If you’re in sales or marketing, you know the drill: too many leads, not enough time, and most aren’t ready to buy. The holy grail? High intent leads—folks who are actually interested, not just window shopping. This guide is for anyone who wants to use AI (specifically, Sales Ape) to separate the real prospects from the tire-kickers—without getting lost in shiny features or wishful thinking.
Let’s get into what actually works, what doesn’t, and how to put Sales Ape’s AI to work for you.
Why High Intent Leads Matter (and Why They're Hard to Spot)
Not every lead is created equal. Chasing everyone wastes time and kills morale. High intent leads are the ones most likely to close soon—they’re searching, asking questions, clicking on your stuff. Problem is, they don’t wear a badge. You need a systematic way to spot them, ideally before your competitor does.
Sales Ape claims to use AI to cut through the noise and surface the best leads. That’s great, but don’t expect magic. AI won’t read minds, but it can sift through piles of data faster than you ever could and spot patterns you’d miss.
Step 1: Define What “High Intent” Means for You
Before you open any tool, get clear on what a high intent lead looks like for your business. This is the step most people skip—and regret later.
Questions to help you define it: - What actions do your best leads usually take? (e.g., booking a demo, downloading a technical spec, visiting pricing pages) - Which industries, company sizes, or roles tend to close fastest? - What “red flags” mean a lead is just browsing?
Pro tip: Don’t just go by what you think—look at your last 10 closed deals and write down what they did right before they bought.
Step 2: Set Up Your Sales Ape Filters and Scoring
Once you know what “high intent” looks like, it’s time to teach Sales Ape what to look for.
Using Built-in Intent Signals
Most AI platforms like Sales Ape come with default signals—website visits, email opens, content downloads, etc. These are a starting point, but don’t put too much faith in them alone.
Inside Sales Ape: - Lead Scoring: Customize the scoring rules. Bump up points for actions that really matter (like watching a full demo video) and lower the weight for vanity metrics (like opening an email once). - Behavioral Triggers: Set alerts for key actions (e.g., someone requests a quote or revisits your pricing page). - Firmographic Filters: Narrow your focus to companies or roles that match your best customers.
What works: - Combining behavior (what they do) with profile data (who they are). - Regularly tweaking your scoring based on real results.
What to ignore: - Overcomplicating things with dozens of signals. Start simple and add as you go. - Trusting AI default scores without checking if they match your reality.
Step 3: Use AI-Powered Lead Enrichment—But Don’t Blindly Trust It
Sales Ape’s AI can fill in missing data—like company size, tech stack, or even recent funding. This saves a ton of research time, but don’t treat it as gospel.
How to use it: - Automatically pull in LinkedIn, company news, and contact info. - Use enrichment to spot new buying signals, like recent product launches or leadership changes. - Cross-check critical info before reaching out, especially if something feels off.
Honest take: AI enrichment is impressive, but still gets things wrong. Always sanity-check before sending a high-stakes email.
Step 4: Track and Act on Engagement in Real Time
This is where AI shines—catching signals you’d miss in the daily grind.
Inside Sales Ape: - Live Activity Feed: Watch for hot actions, like multiple visits in a day or repeat downloads. - Smart Alerts: Get notified when a lead does something big (e.g., fills out a high-value form). - Prioritization: Let Sales Ape move the hottest leads to the top of your queue.
What actually helps: - Jumping on real buying signals quickly—speed matters. - Using alerts to focus your time instead of endlessly refreshing your CRM.
What’s noise: - Don’t chase every little signal. One email open means nothing; three pricing page visits in a week is worth your attention.
Step 5: Use Conversation Analysis (But Don’t Rely on It to Close Deals)
Sales Ape can analyze emails and calls for buying signals—like “budget,” “timeline,” or “decision maker.” This is cool, but it’s not a mind reader.
What to do: - Review AI summaries of key calls and emails for urgency or objections. - Use flagged keywords to prioritize follow-up.
What not to do: - Assume the AI caught everything. Always scan important conversations yourself. - Skip personalization just because the AI says someone’s “ready to buy.” People still buy from people.
Step 6: Regularly Review and Adjust Your Criteria
AI isn’t set-and-forget. The market changes, and so do your customers.
How to keep your process honest: - Every couple of weeks, look at your top “high intent” leads. How many actually moved forward? - Adjust your scoring and filters based on what’s working today—not last quarter. - Talk to your sales team. They’ll spot patterns the AI misses or overweights.
Warning signs to watch for: - Lots of “high intent” leads, but few conversions—your signals might be off. - Always the same companies at the top—could be a filter issue.
What to Skip—And What to Watch
Skip: - Chasing every new AI feature. Most don’t move the needle. - Relying only on AI. It’s a tool, not a replacement for judgment.
Watch: - Integration headaches. If Sales Ape doesn’t play nice with your CRM, don’t force it—fix it or move on. - Data privacy. Make sure you’re not pulling in info you shouldn’t have.
Pro Tips for Getting More Value (and Fewer Headaches)
- Start simple: Use 2–3 clear intent signals. Add more only if they actually help.
- Automate routine stuff: Let AI handle enrichment and scoring, so you can focus on conversations.
- Trust, but verify: AI’s great at sorting, but gut-check before you pounce on a “hot lead.”
- Iterate: Your best signals this month might not work next month. Stay curious.
Wrapping Up
Finding high intent leads isn’t about chasing every AI bell and whistle. It’s about knowing what matters for your business, setting up smart filters, and using tools like Sales Ape to do the heavy lifting—without turning off your brain. Keep it simple, check your results, and don’t be afraid to tweak as you go. The best sales teams are the ones who adapt fastest, not the ones with the fanciest dashboards.