If your sales pipeline is full but deals keep stalling, you probably don’t have a lead volume problem—you’ve got a prioritization problem. This guide is for people who need to find the real buyers hiding in a sea of “just browsing” leads, and want to use data, not just gut feelings, to do it. We’ll walk through how to use Laserfocus analytics to spot high intent prospects and stop wasting time on the rest.
Why “High Intent” Actually Matters
Not all leads are created equal. Some are just poking around, others are ready to buy yesterday. High intent prospects are the ones who:
- Respond to your emails and book meetings
- Ask real questions about pricing or implementation
- Loop in decision-makers
- Move through your sales stages quickly
Chasing low intent leads is a fast way to burn out your sales team and watch your close rates tank. The trick is to spot high intent signals early, so you double down where it counts.
Step 1: Get Your Funnel Data in Shape
First, garbage in, garbage out. If your CRM is messy, no analytics tool will magically fix it. Before you dive into Laserfocus, take these steps:
- Clean up your pipeline stages: Make sure every deal is in the right stage. “Stuck” deals from months ago? Move them out.
- Standardize activity logging: Calls, emails, and meetings should be logged the same way by everyone. Otherwise, your data is useless.
- Tag or label known “dead” leads: Don’t let them muddy up your reports.
Pro tip: If you can’t trust your CRM, spend a day cleaning it up before you touch analytics. It’s boring, but it pays off.
Step 2: Connect Laserfocus to Your CRM
Laserfocus works best when it plugs straight into your CRM—think Salesforce or HubSpot. Here’s how to get set up:
- Integrate: Follow the connection wizard in Laserfocus. Grant access to relevant objects (deals, contacts, activities).
- Check sync settings: Only sync the pipelines and fields you really care about. More data isn’t always better.
- Verify import: Run a test to make sure recent activities and deals show up in Laserfocus.
What to ignore: Fancy “AI” recommendations or “magic” dashboards that don’t show their math. If you can’t see where the numbers come from, don’t trust them.
Step 3: Define What “High Intent” Means for You
This is where most teams get stuck. You need to decide, in plain terms, what a high intent prospect looks like in your sales cycle.
Ask yourself:
- Which actions actually predict a closed deal? (e.g., scheduling a demo, looping in a VP)
- How many touches does it usually take before a deal moves forward?
- Are there specific questions or objections that come up with real buyers?
Build a checklist: Write down 3-5 behaviors that matter. For example:
- Opened 3+ emails in a week
- Booked a meeting within 2 days of outreach
- Downloaded a technical whitepaper
- Added a technical decision-maker to the email chain
Feed this into your Laserfocus filters and reports.
Step 4: Build Your High Intent Dashboard
Now the fun part—use Laserfocus to create a dashboard that actually tells you something useful.
Key widgets to set up:
- Activity Heatmap: Show deals with the most recent activity (not just “last touched,” but real back-and-forth).
- Stage Velocity: Highlight deals moving faster than average through early stages.
- Decision-Maker Engagement: Spot deals where a VP, Director, or other decision-maker has joined discussions.
- Deal “Staleness”: Surface deals that haven’t moved in X days—so you know who to skip.
How to do it in Laserfocus:
- Use filters to only show deals meeting 2+ “high intent” criteria from your checklist.
- Set up alerts or daily digests for these deals.
- Hide or de-prioritize deals without real activity in the last 14 days.
What to ignore: “Engagement scores” based only on email opens or clicks. Those can be gamed (think: clicking without reading). Look for action, not just activity.
Step 5: Analyze and Spot Patterns
Don’t just stare at the dashboard—look for patterns.
Questions to ask:
- Which reps consistently surface high intent prospects? Are they doing something different?
- Which stages see the biggest drop-off for high intent deals? That’s where you can fix leaks.
- Do certain industries or company sizes show up more in high intent lists? Adjust your targeting.
Pro tip: Pull a list of “won” deals from the last quarter and see which signals they had in common. Refine your filters based on real results.
Step 6: Take Action—Prioritize and Personalize
You’ve identified your high intent prospects. Now what?
- Move them to “hot” lists: Give these leads immediate follow-up, not just “next available slot.”
- Personalize outreach: Reference their specific actions (“I saw you brought your CTO into the conversation…”).
- Cut bait on cold leads: Don’t be afraid to move low intent prospects to nurture or out of your active pipeline.
What actually works: Fast, relevant follow-up. Don’t overthink it with endless automation. Real buyers want answers and attention, not drip campaigns.
Step 7: Review, Rinse, Repeat
Your first version won’t be perfect. Every quarter (or even every month), review:
- Did the “high intent” signals actually predict closed deals?
- Are reps using the dashboard, or ignoring it?
- Are there new behaviors showing up that signal intent?
Tweak your filters and dashboards. High intent isn’t a static definition—it changes as your sales process evolves.
What to Skip: Common Pitfalls
- Don’t chase “vanity metrics”: Total emails sent means nothing if nobody replies.
- Don’t get lost in features: If a report doesn’t drive an action, it’s just noise.
- Don’t over-automate: Human judgment still matters. Use analytics to point you in the right direction, not replace your brain.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
The point of analytics isn’t to overwhelm you with charts—it’s to help you spend time where it counts. Start simple: define high intent, build a focused dashboard, and act on what you see. Review and tweak as you go. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of done.
Remember: The goal isn’t to chase every lead. It’s to find the ones that are actually worth your time. Stick to that, and you’ll close more deals—without burning out your team.