do. - Relevance: Only see leads that fit your target. - Clarity: Easy to adjust or kill off alerts that waste your time.
And here’s what to watch out for: - Alert fatigue: Too many notifications = you start ignoring them. - Vague filters: If you’re not specific, you’ll get junk. - Forgetting to tune: Your market changes; your alerts should too.
Step 1: Get Clear On What “Opportunities” Mean To You
Don’t even log in yet. First, write down: - The industries, regions, or company sizes you care about - What counts as a “trigger” (funding, hiring, new offices, legal changes, etc.) - Deal-breakers—stuff you don’t want to see
If you skip this, you’ll waste time fiddling with settings later.
Pro tip: Sales teams often use the same broad filters for everyone. Don’t. Make your alerts fit your actual prospect profile, not just what marketing says.
Step 2: Log Into Echobot and Head to the Alert Center
Now, jump into Echobot. From the main dashboard, look for the “Alerts” or “Notifications” section—it’s usually in the top menu or sidebar.
If you don’t see anything labeled “Alerts,” look for: - “Signals” - “Monitor” - “Watchlists”
Echobot sometimes changes the wording, but the function’s the same.
Step 3: Build Your First Alert
Here’s where most people mess up: They use default templates and never see anything useful. Ignore the generic “Company News” alert—make your own.
Set Up the Core Filters
- Industry: Only pick what you sell to. More is not better.
- Location: Drill down—country, region, even city.
- Company size: Filter by employee count or revenue.
- Keywords: Use specifics. “Expansion,” “hiring,” “new product,” or your competitor’s names.
You can usually combine these for laser focus. For example: - “SaaS companies in Berlin announcing new funding” - “Manufacturing firms in the UK posting about new hires”
Choose Your Trigger Types
Echobot lets you pick from common “signals” like: - Funding rounds - Job postings or hiring sprees - Press releases - M&A activity - Legal filings - Website changes
Be ruthless. If your past deals never came from one of these triggers, skip it.
What to skip: Generic news or social media mentions—these are usually vague and fill up your alerts with fluff.
Step 4: Fine-Tune for Signal, Not Noise
This is where you separate useful alerts from inbox spam.
- Stack filters: Don’t just use “OR” logic (“Berlin OR Munich”); use “AND” where you can (“Berlin AND funding”).
- Negative keywords: If you keep seeing junk, add keywords to exclude (e.g., “NOT internship” if you just want senior hires).
- Set frequency: If real-time feels like too much, batch alerts (hourly, daily). But if you’re in a cutthroat market, go real-time to catch leads early.
Pro tip: Run your alert for a few days, then check what you’re actually getting. Tweak aggressively.
Step 5: Set Up Delivery (and Don’t Rely on Email Alone)
Decide how you want alerts delivered: - Email: Standard, but can get lost in the shuffle. - In-app notifications: Good if you’re logged in all day. - CRM integration: If you can, pipe alerts straight into your CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.). This avoids dropping leads.
Reality check: Most people just use email and forget about them. If you’re serious, set a rule: check alerts at the same time every day, or set up a Slack/Teams integration if your team lives there.
Step 6: Test and Tweak—Don’t Set and Forget
Let your alerts run for a week. Then: - Look at what you’re getting: Are these actually leads you want? - Ask your team: Is anyone acting on these, or just deleting them? - Refine filters: Tighten up anything that’s off. Add new keywords, drop triggers you never act on.
What usually needs adjusting: - Too broad: You’re getting random company news, not business signals. - Too narrow: You never get any alerts—try relaxing a filter or two. - Wrong triggers: For example, lots of press releases, but you only care about job postings.
Step 7: Build a Workflow Around Your Alerts
An alert is useless if you don’t act on it. Decide: - Who gets the alert? (Don’t CC the whole team if it’s not relevant.) - What’s the next step? (Quick research? Outreach? Add to CRM?) - How do you track outcomes? (If you close a deal from an alert, note it.)
Pro tip: If you’re not getting value from your current setup after a month, scrap it and start over. There’s no prize for sticking with a system that doesn’t work.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
Works: - Laser-focused, specific alerts (e.g., “Fintech companies in London hiring 10+ people”) - Integrations that pipe alerts into your daily workflow (CRM, Slack) - Team review of alert quality every month
Doesn’t: - Broad “news about our industry” alerts (way too much noise) - Setting up alerts for things you never actually act on - Overcomplicating with dozens of tiny filters—keep it manageable
Ignore: - Social media monitoring for business leads (unless you sell to marketers) - Overly complicated Boolean logic unless you really know what you’re doing
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Setting up real-time alerts in Echobot isn’t rocket science, but it does take a bit of tuning. Start focused, watch what comes in, and don’t be afraid to throw out what isn’t working. The goal isn’t to get every possible lead—it’s to spot the right ones, fast, without burning out.
Check your setup every month. Markets change, companies pivot, and what worked before might be useless now. Stay flexible, and you’ll actually get value from those alerts—instead of just more email to ignore.
Good luck, and remember: the best alert system is the one you actually use.