Catch leads before they cool with personalized emails

Marketing assets can be some of the most powerful tools in your demand gen arsenal. When high value prospects download a guide or engage with a webinar, they’re doing more than just consuming content. They’re showing intent. That future customer wants to know more—and they’re raising their hand to let you know. 

The problem? You only have a narrow window in which to respond. If sales teams don’t know about these engagements (and in my experience, they rarely do), that lag can cost deals. Plus, that’s not even taking into account the research involved in crafting personalized outreach messages. 

Fortunately, I found a solution. With Zapier’s AI orchestration platform, I built a fully automated system that detects intent signals in HubSpot and uses AI to carry out background research and craft follow-up messages. This information is shared with the right sales rep in Slack so they can follow up with those high-intent leads, fast. 

Watch my video below to see how it works, or keep reading for step-by-step instructions.

How to set up your own outbound system

This template is a coordinated system made up of a Zap (Zapier’s automated workflows) and an automation-first database (powered by Zapier Tables). 

Click on the template below, then click Try it on the template page.

You’ll be taken to a details page in Zapier Canvas that shows you information about your outbound system with all the building blocks laid out for you. Here’s how it works at a glance: 

1. A Zapier table acts as your data backbone. 

The template includes a marketing asset and form repository table designed to store all your critical marketing assets from HubSpot. It includes fields for the asset name, URL, short description, and a relevant customer quote or story. Crucially, the table also includes fields for the HubSpot form name and form ID associated with each asset. This allows your Zap to identify exactly which piece of content a prospect engaged with and gives the AI everything it needs to craft a personalized follow-up message.

2. A Zap handles the automation

When a new contact is added to your designated HubSpot list (the one you’re using to capture leads who download marketing content), the Zap automatically searches your connected table to identify the asset. From there, it follows one of two paths:

• If the asset is identified in the table: An AI step conducts background research on the prospect, creating a profile with potential pain points and role information. AI then writes a personalized email tailored to that prospect and the asset they engaged with. The Zap finishes by alerting the assigned sales rep via Slack and logging everything into your CRM.

• If the asset isn’t found in the table: The Zap immediately sends an alert to Slack requesting you update the table with the new asset details. This ensures your marketing asset database stays accurate and your outreach remains effective as your content library grows.

To open your Zap, click the View asset button on the Zap shown on the canvas. In the window that opens, click Go to Zap to open your Zap in the editor. 

Most steps are fully set up for you, and you just need to click through and test each one to ensure your Zap runs correctly. But you will need to add some personalization here and there to make sure it’s tailored to your company. 

Step 1: Connect your HubSpot list to Zapier

In HubSpot, I have a dedicated list specifically for contacts who’ve downloaded marketing assets (like guides, eBooks, webinars, and more). This list actively updates whenever a prospect submits any of our HubSpot forms to request an asset—housing everything in one place. If you haven’t already, you should create a similar list in HubSpot for contacts who download your own marketing assets. 

In the first step of the Zap, connect your HubSpot account and select that HubSpot list you’ve created.  

The next two steps help your Zap identify exactly which content asset a new contact engages with. First, Zapier extracts the form ID from the latest HubSpot submission. Then, it searches your connected table using that form ID to locate the specific asset details. 

Click through and test steps 2 and 3, but you shouldn’t need to make any changes.

Step 2: Customize path A

The Zap now splits into two paths depending on whether the marketing asset is found or not. 

The first path (Path A) locates the prospect in your HubSpot account and sends the details to AI by Zapier (steps 5 and 6). The AI researches and writes a personalized email based on the asset and other information (steps 7 and 8). 

The Zap then locates the lead’s assigned sales rep in Slack using the details found in HubSpot (step 9). It then sends that rep a channel message and appends the AI-generated information to the message in a thread (steps 10 and 11). Lastly, it adds those details to the prospect’s record in HubSpot, keeping everything up to date (steps 12 and 13).

Click through and test each step in path A, paying extra attention to the following: 

• In the generate an outbound email step (step 8), personalize the prompt with your company information. You should just need to add a few clarifying details like your company name and values, which are set as placeholders. 

• Connect your Slack account (step 9) and select the channel where you want to post your Slack message (step 10). Choose your team’s primary sales channel where reps actively monitor tasks and collaborate. 

• Change or personalize the message text in the Message Text field, if you like (step 11). 

Once you’ve clicked through and tested all the steps, path A is ready to go.

Step 3: Customize path B

Path B handles instances where the marketing asset and relevant form ID isn’t located in your table. It sends a Slack notification to a specific channel, asking the team to update the table with the missing asset.

Once you’ve tested that final step, your Zap is now ready to use. 

Build automatic handoffs with Zapier and AI

Before, follow-up meant delays, missed signals, and risked deals. Now, with this fully automated system in place, we can catch high-intent leads the moment they engage with our content. 

The right rep gets the right context at the right time, so they can act fast and while leads are still warm. And the best part? This system can flex and grow with your funnel.

This is just the start of what you can do with Zapier. Get started and see what else you can build today.