If you run a Slack community for your product, you’ve probably wondered: Who in here is ready to buy, and who’s just lurking? This guide is for salespeople, founders, or anyone who wants to figure out if their Slack group is actually moving the needle—and how to use Commonroom to pull real leads out of the noise.
Let’s skip the buzzwords and get right to what works.
1. Connect Your Slack Workspace to Commonroom
First things first: if you haven’t already, connect your Slack workspace to Commonroom. This is the only way you’ll get all your community data in one place. You’ll need admin rights on Slack and a Commonroom account.
Steps: 1. Log in to Commonroom. 2. Go to “Settings” or “Workspace Integrations.” 3. Select Slack and follow the prompts to authorize access.
Heads-up:
Commonroom pulls in message data, user profiles, and channel activity. It can’t read DMs, and it won’t grab deleted messages or private channels unless you specifically allow it. If you’re worried about privacy, check with your team before connecting.
2. Let Your Data Sync and Set a Baseline
Give Commonroom a little time to pull in your Slack data—could be a few minutes or a couple of hours for big communities.
What you’ll see:
- Member profiles (names, emails if available, roles)
- Activity feeds (who’s posting, replying, reacting)
- Channel-level stats
Pro Tip:
Don’t skip this waiting period. If you rush in before the sync is done, you’ll miss people who joined recently or posted in the past day. Pour yourself a coffee and come back later.
3. Define What a “High Value Lead” Means for You
Here’s where a lot of people go wrong: they look for “engaged” members and assume those are leads. Not always true.
Take a minute to define what you mean by “high value.” For example: - Someone with a business email (not @gmail.com) - People who ask questions about pricing or features - Members who post in channels for enterprise or advanced use cases - Folks who help others (often a sign they’re invested)
What to ignore:
- Members who just say “thanks” or post memes
- People who join and never post
- Anyone using personal emails if you sell B2B
Write down your criteria. Seriously—don’t skip this. You’ll need it for the next step.
4. Use Filters and Segments to Surface High Value Members
Now you’ve got all your Slack data in Commonroom. Here’s where the magic actually happens—if you know what to look for.
Set up filters based on your criteria: - Email domain: Filter out personal email providers. - Engagement: Show members who posted or replied in the last 30 days. - Keywords: Search for words like “pricing,” “trial,” “integration,” or whatever signals buying intent for your product. - Channels: Focus on specific channels where buying conversations happen.
How to do it: - Go to the “Members” tab in Commonroom. - Use the filter bar to stack multiple conditions (e.g., “Email contains company.com” AND “Message contains ‘pricing’”). - Save these as a segment—you’ll want to check back regularly.
Pro Tip:
Don’t overcomplicate. Two or three filters are plenty to start. If you try to be too clever, you’ll end up with zero results or a bunch of false positives.
5. Dig Into Member Profiles for Context
Now you’ve got a list of potential leads. Before you hand them off to sales (or reach out yourself), do a quick gut check.
Look for: - Job titles that match your target buyer - Company size (if available) - Patterns in their activity (Are they asking serious questions, or are they just chatting?)
What doesn’t matter: - High message count, if it’s all in off-topic channels - Fancy avatars or bios—just stick to the facts
Sometimes, Commonroom will enrich profiles with LinkedIn or Twitter info. This is handy, but don’t trust it blindly. Always verify before reaching out.
6. Set Up Alerts for Buying Signals
You don’t want to live in Commonroom all day. Set up alerts so you get pinged when someone matches your “high value” criteria.
How: - Go to “Automations” or “Workflows” (names may change as the product evolves) - Set a trigger for new messages containing your key terms, from members with business emails - Choose your notification: email, Slack, or even a webhook if you’re fancy
Pro Tip:
Start simple. Too many alerts = noise, and you’ll start ignoring them. Tweak as you go.
7. Track What Happens (and Adjust)
Here’s the honest truth: your first set of filters probably won’t catch every good lead, and you’ll miss some. That’s normal.
What to do: - Check your segments weekly to see who’s popped up - Review who actually turned into a lead or customer - Adjust your filters and keywords based on what’s working
If you’re not getting good leads: - Loosen your filters (maybe just business email + recent post) - Change up your keywords (ask your sales team what people actually say when they’re ready to buy) - Look at quieter channels—sometimes serious buyers don’t post in the main lounge
8. Don’t Annoy Your Community
Nobody likes being spammed the second they ask a question. Use Commonroom to spot potential leads, but always be human when you reach out.
Best practices: - Personalize your first message (“Saw you asked about integrations—happy to help!”) - Don’t pitch right away. Offer value or answer questions first. - Respect their privacy settings. If someone doesn’t want to talk, let it go.
If you get too aggressive, word gets around. Use the data to be helpful—not pushy.
What Actually Works (and What Doesn’t)
Works:
- Combining filters: business email + recent buying signal
- Saving smart segments and checking them regularly
- Setting up relevant alerts (not just “most active”)
- Reviewing member profiles before reaching out
Doesn’t Work:
- Relying only on “top posters”—quantity isn’t quality
- Ignoring context (some channels are just for fun)
- Setting and forgetting your filters—things change
- Assuming every new member is a lead
Keep It Simple and Iterate
You don’t need a 10-step funnel or a stack of analytics just to spot high value leads in your Slack community. Start with Commonroom, get your filters right, and keep checking what’s actually working. If you miss a few good leads at first, so what? Adjust and try again.
The best communities are built on trust, not just conversions. Use these tools to help the right people at the right time—and you’ll get better results than any AI bot or “growth hack.”
Now, get back to your community. There’s real business in there, if you know where to look.