How to Put Prospecting on Autopilot

Hey Revenue Rockstars! 👋 

Ever feel like you're stuck in prospecting purgatory? You know the drill: endless hours researching accounts, crafting outreach sequences, and crossing your fingers that someone, anyone, will respond to your carefully crafted emails. 

Here's a wild stat that'll make you rethink everything: 69% of the B2B buying journey happens before buyers even talk to a sales rep. While you're manually building lists and sending cold emails, your prospects are already deep in research mode—and you might not even be on their radar yet 😬

What if we told you there's a way to flip the script entirely? Welcome to the world of automated prospecting workflows that do the heavy lifting while you focus on what you do best: building relationships and closing deals. 

🔥 The Prospecting Paradox (And How to Solve It) 

Let's be real — most sales reps spend only 28% of their time actually selling. The rest? CRM updates, research, internal meetings, and yes, endless prospecting that often feels like throwing darts in the dark. 

Here's the catch-22: You need to prospect more to build pipeline, but prospecting eats up time you could be spending on closing deals. It's like being stuck on a hamster wheel. 

Enter Intelligent Workflows. Think of them as your personal prospecting assistant that works 24/7, never takes a coffee break, and gets smarter over time. 

Taking the grunt work off your plate 

First, Intelligent Workflows watched your entire TAL for intent signals, and works to build influence with the accounts from the earliest phases of their buying journeys. Prospects are segmented based on where they are in their buying journey: 

🎯 Early-stage prospects (just starting to research): 

This is the portion of your target account list that marketing is working to warm up for you.  

These accounts 

• Get hit with brand awareness campaigns via display ads 

• See relevant content on Google and LinkedIn 

• Are nurtured through educational content, either through traditional marketing automation emails or more advanced conversational AI-driven email campaigns 

• Get automatically removed from campaigns if they don't engage within 90 days 

🎯 Later-stage prospects (actively evaluating solutions): 

These are the accounts that have shown stronger buying signals, often with multiple buying team members researching solutions.  

Marketing continues to build awareness through campaigns, while Intelligent Workflows lays the foundation for you to begin direct outreach.  

These accounts  

• Get checked against your CRM for existing opportunities 

• Have key contacts automatically purchased and added to your system 

• Are added to personalized email sequences via Salesloft 

• Still get display ads for "air cover" during your outreach 

🪄The magic? It's all happening automatically based on actual buying signals, not guesswork. 

➡️ Learn more about using Intelligent Workflows for prospecting 

Workflows + AI Email Agents = 🥳 

We mentioned this briefly above, but it’s worth shouting from the rooftops: Intelligent Workflows can be used to activate AI-driven email conversations with your prospects, respond to their questions, and notify you when the prospect is eager to talk. 

Suddenly, you’re not fishing for interest — you’re spending your time working strong opportunities. 

There are a lot of great use cases. For instance, if an account… 

• Starts researching a specific keyword → An AI Agent reaches out with educational content related to that keyword 

• Fills out a web form to download a piece of content → They receive follow up messages, additional learning resources, invitations to related webinars, etc. 

• Goes dormant → An AI Agent can regularly work to reawaken these “dead” leads with personalized — not generic — outreach based on past interactions. 

➡️ 7 Pre-built Use Cases to Explore 

🔑 Bonus Resource: 5 Keys to Writing Better Emails 

Since we're talking about prospecting, let's make sure your outreach doesn't suck. Here are the five non-negotiables for BDR emails that cut through the noise: 

1. Be Direct (Seriously, Just Get to the Point) 

Your prospect wants to know three things: 

• Who are you? 

• What do you want? 

• What can you do for them? 

Answer these in as few sentences as possible. Treat their time like it's sacred — because it is. 

2. Make It Personal 

Generic emails = instant delete. Take 30 seconds to research your prospect. Did you attend the same conference? Have a mutual connection? Notice something interesting about their company? 

⚡Pro tip: Just using their name in the subject line increases open rates by 26%. 

3. Lead with Value 

Don't lead with your pitch — lead with something valuable. An insight, a free audit, a relevant case study. Make them think, "Okay, this person might actually be able to help me." 

4. Keep It Concise 

If your reader has time for two sips of coffee while reading your email, it's too long. 

5. Polish That Subject Line 

Your subject line is make-or-break. Try these approaches: 

• Urgency: "The [Industry] Shift — You Need to See This" 

• Curiosity: "A Sneak Peek: For VPs Only" 

• Value: "Save 5+ Hours per Week — Here's How" 

• Personalization: "I Talked to Sarah in Marketing..." 

• Exclusivity: "You're Invited!" or "For Your Eyes Only" 

🕵️🔍🕵️ Behind the Curtain: What Your Marketing Team Is Really Doing 

Ever wonder what your marketing colleagues are up to while you're grinding through cold calls? Spoiler alert: If they're doing their job right, they're making those calls a whole lot warmer. 

Here's the inside scoop on how smart marketing teams provide "air cover" for your prospecting efforts:

Data + AI + Creative Strategy 

The best marketing teams aren't just running random ads — they're using account-based data to inform everything: 

• Search campaigns enhanced with intent data and buying stage signals 

• LinkedIn targeting that includes accounts already showing interest 

• Competitive takeout campaigns targeting accounts using competitor technology 

• Remarketing sequences that nurture prospects through the entire journey

Your Role in the Process

Here's how you can leverage what marketing is doing: 

1. Check your CRM for accounts showing digital engagement before reaching out 

2. Reference relevant content that prospects might have seen in ads 

3. Time your outreach to align with buyers’ sweet spot, which can be predicted through AI-driven lead scoring. 

4. Share feedback on which accounts are responding so marketing can optimize 

5. Bottom line: When sales and marketing work together on prospecting, everybody wins. 

🎧 Podcast: Everything You Wanted to Know About ABM but Were Afraid to Ask

🎯 The Human Element Still Rules 

Here's the thing — all this automation isn't about replacing salespeople. It's about giving you superpowers. When you're freed from administrative tasks and the grind work of cold outreach, you can focus on what you do best: understanding customer needs and building genuine relationships. 

The goal? Get to warm conversations faster and spend your time where it actually matters. 

What's Next? 

Ready to put your prospecting on autopilot? The future of B2B sales isn't about working harder—it's about working smarter. And smart workflows are just the beginning. 

Got questions about implementing intelligent prospecting at your company? Let us know what's holding you back. We read every response and use your feedback to create better content and solutions. 

Until then, keep prospecting smart! 🚀 

PS — Want to see Intelligent Workflows in action? Book a demo and we'll show you exactly how teams are automating their way to better pipeline. 

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